Plant Gardens 101

The north side of a house or as known as south in the southern hemisphere, is often considered a problem area because of its lack of direct sunlight. Again, it is quite possible to create an effective border there simply by choosing plants that like the shade.

Most woodland plants, for example, will grow there.

So, why do we need dry shade for shady gardens? An area that is both dry and shady is one of the worst problems to cope with because most shade loving plants are woodland plants, which thrive in a moist, fiber rich soil. Soils can be improved by adding plenty of well rotted organic material to them because leaf mould is a natural material to use. (more…)

Like so many other problems in gardening, this one will go away if you make a slight adjustment of attitude and decide to embrace the shade rather than be daunted by it. A visit to any of the big gardens will show shady areas that have been successfully planted, and there is no reason why you should not do the same on a smaller scale.

So, how do we cope with shade? For some reason, many people simply ignore the fact that an area is shady and attempt to grow annuals and other sun loving plants in it. These inevitably languish and frequently die, and the gardeners get very despondent.

There is really no excuse for these problems as a large number of plants are available that actually like shady conditions. Perhaps the colors of these plants might not be so dazzling as the sun lovers because there are not many bright reds, for example, but they are still colorful enough to put on a good display. Many plants that like shade are yellow, and so stand out well in the gloomy light. (more…)