Springtime in the shade

It would be fair to say that shade can be short on fans in the gardening community.

But if you struggle to find things to grow in your shady spots, springtime is your best chance of success.

The terms “full shade”, “part shade”, and “full sun” frequently appear on plant descriptions, with gardeners left to make their best guesses as to what they mean.

In short, full sun means at least six hours of direct sunlight in the middle of the day. Full shade means less than four hours at any time. And part shade covers everything in between.

Even then, not all shade is equal. Is the sunlight being blocked by a brick wall, or by some trees?

Because the good news is if it’s not a solid object then some light will still be getting though, particularly in spring before the trees have come in to leaf.

For full shade, ferns and other leafy plants are most likely to succeed.

But in partial and dappled shade you can open up to lots of pretty flowers.

Most are low growing - plants need light to grow so they can only manage so much in the shade! Happily most are bee-friendly and many evergreen, meaning they keep their leaves year round.

Lamium, Pulmonaria and Brunnera can give you the added attraction of silvery leaves to set off their delicate little blooms, depending on variety, and look best when grown en masse to make the most of their carpeting habits.

Bear in mind that soil under trees is likely to be dry so make sure you choose plants that can cope with these conditions.

Help things along with the addition of mulches, manures and composts to improve moisture retention and fertility.

For more inspiration, Katie’s Garden has a polytunnel dedicated to plants for shade.

See lists of plants for shade and dry shade at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/advice