Shade Garden Types and Themes

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Sandra Dinkins-Wilson

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Shades gardens can be created in any of the various types of shade that may be available in and around your home. Shade gardens can be created in mottled shade created by broad-leaved trees. Shade can be of the "deep dark woods" variety. There is morning shade that might not...

Shades gardens can be created in any of the various types of shade that may be available in and around your home. Shade gardens can be created in mottled shade created by broad-leaved trees. Shade can be of the "deep dark woods" variety. There is morning shade that might not be so great if that area gets lots of afternoon sun (which can cook your shade plants) and, of course, afternoon shade.

Each type of shade can support different types of plants and there is some overlap. We can even modify the type of shade we have for our shade garden by use of man-made structures. We will provide more on this in another article.

Each of these types of shade can be used to create a different theme for your shade garden with different type of plants. The possibilities are almost endless and they do not all have to be gray or green types of shade gardens. You will be able to make use of most of the shade spots you have around your home.

If you have no shade, as will be discussed in another article, you can plant trees to provide some partial shading. Trees can provide shade for part of the day depending upon placement, like maples, or have a mottled shade, like aspens. In the shade of these trees you could plant a Hummingbird Garden.

Fuchsias enjoy the filtered sun provided by trees like aspens and are in turned enjoyed by hummingbirds. Other plants enjoyed by hummingbirds, such as the Nictiana alata, Bee Balm, Bellflower, and Columbine, do their best if in the shade for part of the day like that provided by a few maple trees.

If you desire the type of shade that can be so very nice on a hot summer's day, like the "deep dark woods" shade, create it with maples
and other broadleaf trees. Of course, you will need a good amount of space to provide this type of shade and you will have to crowd the trees together more than recommended spacing.

However, in this dark shade, colors can be brought out with Primulas and Rhododendrons. Be sure to include some seating in this area and you will have a very enjoyable place to wile away a hot summer afternoon.

You should always be prepared to experiment with your shade garden. If you find some plants don't do as well as their descriptions imply, you may have to dig them up and move them to a place of more shade or more sun. Given that trees themselves can be quite difficult to move around when grown, you may wish to create some man-made shade for your shade garden. This will be covered in a later article.