GARDENING IN EXTREME HEAT
If you’re hot, so are your plants
Now that we are in the heat of our growing season, many of us head for the shade. If this is you and you happen to notice that the shady parts of your garden are a little thin on plant population, I am here to help.
People often say to me, “I can’t garden because my whole yard is in the shade.” My response is, “Aren’t you lucky! What an opportunity to do something interesting with your garden.” There is thin shade, like on the north side of your house or under a birch tree and then there is the dense sort of shade that you find on the forest floor. Different situations for different plants.
My list of great shade-loving plants below is split into two: one for dappled or thin shade and another for growing under your mature Norway maple. Just to confuse you, applying the appropriate amount of water in a shady garden can mean pulling back and minimizing the amount on the north side of your house where evaporation is slower than it is in the sun. Or, it can mean applying more water more frequently in the root zone of mature trees (especially when establishing the young roots of new plants). This is essential to your success as a shade gardener, especially under mature trees where tree roots compete with smaller plants at their feet for water. When I plant in a densely shaded area, I spread 12 to 15 centimetres of new triple mix or other quality garden soil on the existing ground, being careful not to mound soil up the trunk of existing trees. Instead, slope the soil down to the ‘root flare’ where the root flares out from the main trunk of the tree. Thin/dappled shade: Hosta: provides loads of colour and texture by way of their leaves but they also have great flowers that attract hummingbirds. Astilbe: great in part shade but do not let them dehydrate as they are not good after re-hydrating. Beautiful spikes of brilliant colours. Suitable for cutting. Coral Bells: outstanding for their early summer colour, flowers that you can cut and bring indoors and foliage that attracts attention wherever it goes. Matures to about 20 to 50 cm depending on variety. And there are many varieties! Dense shade: Japanese spurge (pachysandra): this is a great looking ground cover that is evergreen. Strong: even my dog couldn’t kill it. Plant densely, about 12 cm apart for the ‘ground cover’ look. Grows to about 15 cm high with a creamy white flower in late May or June. Lily of the Valley (convallaria): indestructible, self propagating and great looking where almost nothing else will grow. Great ground cover with sweetly fragrant spring flowers. Also ‘dog proof’.
Native woodland plants: Trilliums, Canadian ginger (asarum), sweet woodruff (gallium), Jack in the Pulpit, and Marsh marigold are all native woodland plants. They all look great early in the spring and some continue to show foliage throughout the summer. When looking for great ideas for plant selection, it is always good to look at what Mother Nature is doing, in this case on the forest floor. Keep in mind that these plants are available as nursery grown plants from reliable plant retailers. Do not take plants from the wild. Ever.
And finally, there are a handful of trees that grow in dappled shade. Look for native sugar maple, Canadian hemlock and Downy Serviceberry. Yews (taxus), boxwood and Canadian Holly (mahonia) are not native but quite tolerant of little sun.