Shade

Susanna Grant

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780711269576
• Topic: Biowissenschaften
• Subtopic: Gartenbau

"Shady plants deserve ambassadors like Susanna: someone who can view a dim corner as an opportunity rather than obstacle."
–– Matt Collins, Head Gardener at the Garden Museum Work with the light, grow plants and flowers, bring dark corners to life. This handbook will tell you everything you need to know to make the most of shady garden spaces. Whether your whole garden, courtyard or balcony is cast in shade, or you simply have a window box on a shadowy sill, Shade will inspire you to transform the space with lush and interesting planting that looks good (and is beloved by wildlife) all year round. Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can open up a whole new world of plants to explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs. Shade includes top tips on tackling all sorts of shady areas, a directory of plants to dip into and pro advice on achieving year-round colour and structure. It's time to bring those dark corners to life! This title is from the Bloom Gardener's Guide series, complete and comprehensive gardening handbooks. Bloom is an award-winning independent print magazine for gardeners, plant admirers, nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, and winner of the Garden Publication of the Year at the Garden Media Awards 2021. Other titles in this series include Cut Flowers and Pots.

03

Grow
Discover just the right plants for just the right place

I’ve compiled a selection of plants that I really like, that work well in varying shade conditions and that suit smaller spaces — it is not meant to be a comprehensive list but should help to get you started. The plants are divided into different categories — bulbs, perennials, ground cover and so on — but many plants fit into a number of categories and there’s no right or wrong way to use them.

Autumn through to early winter (before the first frosts) is the best time to plant most herbaceous plants; they will have finished flowering and can use their energy to put down good roots and establish themselves before it gets cold. In an ideal world we would all grow from seed, use plug plants or young plants in 9cm pots: it’s more sustainable, cost-effective and makes it easier for plants to establish well in their new environments. But we don’t all have access to greenhouses and often a plant in a two-litre pot is all that’s available.

Some of the plants listed are harder to find than others but there are plenty of really good specialist nurseries, many of which sell online — I’ve listed a few of my favourites here.

KEY

	Part shade
	Full shade
	Damp shade
	Dry shade
	Suitable for pots or planters
	Evergreen
	Flowering
	Height

Bulbs

Planting bulbs is perhaps the simplest way to garden and is the epitome of forward thinking, faith and hope: small packages pushed into the soil and then left alone, programmed to appear magically in early spring just when we need them mos...