Shady areas of a garden can have a magic of their own; a tucked away secret corner with a statue surrounded
Many of us are daunted by dry, shady borders in our gardens but there is plenty of choice when it comes to planting up these areas and they can look good through the year if plants are selected carefully.
Shady areas come into their own in spring, when leaves on trees have not yet emerged to block out much of the valuable light that plants need for photosynthesis - the process by which plants convert light into energy allowing then to grow. Early perennials such as Pulmonaria (Lungwort) and Brunnera (Perennial Forget Me Not) begin to flower, along with Hellebores and spring bulbs. Snowdrops are especially at home in a woodland setting, where they pierce through leaf litter in January and flower to let us know winter is almost done. Hard on the heels of Snowdrops are dwarf Narcissus (Daffodils) which look beautiful planted with the evergreen groundcover Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae, whose acid yellow flower clusters enhance the pure yellow of varieties such as Narcissus ‘February Gold'.
Pulmonaria are amazing plants, starting to flower as early as January in sheltered gardens. They will then continue to produce their clusters of tubular flowers until well into early summer when they should be cut down to the ground, leaves and all, given a feed of general fertilizer and a mulch of well rotted garden compost around the crowns of the plants. The reward for this little bit of care are beautiful leaves through the growing season, adding to the tapestry of foliage that shady borders assume through the summer months, when there are, perhaps fewer flowers to look at.
As well as perennials, there are plenty of shrubs that love to show off in shade and these include Camellias with their glossy evergreen leaves and exotic flowers that will light up the area in spring. Look out for the reliable ‘Donation’ and ‘R.L Wheeler’ in shades of pink or try the earlier, double flowering white variety ‘Noblissima’.
Mexican Orange Blossom (Choysia ternata) also thrives in shade and despite the common name is very hardy. Evergreen leaves frame the flat clusters of white flowers which are produced in spring and again in autumn and the plant can be pruned hard if it outgrows its space. An added bonus with this beautiful shrub is the wonderful sweet scent that will waft around the garden and attract plenty of bees and other insects.
If you tidy your border in early spring, there should be little maintenance through the rest of the year. Remove the previous year’s growth from perennials and add this to your compost heap before applying a mulch of rotted compost or chipped bark to help seal in moisture and keep the weeds down. Feed your border each spring with a general fertilizer once new growth is underway and your plants will reward you for many years to come.
