Is there a part of your garden that’s shaded most of the day and you don’t know what to grow there? While the rest of your space is blooming with flowers and greens under the sun, you are worried that whatever you plant there won’t grow. Worry not. While all the plants need sun to thrive and grow, there are a number of plants which actually prefer shade and excess sun might be a problem for them.
Let’s look at a few tips that can come handy to grow plants in that shaded patch.
1.) For a shaded area, it’s always better to grow the vegetables or any other plants that prefer shade rather than choosing the crops that will struggle in shade, like leafy and root vegetables.
2.) There can be different types of shades when it comes to gardening.
A fully shaded garden: There is no sun or is completely blocked from direct sunlight and very little indirect sunlight if at all. (Not a good place to grow).
A lightly shaded garden: Which get only two or less hours of sun but is airy and gets a bit of indirect sunlight. (Good for leafy and root vegetables).
Partially shaded: You get three to six hours of sun. A partially shaded garden either gets direct sun in the morning or evening. This type of shade works for most of the plants.
3.) Plants that grow in shade are slow to grow and mature. So, it is a good idea to start the plant indoors for faster germination in ideal conditions and temperature and later you can transfer it to its permanent location in shade.
4.) Container Gardening comes handy in such situations. You can always move those plants to the sunny spot for a couple of hours to help them grow and thrive.
5.) Since low or light shade plants grow slow, they don’t need as much water as well. So, don’t try to nudge them to grow by watering them frequently. Only water when and if needed. Adding mulch can help in retaining moisture and keep the weeds away as well.
6.) The vegetables that can grow in lightly shaded areas are Spinach, Celery, Potatoes, Arugula, Carrots, Brussels Sprouts, Swiss Chard, Beets, Cauliflower, Chard, Garlic, Kale, Endive, Parsnips, Leeks, Bush Beans, Basil, Chives, Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Asparagus and this list goes on.
With this list of vegetables to grow who would be worried about no sun?
That’s not it. If you are not interested in growing edible garden, there are tons of flowers that grow beautifully in light shades.
Coral Bells or Heuchera grow well in shade and easy to care to for and a low maintenance.
Also, the butterfly loving Astilbe is a beautiful and colorful shade loving plant.
If you don’t want a flowering plant and just some green then Hakonechloa or Japanese Forest Grass is a good option as it thrives in shade. It grows like a big ball of bushy grass with varied color from lime green to red or purple depending on the variety as well the season.
7.) Last but not the least, one of the most important factors for plants to thrive in. Soil. Due to lack of sun, the nutrition in the soil depletes as well. So, you have to be consistent in keeping an eye on the soil nutrition and adding it regularly.
