Gardening in Shady Spots

There’s no reason for shady areas of your garden to look dark and bare. Many plants grow well in shady spots – even those which receive no direct sunlight at all.

Here’s your guide to what to plant where :

Full or deep shade receives no direct sunlight at all. The choice of plants for these areas depends on whether the soil is wet or dry. Moist shady areas are a good spot for hen and chickens, maiden hair fern, elephant’s ear and many plectranthus species. Dry shady areas provide a good home for periwinkle (vinca major), fairy crassula (aptly known as the skaduplakkie in Afrikans), Canarian Ivy, the indigenous paint brush plant (haemanthus albiflos) and clivia miniata, which occur naturally in the shade of tall trees in our local forests.

Dappled shade occurs when sunlight filters through the trees above in a dappled or lacy pattern. Many plants thrive in these conditions, including azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, philodendrons and spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils, freesias and lachenalia. You can also grow primulas, violas, pansies, impatiens, begonias and lobelias very successfully in these conditions.

Semi-shade refers to areas which only receive direct sunlight for a portion of the day (or example, morning or afternoon sun). It’s important to feed and mulch these areas well to help keep the roots of the plants cool. Good choices for areas which receive morning sunlight include Duranta “Sheena’s Gold”, star jasmine and sacred bamboo (nandina domestica).