The basics of shade gardens

Hosea Omole

Shaded areas in a garden require special attention during landscape design. They don't support sun-loving plants, which are some of the most ardent bloomers, but present the designer with opportunities to add interest in the final outcome.

In fact, if a garden doesn’t have a shade, it would be necessary to create some. Shades provide sheltered areas for cooling off during hot days. Moreover, some of the most beautiful plants need at least some shade to show their best.

Here are some tips to help you take advantage of the shady spots in your garden.

Soils

Most of the shady areas in nature occur beneath tree canopies. In a woodland setting, soil is often moist, rich and full of humus. These are the exact conditions that cause shade-loving plants to thrive. If you can duplicate them in your shade garden, you have half the job done.

Add compost to existing soil to increase it humus content. This should not be a one-time activity; you will need to keep building up the soil by adding a two to three inch layer of compost around plants every year.

Unlike sun-saturated areas, shade gardens require less frequent watering. However, the soil needs to stay moist for the shade plants to flourish. To deliver water with accuracy and to avoid wetting the leaves too much, go for a drip irrigation system.

Adding interest

Plan your shade garden with elements that will make it more inviting, comfortable and interesting. You can start by painting walls in pale colours or using pale-coloured gravel or pavement to increase ambient light. You can also add some decorative lighting to enhance the night-time ambience or simply incorporate some light-colour edging. You can even include a well-selected sculpture to act as a focal point within the shade garden.

Shaded areas have the natural tendency to slow people down and encourage them to pause and relax. Providing some comfortable seating is, therefore, a good idea. Such seating also adds colour and warmth into the composition.

You can also consider adding the sound of trickling water by including a water fountain to enhance the overall ambience of your shaded retreat.

Shade loving plants

There are thousands of shade-loving plants that you can use in your garden. Many foliage plants, such as most ferns and hostas, grow lush and remain in better condition for longer in shaded areas than in open sites. They can be used to create a sophisticated tapestry of textured foliage to clothe the ground.

On top of that, selected flowering perennials particularly perform better under shaded environments. The white flag, for instance, will treat you to her white blossom held up above the foliage for all to see. Begonias and violas, too, will give you their showy flowers in addition to their coloured leaves.

The writer is a landscape architect.