Planting the Shade of a Building
/Buildings can often cause shade in gardens which can be damp, dark and uninspiring but by selecting the correct plants we can bring colour and life back into these areas. Although shade does changes our palette of plants there is a huge range of plants that prefer little to no direct sunlight.
This garden had an area close to the kitchen door that was north facing which made it damp and shady. We improved the access to the house and chose plants which thrive in these conditions such as Hosta and Astilbe. Although this garden had huge changes to the structure of the garden the same theory apply to smaller areas. These plants have originally evolved for the edges of streams running through woodlands. They often have big leaves to capture as much light as possible. Pops of colour are provided by Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’. Hellebores and Thalictrum are also plants that prefer these conditions. There are a colouple of before pictures at the end for reference.
Photo credit: jrb.designstudio