Tips for creating a shade garden oasis
When Joyce Hannaford and her husband, Charlie, moved into their Massachusetts home 23 years ago, there wasn’t much there — Joyce felt like they were living in a fishbowl on their corner lot. So they added a privacy fence and planted lots of trees around the yard. It took some time, but now they have a sheltered place just outside their back door to eat dinner with friends or just relax alone.
Joyce has two brick patios connected by stone steps. The organic shape and color of the stone repeats the color and texture of the nearby raised beds and adds variety to all the bricks. Joyce calls the small patio with blue chairs the cocktail patio and the larger one the dining patio. Both are surrounded by lush shade-tolerant plantings.
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Manage trees
After 18 years, the roots of the multistemmed river birch next to the patio were pushing up the stone edging and the patio bricks. Plus the canopy had filled in and changed the area from dappled to dense shade. Joyce tried making adjustments to the border and carefully working around the main roots, but it just got too difficult to grow anything. So, reluctantly, she had it removed.
Adjusting to changing light conditions
The first year, the hakonechloa, ferns, hostas and other shade plants developed crispy leaf edges and looked a little faded in the extra sunlight. But the next season they bounced back, and with a little more light, it was easier to grow impatiens and other flowering plants that do best with a bit of light from morning sun or dappled shade.
Shade creates privacy
With a fence along the property line, trees screening the view of other nearby neighbors and layers of shrubs and perennials to muffle any sounds, this shady patio has a cozy, intimate feel.
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Enjoy the advantages of shade gardening
Joyce has discovered one big plus to gardening in shade — it’s a lot easier to move plants. The sun isn’t harsh, and the temperature here is a bit cooler. So if a plant isn’t doing well in an area, she moves it in the morning, waters a bit more than the other plants, and it settles in quickly.
Add a water feature
This stone recirculating fountain sits next to the dining patio and is surrounded by a collection of texture-rich shade perennials. Adding a water feature to this part of the garden provides both a focal point for the dining area and a source of soothing sound. Flowing water makes sitting in shade even more relaxing and helps mask sounds from nearby neighbors.
Winter care for outdoor water features
In her USDA zone 6 garden, Joyce has to drain the basin and put a stone cap on top of the fountain to prevent snow and debris from collecting there. Most winters she tops it off with a container full of greenery and colorful stems to create an enjoyable view from inside her warm home.
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