Do You Live In The Shade?
By Ena Clewes
If you venture into the shaded areas of your garden, you may find that there are lots of interesting places to cultivate plants. Shade can work wonders in your landscaping plans. It protects plants as well as people from the scorching sun. It also lowers temperatures and it’s a welcome spot to sit when you have been working out in the sun all day.
Many gardeners are reluctant to try to develop any plant life in a shady garden, convinced that nothing will grow there, but they are wrong. You can find plants for semi shade or deep shade. Even if you don’t want to grow anything in the shade, you could feature statuary or a water container, perhaps with a fountain, which would also attract birds to your garden.
All shade is not equal. As the sun moves through the trees, different areas of the garden take on a new look. For example, an area that is dark in the morning may be bathed in sunlight by afternoon, and land that lies beneath deciduous trees is often deeply shaded in summer, but in the spring it would support spring bulbs.
Keep shaded areas well watered, but do not let them get too wet. Under trees that take up most of the moisture enrich the soil with compost regularly to help to sustain other plants. Hostas and Ferns are the most likely choices for shade and with hundreds of Hostas to choose from, you could have an abundance of various forms and textures. Try under planting your Hostas with Sweet Cicely. This is a ground-cover plant, quite aggressive, but grows very tiny white flowers all over its green foliage and is very pretty. Also consider the colors that you use, as shade will negate dark colors, including purple, blue and maroon. Large areas of dark green foliage make a shady area look even darker.
I like to use creams and whites, especially those plants with variegated leaves. They can look stunning in shade. Try spotted Bethlehem Sage which kind of disappears in a sunny border. Also consider an all white grouping to really brighten up the area. Use white Bleeding Hearts, Solomon’s Seal, White Hydrangeas or even a summer annual Browalia that comes in shades of blue and white. Astilbes are another good choice and if you combine their feathery texture with dwarf Azaleas or even the lovely leaves of Lady’s Mantle, you will have a very interesting shady garden.
A structural element would add to your shaded area also, perhaps a white painted arbor. You could try the white climbing Hydrangea; it grows slowly but is a lovely plant when established. A romantic idea is to have a bench or other seating under a tree, perhaps with a bird bath nearby, so that you can sit at your leisure and take in the antics of the birds having their daily bath. Usually after I have filled the bath with clean water, they decide to clean their feathers and their dirty little feet!!
I have seen a reflecting ball used in a shady corner allowing the rays of sun to seemingly take on a shimmering effect, which is quite wonderful. Try hanging baskets, perhaps with shade loving Begonias, suspending them from tree limbs at different heights. These are especially good if they’re hanging at eye level and if you use containers, you can move them around, depending on where the sun may shine.
Here is a list of some plants for shade: Anemone "HonorineJobert" Phlox "Jacob Cline" Anemone "Margarete" Geraniums "Johnson’s Blue" Fern "Samurai Sword’
So don’t let that shady garden just sit there idly doing nothing, get it growing and enjoy!
Ena Clewes is a transplanted Scot, living in Ontario, on a farm where she has an English garden. She is a writer and speaker with a passion for gardening. You can visit Ena’s website at
Ena Clewes Master Gardener creative writer.
contact Ena @ artena@wightman.ca 'If you are interested in joining Ena in her Gardening Forum, please visit http://bMrsGreenthumb.runboard.com all gardeners welcome!
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