Let there be light, or not, in the garden
One of the most confusing things for me as a new gardener were the descriptions of light exposure needed by different plants. I hope this article sheds a little light on the subject.
I was most helped by Steve Huddleston and Pamela Crawford, authors of the excellent “Easy Gardens for North Central Texas.” Following is a summary from two great minds regarding the gradations of shade in an area. I also got my recommendations for dense shade plants here.
Light Shade. Think morning sun and afternoon shade. Look up through the canopy of surrounding trees. You should see about 20-30% leaves and lots of sky. Many plants will grow here.
Medium Shade. Again, looking up, about 50% leaf cover and 50% sky is what you should see, with the ground supporting shade plants.
Dense Shade. Less than 30% of the sky is visible and very few plants will thrive in this setting.
To complicate matters, many plants that are labelled for full sun will benefit from some shade beginning mid-afternoon here with our broiling summers. Then there is the label “partial sun,” defined as less than six and more than four hours of sun per day. It is worth noting that those hours should come earlier rather than later during the day. Ditto, “partial shade,” which is less than four hours but more than one and one-half hours of sun.
A western exposure with full, merciless sunlight needs rugged specimens. Don’t let the gorgeous orchid-like flowers or airy look of the 15-20-foot-tall Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis, fool you. It is as tough as nails, able to live on just rainfall once established.
Texas Sage, with its felt-like gray to green leaves and sporadic covering of lovely purple flowers, is a great evergreen shrub for just such a spot. Quite a few ornamental grasses, like Lindheimer muhly, Muhlenbergia lindheimeri and Mexican Feather Grass, Nasella tenuissima, will add grace and movement. Hardy cacti and succulents would love to sunbathe in the sun.
A handsome pot with a striking blue-leaved agave is an instant focal point. Pair it with the seemingly delicate, magenta-flowered native trailing Wine Cup wildflower, Callirhoe involucrata, for extra pizzazz.
For more ideas for plant choices in these, and all, locations, call the Big Country Master Gardener Association’s hotline at the Taylor County extension office, 325-672-6048. You can also email us at mgardeners@yahoo.com. We would love to help.
If the western exposure happens to be one of the sides of your house, consider planting one or more well-adapted or native deciduous shade trees to cool the house and save money on utility bills. Nursery professionals, arborists, county extension agents, and master gardeners can all help you find the perfect selection.
At the other end of the spectrum, dense shade is also a challenge. One of the most often asked questions we get as master gardeners is what kind of turfgrass will grow in the dense shade of trees. The answer is that none of them will, but there are some alternatives:
● Aucuba japonica is a handsome four-to-eightfoot evergreen shrub. The most commonly used ones are variegated, which brightens up the shade, but the solid-colored ones are a deep, glossy green. Be aware,
this one burns if any sunlight hits its leaves, even in winter.
● For a grassy look, both liriope and mondo grass are attractive choices. They are evergreen and only need a single haircut in late winter or very early spring to refresh them.
● Holly fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, is evergreen most years and a beautiful glossy green color. It grows to about two feet tall.
● Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum, is a daintier silver and burgundy selection that grows only
around one to one and one-half feet tall. In colder winters it might die back to the ground but reemerges in spring.
● English ivy, Hedera helix, can cover a lot of ground quickly. It can, unfortunately, trespass where it is not wanted, so keep that in mind.
Don’t forget that there is still time to sign up for this year’s training classes, the first step to becoming a Texas Master Gardener. And keep an eye out for information for our annual BCMGA spring plant sale.
Until next time, happy gardening!