Shade Gardening: Selecting a Site and Purpose

Email Page

Print Page

Carol A. Crotta

Extras

Where is your shade garden located? While “in my yard” is a tempting response, it won’t take you very far. “Where?” is a critical question, meant to address everything from the big picture to the smallest detail.

This colorful shade flower bed turned a dark-looking area into a rustic, welcoming and serene backyard entry.

A slatted screen added to a deck or porch provides privacy, wind protection and a perfect spot to display shade-loving container plants.

Since color is kept to a minimum in traditional Japanese gardens, they often offer inspirational combinations of plants with contrasting shapes, forms and foliage.

For starters, where, geographically, do you live? Climate greatly determines the types of plants that will grow successfully in your area and the type of preparation and care they’ll need. The USDA Hardiness Zone map divides North America into 11 plant hardiness zones based on the average annual minimum temperature each experiences in winter. Every zone features a range of temperatures that will guide you in choosing your plants, shrubs and trees. The Learn2Grow Plant Database can also tell you which hardiness zones support the plants you may be considering. With both resources, you’ll be able to choose plants that have a high chance of success.

Next, turn your attention to your yard. Will trees and shrubs define your proposed shade garden, or does the shade come from adjacent structures or city buildings? What type of light does the area have – filtered light, shade only part of the day or dense shade? How do these conditions change with the progression of the day and seasons?

Will your shade garden be near your home or another structure? If so, do you want to accentuate and enhance – or basically hide – the style or color of the structure? Does the area experience periodic strong winds, or do you live in the mountains, where the air is thin? If so, maintaining adequate moisture will be an issue. Are you near an ocean? While coastal regions have moderate temperatures, the air tends to be salty, which can limit the types of plants that you’ll be able to grow successfully.

Just as understanding your shade garden’s location defines and refines your options, so does determining your garden’s purpose.

What type of effect (if any) would you like your shade garden to provide – a romantic retreat; a serene Oriental garden of mosses, rocks, and bamboo; a springtime extravaganza of azaleas and dogwoods all in bloom; a summer spectacle of brilliant impatiens or coleus?

With a shade garden, you can have it all, from bright to muted colors, from multiple hues to a single-color theme. You also can achieve a shifting sea of greens by planting an all-foliage shade garden. Create drama with planted urns and statuary, or simple comfort with a macramé hammock under some tall trees over a shade lawn.

You may want your shade garden to serve a practical purpose – the main function being that it’s low-maintenance. Do you have a great expanse of shady area but little time to tend it? Consider a shade groundcover such as pachysandra, punctuated with plantings of a few larger perennials.

Does your yard need a cool eating area? You might want to create a shady dining room under a big tree or cluster of trees on a carpet of groundcover, surrounded by walls of shade plants. You may only want to add some structure and visual interest to a woodland area adjoining part of your property. This is a perfect place to try out some non-native plants alongside those common to your region.

Do you want a formal garden that suits your shaded city lot, or do you want a more natural look? Finally, you may just want to reclaim unused areas of the yard – back corners under heavy trees and borders under deep roof eaves – that you’ve been reluctant or unwilling to take on in the past.

Knowing the site and purpose of your shade garden will give you a blueprint for your gardening project, helping to focus your efforts for greatest success.

Facts

Microclimates occur throughout every major plant hardiness zone. They’re present whenever local conditions – bodies of water, prevailing winds, slopes and other factors – make a site either warmer or cooler than its surrounding areas. They’re very localized: A home on one side of the street may have remarkably different climate considerations than one located on the other side.

Tips

Dappled light is attractive to plants and people alike. Include a seating area within the shade area to allow visitors to enjoy its restful coolness.
Add shade to a too-sunny lot to make it hospitable to shade-loving hanging plants like fuchsias. A simple overhead shade structure can be built in a weekend and yield attractive results.
Read More...

Come to The Garden Party and share your shady garden with the rest of our Learn2Grow community. Post pictures, write a blog, or connect with our gardening experts and other home gardeners nationwide to share more shade garden tips and ideas. Have a question about gardening in the shade? Visit the Learn2Grow Forums and post a question for experienced gardeners to answer.

Page 1 of 1

Next Steps

Articles

The Many Faces of Shady Spaces
How do you want to use your shady garden space? As a display for foliage and flowers, a grown-up getaway for relaxing, a dining area or a place to stroll? Coming up with some shade garden ideas and a purpose before planting is the smart way to get growing.
Finding Your Place in the Shade
If you want to start a shade garden, the first order of business is to evaluate your garden site. By noting your area’s proper sun levels and soil conditions, your shady-garden vision can come to light!
Design by Function: Shade Garden
Dedicating a corner of your sunny yard to a shade garden is a great way to gain some backyard relief from the heat, as well as get some different plants in your garden that you otherwise couldn’t try. We’ll give you the design, you pick the plants!

RATE THIS PAGE

Click a star to rate