Shade gardening perfect solution for some landscapes

As our landscapes mature, we often end up with more shade than we started with. This can make having an attractive lawn and garden challenging.

I have had many conversations with homeowners about the decline of their grass due to too much shade. Often one has to choose between a lush lawn or the trees. Zoysia and St. Augustine grass can tolerate lower light levels than Bermuda or centipede, but even they need around a minimum of five hours of direct light during the day. If your yard has too much shade for grass, consider planting shade tolerant ornamentals beds.

Shade gardens can be just as beautiful as their full sun counterparts. I enjoy shade gardens, especially during the hot summer months. An area is considered shady if it receives three hours or less of light. A partial shady area receives four to six hours of sun.

This is important to know when selecting plants. Plant tags will specify if the plant grows best in sun, shade or partial shade. Moisture can be an issue in a shade garden because the plants have to compete with the trees for water. Because of this, it is important to provide a sufficient amount of water for your shade ornamentals, especially during drought conditions.

On the other hand, shade gardens can also stay too moist due to poorly drained soils. In these situations the soil should be tilled and amended before planting.

Many shade-loving plants are slow growers, and many have few to no flowers. Some shade-tolerant flowering ornamentals are azaleas, dogwoods, redbuds, camellias, hydrangeas and begonias. Even those that don’t bloom can offer a variety of colors and textures in their foliage. Hostas, coleus, Mondo grass, caladiums and ferns also grow well in the shaded areas. Some native plants that do well in the shade are beautyberry, maypop, spiderwort, native ferns, bloodroot and trillium.

If you have a shaded yard, there are still many possibilities. Thoughtful planning and plant selection can provide you with a lovely garden throughout the year.

This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Shade gardening perfect solution for some landscapes."