Ten Minute Gardening » Shade Gardening

Is A Change As Good As A Rest?

Bert — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:42:15 +0000

The Shade Garden awaiting repairs and changes

Like it or not, I’ve been given the challenge of renovating our shade garden. Some changes were inevitable. I knew that. But little did I realize just how many changes were in store!

Our tiny village has finally installed a municipal sewage system and every house and business is being hooked into it. This past week, it was our turn.

Down came the board fence and gate. We were told the contractor would be here on Friday so I had planned to remove plants growing along the path of the sewer mains on Thursday evening. Upon returning home from work on Wednesday I discovered the contractor in the process of digging up our side yard. So of course I had to go straight to work removing the plants I wanted to save. When that task was completed, I headed indoors for the longed for cup of tea I hadn’t had yet. No sooner did I get the pot of tea made, when a knock on the door brought the news that more plants had to come out. Back to the digging!

To make a long story short, two thirds of the plants were removed, the grass torn up, and a pile of soil spanning the width of the shady side yard sits waiting to be levelled. Some plants are gone for good. Some damaged to the point where a lot of TLC is required to help them recover.

On the plus side, the weeds are gone, some of the perennials have been divided giving me more plants, the bed has been widened and more soil has been added to it.

Yesterday morning, the mosquitoes and I re-planted the shade garden without much thought as to placement of the plants. I did consider height, width and foliage colours before plopping the plants in the ground, but so great was my desire to avoid becoming a banquet for every mosquito in the village, form and texture became unimportant. Talk about off the cuff landscape design!

It will be interesting to see which plants will survive the rough treatment they experienced and how the garden looks once things have settled. No doubt this fall will see a great deal of tweaking in the shade garden. Probably next spring will bring even more tweaking,

The front yard is also a mess, but not nearly as bad as the shade garden in the side yard. Some lavender plants were damaged, the back sides of the variegated willow standards were shorn off and the small lawn has been made smaller thanks to more mounds of dirt that trace the path of the sewer pipes to the road. The front garden should be fairly easy to restore, and the willows, being willows will come back quickly.

On that note, I’m off to join the mosquitoes and continue the garden repairs.

Another Plant Moving Story

Bert — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:56:55 +0000

The Shade Garden 2007

This small village of ours is about to enter the twentieth (yes, twentieth!) century! So long septic systems and hello sewer system! After years of planning, and construction, the municipal sewage system will is nearing completion. Now that homeowners have recovered from the shock of the rather hefty bill we each now owe the Municipality, we get to hand over more cash for the privilege of hooking up to the system and disabling our septic systems. I say privilege, but truth be know, property owners are not being given a choice. Hook up or be hooked up! I’m not complaining, not in the least. I for one am happy to be saying farewell to septic systems and drainage ditches that are ripe with the smell of raw waste. But (you had to know there would be a “but”), what distresses me more than the cost is that fact that my shade garden is about to be severely damaged! Ouch!

This weekend has been spent clearing the area for the sewer hook up. Unfortunately, that area is right through the middle of the shade garden and across the front garden. Damages to the front garden I can live with. It was brutalized last year when we had a new roof installed. Knowing the sewers were coming in, we didn’t bother fixing it. As for the front walkway that has to be removed to accommodate the sewer hook up, well, I think I should send a thank you note to the Municipality. That path has been an eyesore for years, and this is just the impetus we needed to reposition it and plant grass seed and shrubs where the walkway is now.

But the shade garden! That is breaking my heart! Today we removed the solid board fence and gate that protected the shade plants from the late afternoon sun and provided much needed privacy to the back garden. We also cut back to ground level the silver leaf dogwood that stood beside the gate. Being a dogwood, it will begin growing again shortly, and by this time next year, you’ll never even know it was levelled.

Next weekend, I must begin digging up all the plants that are in the way of the sewer lines being installed later this month. Ferns, hostas, Solomon’s seal, Jack-in-the pulpit, astible, aquelgia, violets, tradescantia and more, will all be uprooted and put into pots until the fall. That is the easy part. The difficult part will be finding a place with enough shade to protect them throughout our hot, sunny summer. And where they will not be in the direct line of fire from the feral felines and free-roaming Fido’s our village is (in)famous for.

When moving a garden, either temporarily or to a new property, there are things that can be done to insure success:

Dig a large soil ball so there are enough roots to support the plant while it’s in its pot

Select a pot size that is just big enough to acommodate the root ball. Too small a pot and the roots will wind around the pot. Too big and the plant will send out far too many new roots.

Use a good quality, sterilized potting mix. Do not use garden soil which may contain insects and/or diseases. The plants may not have the strength to fend them off after being uprooted.

