Shady front garden woes!
Emma Bowker
8 years ago
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Tom Flanagan
8 years agoEmma Bowker
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Front garden question
Comments (6)http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/shade_loving_plants.htm Here's a selection of plants that like shade (I'm clueless on plants). I like your courtyard idea. Perhaps take elements from the picture attached? I'd paint the window and door a pale duck egg or french grey. Maybe try planting some wisteria to train across the garage. Hydrangeas I think grow well in shade and look great. Depending on budget either gravel or pave the area but add a number of different shaped beds to create interest. Circles work well in small gardens. I'd add a couple of wooden chairs and small table to the left of the window. I'd plant a small tree or large shrub in the middle of the gravel area as you need plants with different heights. I just can't find a small evergreen that likes shade though! One site said an olive but even I know they like the sun! A curved path is a great idea as it elongates the garden....See MoreWhat to do with front garden?
Comments (10)You can train Garrya elliptica as a wall shrub, ditto Rhamnus alaternus variegatus - they both perform really well in the shade and make a great backdrop for other plants. Osmanthus heterophyllus is one of my favourite shrubs for shade, as is Daphne odora variegata. For some early scent try Sarcococca and Viburnum bodnantense 'Charles Lamont'. For softening the edges there is nothing better in dry shade than Epimedium (loads of different varieties, but my favourite is Frohnleiten). Tellima grandiflora is another fantastic plant for dry shade. If it's not too shady you'll also get some of the herbaceous geraniums (Rozanne is a good long-flowering one) to survive. Other people have mentioned ferns, but they really like moisture, however, Dryopteris erythrosora and Polystichum setiferum will both take a bit of dry shade. Pulmonaria, Tiarella and Brunnera 'Jack Frost' also like to be in the shade and work very well as part of a naturalistic scheme. One of my favourite climbers for shade is Vitis coignetaie, it will grow in deep shade and gives fantastic autumn colour. You can also use Clematis armandii, but it can get a bit too vigorous....See MoreFront door needs help. Front garden too
Comments (4)Hi, are you in the UK? Just that I’ve never seen sand used in that way. With the path you could add small pea shingle around the paving slabs to tidy it up a bit. If that is your front garden on the left, then as Ellie suggests, planting will help. However, sand is not nutritious enough to grow plants in, unless you have the climate to grow cacti and succulents. What to grow depends on your location and whether the area is sunny or shady. A pot either side of the front door would look smart....See MoreFront garden house border
Comments (5)Depends whether it’s shady there, or sunny, or a bit of both. The cold snap this winter has killed some evergreens that had always coped before such as Star Jasmine and some Ceanothus, and my Choysia is very threadbare, poor thing! Looking at my own garden, the Ceanothus near to my house is doing well so it may do okay near your house as it looks a sheltered spot. They do prefer sun. Another shrub that is doing very well despite the cold snap is Photinia Red Robin. It’s quite big and the new leaf growth is a bright red, and it has creamy flowers in late spring. It copes with most aspects. Something that will look gorgeous is a climbing rose, but they’re not evergreen, but the leaves are on them for a good 9 months of the year and they will flower from June to the first frosts. Some roses can cope with a bit of shade. Here’s the Photinia showing red leaf tips and cream flowers, and a climbing rose....See MoreUser
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