Shaded Landscaping Plants - Choosing the Right Plants for Your Garden
When it comes to gardening, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to control the weather? Even though that’s obviously not possible, there are things you can do to get your plants the proper amount of sun and shade. It’s important to choose the correct plants for each type of area.
Some plants grow best in full sun, others do better in partial shade, and there are even plants that will thrive in constant shade. Take this into consideration when choosing plants for each of your activity zones. Knowing what kind of shade each area has will help you make the right decisions.
A ‘full sun area’ is, of course, an area that receives sun all day. This means from 6-12 hours
or more during the summer. This will vary depending on your geographic location.
An area that receives plenty of light, although not directly, is referred to as ‘partial sun’ or
‘partial shade’. Examples of this are areas that are covered, such as, under awnings, or large
thick trees.
All of the light these areas receive is reflected light, and is usually sufficient for most
plants. There is a significant energy loss when light is reflected off of different surfaces. The
plants that do well in these areas are uniquely suited for this amount of energy and will remain
healthy with no drying or burning. There is usually plenty of light and heat for keeping the soil
warm and promoting photosynthesis.
‘Full shade‘, then, is obviously an area that doesn’t even receive indirect sunlight. The light
that reaches these areas has been reflected several times, causing it to loose most of it’s
energy. It doesn’t leave the area in total darkness, but it is quite dim. The result is very little
of the suns energy for the plant, and cool soil.
Ground cover plants will do quite well in full shade, but most flowering plants will not be
able to survive in these conditions. A good example of the type of plant that grows well in full
shade is moss. Think of how much moss you would see in a heavily shaded forest. The
conditions are cool and moist, and are home to various types of fungi, such as wild mushrooms
as well as moss.
Many flowering plants will thrive in partial shade. In addition to 1-2 hours of direct sunlight
per day, there are also several hours of reflected light. Usually the direct sunlight these areas
receive will not be the most intense of the day.
Hostas are a good example of partial shade plants. They have large leaves that are ideal
for catching whatever light is available in the area. They also yield lovely pale flowers in Spring
and Summer, making them quite attractive. Another beautiful flowering plant that does well in
partial shade is the impatien. If the soil is not too cool, foxgloves also do very well in partial
shade.
Always consider each area’s lighting when choosing your plants.
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