What To Do With The Shadow?

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Often, shady places on the site fall out of the work area and are considered "abandoned land". But in vain! This is the perfect place to relax in the heat of summer. How to organize an amazing corner in the garden, what to plant? Check out the design guidelines

What is the shadow

The illumination of the site is always taken into account when planting plants. Every gardener is faced with the problem of planning shady places, because they do not know what to plant there.

The selection of plants is based on several facts: the nature of the soil, the level of illumination, the tolerance of the planted crops to shading. The shade can be of different density and duration. It depends on the density of the crowns, the height of nearby trees or the size of the buildings, the volume of plantings. And also it is subdivided into "wet" and "dry", which directly affects the condition of the soil and the range of plantings.

There is another important nuance that affects the degree of shade - the season. In this regard, the state of the crown of deciduous trees and the duration of daylight hours change.

Dry shade or what to plant under a large tree

Dry shadow is formed near deciduous trees with a large crown and is considered the most problematic place for designers. The earth here is filled with powerful roots that absorb moisture and nutrition, and the foliage interferes with the flow of precipitation. In this case, it will be possible to create a beautiful composition only with certain shade-loving plants.

Bulbous ones are an unmistakable choice. In one place, you can group autumn and spring (muscari, hyacinth, daffodil, anemone, tulip, snowdrop). Colchicums, liriope, Neapolitan or garden cyclamen, autumn crocus, scilla are chosen from those blooming in autumn. Florists appreciate the Cilician colchicum, one bulb of which produces 25 large buds.

These plants are not afraid of dry shade. For good growth, they will receive enough light and moisture during the autumn - spring growing season. Care consists in generous mulching, which takes place in the spring after warming up the soil.

The dry shadow zone is well accepted by perennials: maiden grapes, ivy, rhubarb. Japanese keria and sarcococcus grow well here. You can safely plant lilies of the valley, forget-me-nots, phlox, geranium, wormwood, almond euphorbia, autumn anemones.

Wet shadow

An area with moisture retention properties, closed from the sun, without obstacles for precipitation, forms a damp shady zone. It would seem that such places are problematic for plant life, but no. There are many species of flora that love such places, the land of which keeps cool and moisture in the heat. The disadvantages of such areas are the presence of slugs and the development of fungal infections.

Shade-tolerant, moisture-loving plants include ferns, rhododendrons, garden geraniums and many lianas, for example: aquebia five, common hops. The noble liverwort, hydrangea, angelica angelica, camellia, euonymus, chokeberry grow well here.

Shade Garden Design

Unlike sunny areas, in the shade of many plants, growth and flowering begins later. The brightness of the foliage is not so saturated, close to a light green tone. Here is the kingdom of halftones and muted shades.

The main emphasis in shady gardens is on the shape of the plants, on the expressive, large leaves. Designers recommend using the method of alternating vertical and horizontal lines. Expressiveness can be achieved by using the combinatorial nature of the size and shape of the sheet. For example, Rogers form a beautiful horizontal line that enhances the beauty of the foxgloves with their vertical peduncles.

Any composition can be supplemented with potted plants. A border is made of them or they are placed at your discretion. Potted plants are ideal for introducing freshness and creating fresh seasonal images.

The decorativeness of plantings is supported by a combination of evergreens with hosts dying off for the winter, ferns, etc. Therefore, it is advisable to have a European clefthoof, badan in a shady garden. Apply early flowering primroses, lungwort, violets, daisies. In any case, the main goal is to attract attention with a variety of shapes and lines. The highlights of the shady gardens are monumental elecampane, black cohosh, varietal rogers, colorful astilbe, Japanese anemones.

A warm range will be brought in by spectacular, yellow-bordered hosts and variegated brunners, colorful leaves of tiaroks, mountain goats and yellow-leaved shrubs, such as spirea. Color contrast will give doronicums, buzulniks, daylilies, elecampane, cyanosis, aconites, wide-spread phlox.

A rock garden will be a fashionable feature. This zone is built according to certain rules. Compositions are not made in randomly laid out blocks, they are laid out intelligently. As a result, the resulting object should extinguish aggression, streamline thoughts, calm and balance feelings. The rocky garden not only promotes relaxation, but also always delights with the natural power of stone and looks amazingly impressive.

The shady garden is in demand during the sweltering heat. Here it is appropriate to place a bench, a hanging chair and organize a small seating area with a small table for tea drinking. So the shade on the site is a popular place to relax in the summer heat.