Ten Minute Gardening

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.