Fertilize with a water soluble transplant fertilizer (10-52-10). This fertilizer targets the root systems of plants, making them stronger so they recover more quickly from their move.

Cut back the foliage by at least one third so the plant will be able to sustain itself more easily.

Keep the newly potted plants watered! They will be in shock after being dug up, which stresses the plants. Don’t add to the problem by forgetting to water them.

Try to hold over the potted plants in the same light conditions as they were originally growing in.

Protect the plants from the drying effects of the wind

A Weed By Any Other Name…. Is A Flower

Bert — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:27:06 +0000

When is a weed, not a weed? When it’s pretty and you like it!

A number of years ago, I allowed a mullein to flourish in the herb garden. A visitor remarked on the then five foot high weed that was just coming into flower and suggested I hand him a shovel so he could dig it out for me. When I refused his offer and told him why the mullein was allowed to remain in the garden, he couldn’t have looked more incredulous than if I suggested he cut his right hand off.

Last year we allowed a giant thistle to grow at the back of one of our gardens (homage to Trevor’s Scottish roots). A visitor teased us about being too wimpy to remove it and suggested we try a chemical herbicide. Us!? Wimpy? Chemicals?! When I explained the significance of the thistle, he still didn’t get it, just shook his head in wonderment. Think I heard him mumble something about “Hippies”.

The lawn of our shade garden has one spot that we don’t mow. In that spot grows my absolute favourite flower ever – the Oxeye Daisy. I’ve tried growing it from seed and planting it in a garden, but without success. So I content myself with this one little plant that sprung up in the lawn. Every year we leave that area untouched until the plant has died off.

The foundation of our house has dozens of harebells growing around it. Harebells are yet another plant considered by most to be a weed. I say, how can anything so pretty be a weed? Yes they are invasive, yes they require a lot of thinning to keep them under control, but harebells are so worth it!

Violets of all colours cover our lawns each spring. Do we dig them out? No! Because they are pretty, and we like them. And, we have come to look forward to their presence every May.

Creeping Jenny covers the ditch that runs beside our property. It is another “weed” that is not disturbed because its little yellow flowers are a delight to the eyes.

Black Eyed Susans run rampant on our property. Because they are so sweet and cheerful, a good many of them are allowed to stay, but not all. I fear they would take over the whole place if we didn’t keep them in check.

Virginia Creeper is another weed we grow on purpose. The brilliant red of the leaves in autumn is breath taking and adds some much needed colour as the trees and flowers begin to fade.

Wild grape is allowed to flourish on the twig arbour beside the herb garden. The leaves make a wonderfully dappled shade canopy to sit under when taking a break from working in the garden. The birds love the tiny grapes produced, so that’s another reason to keep it. And the vines are harvested every year to use to decorate the house for autumn and Christmas displays.

So, if you see a weed, and you think it is pretty, why not leave it to grow, flower and flourish? Think of it as added a bit of wildflower gardening to your plot of land.

Human Nature

Bert — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:28:00 +0000

What is it about human nature that always makes us want what we don’t have? This particular “flaw” is most noticeable in gardeners. For some reason, we are seldom satisfied with growing conditions we are handed. Take for instance a friend of mine, whom I will refer to as Julie (because that’s her name). Julie has a property that is bathed in shade all summer. There are one or two pockets of sun visible through the trees, but over the years, these bright spots have diminished in size considerably as the trees shading her property have grown. To me, that would be heaven, but to Julie, it is frustrating. While she loves hostas and has accumulated quite a varied collection, Julie longs for colourful, sun loving plants. Often I have heard her lament over the limitations forced on her by the shade trees. She could remove a tree or two, but, that would constitute first degree murder for us tree huggers (that includes Julie). Or, she could embrace shade gardening and regale in the unique interest shade plants can provide, while thumbing her nose at shade deprived gardeners that long for the plants she grows so well. Julie’s gardens do contain many beautiful shade plants, but I get the sense that they are in her gardens not because she likes them, but because they are the only things that will grow in her yard.

Another friend also has a large property that is well shaded. She has defied the shade and planted roses, herbs, veggies and perennials that are sun lovers anyway. Due mostly to her care and diligence, the sun lovers in her gardens look spectacular growing in the shade to part shade on her plot of land. One reason her gardens are successful is her willingness to limb up and thin out the canopies of some of the larger trees that cast shade throughout the gardens.

At the opposite end of the light scale, is a property I struggled with many years ago. It was in full sun all day, not a hint of shade to be found except for two young black walnuts growing along the north fenceline. Yes, I planted shade trees in a futile attempt to cool the yard. Even after ten years, they weren’t big enough to be of much help. So, I planted herbs, perennials and annuals that loved the sun. They were beautiful, and interesting, and fun to work with, but I always longed for ferns and woodland plants.

