The 7 Types of Shade in Your Garden
How the Lack of Sunlight Effects Your Shady Perennial Bed
Dec 16, 2008
The part of the landscape that is usually the most troublesome to homeowners is where the sun doesn’t shine.
This no-man’s-land of a property is usually half-heartedly landscaped with hostas or with shade-loving flowering annuals such as impatiens or begonias to cover up the bare spots.
But, shady areas have the potential to host flourishing perennial gardens full of color and foliage throughout the entire growing season.
There are many varieties of perennials that thrive in the shade. You can have a continuation of bloom with interesting foliage even in the darkest corners of your yard.
Not all Shade Made the Same
Before plunking down a variety of shade-loving plants against the north side of the house, first look what is creating the shade in the first place: Is it caused by a building, trees or shrubs? Is the building light or dark (light colored building will reflect light). The rule of thumb is that the denser the shade, the less flowering you can expect from the plants.
Second, examine the soil – is it moist or dry? If it’s under towering maples, no amount of irrigation will change the fact that is a “dry shade” (see below).
As you can see, not all shade is made the same; in fact, there are at least 7 different varieties:
- Partly Sunny, Partly Shady In the northern latitude in the summer, even the north side of the house gets some sunlight in the morning and before the sun sets. These areas get perhaps a total of six hours of sunlight by the end of the day – which is more than enough for most plants except for the “full sun” types.
- Out in the Open Shade. This is shade that is on the north side of the house, but not shaded by anything else (it is “open” to the sky). Plants that do well in these conditions are listed under “light shade.”
- Dappled ShadeThis is the shade underneath a tree or bush that gets a little sun as it moves across the sky during the day. Lawn grass can do well in this kind of shade, and most plants. However, true shade-loving plants will not thrive in dappled shade.
- Medium Shade. This is the north side of the house that is further obstructed by a tree. Shade tolerant grass will grow, as well as shade-loving plants such as Astilbe and Hosta.
- Deep Shade. This is the permanent year-round shade from a house or large evergreens or other trees. Grass struggles to grow in deep shade, but ferns do very well.
- Moist Shade.There is often quite a bit of moisture in deep shade because it does not receive the sun’s heat. These conditions are perfect for ferns and Hosta and most other shade-loving plants.
- Dry Shade. Shade can be very dry under large trees that drink up all the available moisture. Dry shade becomes problematic, but can be solved by watering and mulching, and only a handful of plants can survive these conditions. Still, there a variety to choose from that thrives in dry shade, such as the Barrenwort (Epimedium).
Next: Top Plants That Thrive in the Shade
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