I know that shade growing can be a challenge. But with some careful planning and patience you can design a lush, interesting garden that thrives in shade. And once established, a shade garden is low maintenance and provides much needed respite from a hot summer day.
The most important thing to realize about shade gardening is that success all depends on what plants you choose. There are a variety of shade growing trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs.
Once you have chosen the best shade growing plants for your garden, you then need to consider where the plants are going to live. Plants need a combination of light, good soil, good drainage, and sufficient water to thrive.
The best thing you can do for your shade growing plants is to give them good soil to grow in. Preparing the soil for a shade garden is pretty much like any other type of garden; you need to make sure there a good mixture of organic compost and mulch in the soil. You also need to ensure that the soil drains well. You don't want overly wet or mucky clay drowning the roots of your shade plants. To check to see how the soil drains, dig a hole and fill it with water then come back in a couple of hours to see if the water has drained. If not then you will need to mix sand into the soil to help with drainage.
Once you've considered the soil, check that the surrounding trees are not stealing all the light, moisture and nutrients. This is one of the most common problems if you plant a shade garden under large trees. Your plants will be competing for food and water with the trees, so regular feeding and watering is required so the plants aren't too depleted for nutrients.
Speaking of trees, if the trees doing the shading are evergreen conifers, the soil tends to be acidic (low ph). So have the soil tested and adjust the soil ph accordingly for what you plan to grow (adding dolomite lime will raise the ph).
Shade from a building or wall will also affect what you can grow in your garden. Consider the placement of the building or wall: if your garden is in the front of a north-facing wall it will be in shade most of the day. In addition, the garden will be exposed to the elements like the prevailing winds and frost during the fall and winter.
Walk around your house and see how it affects where the sun is at various times of the year. For instance, where the sun is in the morning isn't going to the same in the evening, especially the later in the season it is.
The critical things to remember in growing a shade garden are plant selection, the degree of shade you are dealing with (light, medium or dense), good soil, drainage and water. I encourage you to try a shade garden. You'll love it! - 30228
The most important thing to realize about shade gardening is that success all depends on what plants you choose. There are a variety of shade growing trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs.
Once you have chosen the best shade growing plants for your garden, you then need to consider where the plants are going to live. Plants need a combination of light, good soil, good drainage, and sufficient water to thrive.
The best thing you can do for your shade growing plants is to give them good soil to grow in. Preparing the soil for a shade garden is pretty much like any other type of garden; you need to make sure there a good mixture of organic compost and mulch in the soil. You also need to ensure that the soil drains well. You don't want overly wet or mucky clay drowning the roots of your shade plants. To check to see how the soil drains, dig a hole and fill it with water then come back in a couple of hours to see if the water has drained. If not then you will need to mix sand into the soil to help with drainage.
Once you've considered the soil, check that the surrounding trees are not stealing all the light, moisture and nutrients. This is one of the most common problems if you plant a shade garden under large trees. Your plants will be competing for food and water with the trees, so regular feeding and watering is required so the plants aren't too depleted for nutrients.
Speaking of trees, if the trees doing the shading are evergreen conifers, the soil tends to be acidic (low ph). So have the soil tested and adjust the soil ph accordingly for what you plan to grow (adding dolomite lime will raise the ph).
Shade from a building or wall will also affect what you can grow in your garden. Consider the placement of the building or wall: if your garden is in the front of a north-facing wall it will be in shade most of the day. In addition, the garden will be exposed to the elements like the prevailing winds and frost during the fall and winter.
Walk around your house and see how it affects where the sun is at various times of the year. For instance, where the sun is in the morning isn't going to the same in the evening, especially the later in the season it is.
The critical things to remember in growing a shade garden are plant selection, the degree of shade you are dealing with (light, medium or dense), good soil, drainage and water. I encourage you to try a shade garden. You'll love it! - 30228
About the Author:
Want to know more about Shade Growing? Visit Barbara Bakker's site to get recommendations on the best shade plants for your shade garden.
