Working With Shade

Many gardens are combination gardens, with walls, hedges, trees or various structures leaving areas of the garden in complete or partial shade. Other gardens—such as those in urban areas, or in historic residential neighbourhoods where space was limited and many houses were joined together in rows, with very narrow treed back lots—will be in almost complete shade.

Instead of looking at this as a setback, think of the shade garden as a special challenge, with its own limitations as well as positive characteristics and opportunities. Lots that are walled on all sides are particular challenges. If you are working with such a situation, use your creativity, and hunt down ideas from a range of sources, from gardening shows on television to advice from local gardeners or your local nursery. The internet is of course also a good resource! Begin thinking of ways you can soften the hard edges of the walls that border on your lot. If you have the permission of the owners (and/or tenants) of the adjacent buildings, you may be able to convince them to let you use paint, trellises, or other elements such as mounted hanging baskets to soften things up and provide repeating patterns, texture and interest.

If the area is fully shaded, you will likely have grass that is in poor condition as well. Bring in paving stones or brick to cover fully shaded areas that you will not be making into garden beds. Believe it or not, there are also some vegetables that can grow well in partial shade—keep this in mind if you have a spot that would be perfect for a small garden bed.

In the shade garden, you certainly won’t have the variety of bright colours you may be used to working with. Think more along the lines of texture; use mass plantings to emphasize the blocks of more subtle colours you will be working with. Ferns are beautiful for their volume and delicate leaf design. Astilbe can add punch of colour in the pink, red and white range. If you are using a trellis, and do have a considerable amount of sun cutting through despite the shade cast by walls or trees, plant climbing plants so that flowers have access to the sun at the top of the trellis.

Other climbers to consider include climbing hydrangea and Virginia creeper. The delicate flowers of the hydrangea are nice in the summertime, while the leaves of the Virginia creeper change to a rich red in the fall, adding interest and contrast to other shade plants in the garden. For ground cover, try periwinkle or Lily of the Valley.