Our current property has a wonderful balance between sun and shade, but am I happy with it? I would be if all the soil here was not pure clay, if the trees were in different spots, if the winters were warmer, if I had the space to make the shade garden on the north side of the house wider, if there were more evergreens (we’re working on that), if it weren’t so windy (we’re working on that too), if the property was larger (not working on that). If, if, if.

One thing the three of us have in common is the desire to grow plants not hardy in our area. Every year we push the gardening envelope and attempt to overwinter plants that have no business growing in South Western Ontario. Scented geraniums, cardamom, tropical water plants, rosemary, lemon grass, verbena all make their way into our homes in September. Despite our efforts, they are usually on the compost pile by January. With one or two exceptions. My gunnera didn’t last two weeks indoors. Julie has been overwintering cardamom for ten years. All three of us have struggled at one time or another with rosemary and, lost or won depending on the winter.

We keep trying. We keep on yearning for what we don’t have, what we can’t have, instead of appreciating what we do have. But that’s human nature for you.

SHADY BUSINESS

Bert — Sun, 27 May 2007 10:33:00 +0000

My very first dedicated shade garden did not come into being until we moved into this home. I have had shade plants before, jotted about to add interest to darker corners of the yard, but never have I had an entire garden devoted to shade plants until recently. The garden came about when attempting to add some privacy in the back garden.

We weren’t living here very long when we discovered that people driving or walking past could, and did, stare down the open patch of land on the north side of our house to watch what we were doing in the back garden. I am afraid we were very boring entertainment for them, but they still checked every time they went by. Trevor made a twig gate which we hung between two (twig) posts. That was flanked by yews rescued from a garden renovation job. The view from the street was slightly obscured, but not enough to offer any real privacy.

The following year, we put up a six foot high solid board fence, with a gate and an arbour on the street end of the house. Privacy at last! But now we had a patch grass looking rather like a bowling alley, tucked between the two gates. Not for long though! With my trusty little spade in hand, I began removing the sod along the foundation of the house. Eventually, I managed to remove thirty feet of sod to make a snaking bed three to four feet wide. After turning the soil with a garden fork, then leveling it with a sturdy rake, the planting began.

This shade garden, this little oasis of cool tranquility on a hot summer’s day was also going to be my space, my secret garden. This was going to be a place to get away from the sun, away from vibrant colours, a place to meditate and contemplate life.

To my eyes, nothing is more refreshing or soothing than seeing green and white together. With that in mind, most of the plants were chosen for their mainly for their foliage. Flowers were a secondary consideration, as long as they were mostly white. What did I end up planting? Ferns of all shapes, sizes, textures and colours. Next I put in hostas, but only varieties that were dark green (not blue), or variegated with a clear white or cream and no hint of yellow or light green. A ligularia, transplanted from the perennial garden, decided it loved its new home and showed its thanks by growing larger than ever. The deep purple undersides of the rounded leaves, and towering flower stalks add immeasurable visual interest and a bit of subtle colour, It compliments the Japanese painted fern planted nearby beautifully. For a touch of blue and purple, aquelgia were added, but only three of them. I added some herb Robert for a tiny hint of pink, and so far, it has been well behaved. Tradescantia, ginger and jack-in-the-pulpit completed the plantings.

What I have neglected to mention is the cistern that sits right in the middle of the flower bed. What could have been an eyesore, was transformed into an important feature of the garden by stacking rocks on top of it. The rocks were topped with a small bird bath and a couple of garden ornaments tucked amongst the rocks. So the rock pile would not seem out of place, larger rocks were placed throughout the garden to tie it all together.

There were two other problems to deal with. One is the gas meter, the other is an opening to the crawl space under the house. That has phone lines, gas lines and power lines going through it. The crawl space problem was solved by neighbours who were throwing out an old wooden door. I am sure they thought I’d lost my mind when I offered to take it off their hands. The door is pretty broken up, but interesting to look at, so it was placed in front of the crawl space opening. The gas meter I couldn’t hide – it’s the law – instead I drew attention away from it by planting taller, bushy plants on either side of the meter, and a lower, bushy plant in front of it. Now the dials on the meter are easily read, but the meter itself fades into the background.

After an Adirondack chair was placed to best view the garden, my attention was drawn to the solid wall of wood that is the board fence and gate. Four wire wall baskets, two staggered on either side of the gate and filled with yellow tuberous begonia, burgundy impatiens and white and blue lobelia fixed that boring view.

I am still adding to the secret shade garden, but overall I am very pleased with it. As my tastes change I will remove elements or add them, but the structure of the garden will remain. As will the purpose of it – an escape from the summer sun and the stresses of daily life.