Shade Gardens

We have three shade gardens, located on the the corners of the building under the hemlock trees. The northeast shade garden is the most challenging section of our garden. The soil here is very dry and filled with tree roots. Epimediums seem to be the most tolerant of these conditions. The northeast shade garden used to be much larger. In 2007, two large trees died and had to be cut down, exposing most of the garden to full sun. That fall, we moved most of the plants to the southeast shade garden.

The southeast shade garden was originally planted in 1995 and has been revamped several times since. The border by the flagpole was extended towards the road and is now mostly sunny.

The shade garden on the southwest corner of our building was planted in the spring of 2008. Most of these plants were donations from the former Gifford garden at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. We were able to dig large clumps of perennials so many plants are already quite large.

Most of the shade garden  plants bloom in the spring. To add visual interest the rest of the season, we used plants with colorful foliage and interesting textures. Annuals like coleus, Alternanthera 'Party Time' and Browallia "Endless Illumination" provide pops of color until frost.

You may notice plant labels next to an empty spot in the garden. These are placemarkers for "ephemerals"- plants that appear in spring, then go dormant during the summer months.