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If you’re a new gardener you might think that shade growing is an uphill battle. I’m here to tell you that shade gardens can be a beautiful, lush, peaceful addition to your landscape. As someone who has been gardening in the shade of huge trees for more than 20 years, I know that shade growing is entirely possible. With some careful planning and patience you can create a shade garden to be proud of.

To be successful in shade growing, you first need to choose the right plants. Look for plant recommendations for shade growing trees, shade growing shrubs, shade growing perennials, shade growing annuals, and shade growing bulbs.

Having chosen the best shade growing plants for your garden, next give some thought as to where the plants are going to live. Few plants can survive in complete shade. Plants need a certain amount of light, combined with good soil, good drainage, and sufficient water to thrive.

Now let’s talk about the soil that your shade growing plants will live in. For best results, make sure there a good mixture of organic compost and mulch in the soil. 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, you will need to mix sand into the soil to help with drainage.

Large trees in your landscape are beautiful, but they can be difficult to plant under. 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. I have a lot of large cedar trees in my landscape and you’d be amazing at how greedy their roots are! I’ve dug in areas 30 feet away from the tree trunk and found masses of tree roots just under the soil surface.

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. If you choose the right shade growing plants, shade from a building or wall will actually be a help to your plants. 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, plus the garden will be exposed to the elements like the prevailing winds and frost come fall and winter.

Take a look at where your house is placed on your property, and how that 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.

So the most important 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 and drainage and sufficient water.

Want to find out more about Shade Growing, then visit my website for photos and recommendations on how to choose the best shade plants for your needs.

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