The incalculable value of shade

TALL AND STATELY: My cutting of Solomon Seal has made steady growth this season. Over time it will form a much larger clump and provide easy-care and useful ground cover.

LEAFY AND LARGE: This blue-grey hosta demands shade and thrives under trees. Some hostas tolerate sun but this variety burns and discolours when planted in the wrong position. Its leaves are large, leathery and dramatic.

SHADY CORNER: Sometimes deep shade is created by the way a house is positioned. this shady nook has proved ideal for growing potted hostas, grasses and small rhododendrons. The ligularia in the foreground is planted in gravel.

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There is nothing like hot weather to focus the gardener's mind on the value of shade.

Here inland the late summer-early autumn cusp has been extremely hot.

Occasional timely rain has kept pasture green in most places but, as someone who merely observes the machinations of farming from a distance, it is very difficult to gauge just how much feed there is in those green paddocks.

Dry weather can be useful if your water supply, like ours, is unrestricted.

Good growth can be achieved if you are prepared to deep-water shrubs and young trees twice-weekly. It can be a tedious and demanding regime but the results are rewarding.

This summer we have focused on the skeleton of the garden: those plantings that will eventually provide permanent structure no matter what the season. I sometimes wish I was more vigilant about documenting growth; it would give me heart when I feel the effort of watering is barely visible.

Ridiculous, I know, but all gardeners will understand the sentiment.

Aside from our own efforts in the past few years, garden shade is mainly provided by trees planted long ago by someone with foresight and an unselfish attitude.

Like so many of the trees that we all enjoy, they were planted by those who knew they would never see them mature in their own lifetime.

Apart from the structure that trees provide, the shade they offer to both humans and plants is a major attribute.

Shade can have a downside in a cold climate. Conifers, especially, tend to "hold" the frost and snow, but they also provide shelter from winter winds.

On the other hand, deciduous trees allow sun to penetrate during the months when sunlight is at a premium.

Many plants are suited to shady environments; in fact, some demand it if they are going to thrive. Knowing what to plant under trees is the key to extending the garden and adding interest to areas that would otherwise be bereft of texture and height.

Woodland rhododendrons love filtered light and the acid soil in which they thrive is enhanced by leaf-fall in autumn.

By and large they are an undemanding shrub and regular fertilising makes for steady growth.

Their exotic blooms are a wondrous sight in spring; with careful selection you can have a continuum of colour from late winter through to early summer.

Solomon Seal (polygonatum) is an arching perennial that produces white bells in spring.

It is one of my favourite shade-lovers but, because seeds take about two years to germinate and produce seedlings, I prefer to grow it from rhizomes. It thrives under trees or in a woodland setting and is a perennial of two distinct parts.

The green spring and summer foliage is lush and tall but in autumn it turns a brilliant shade of yellow. No cutting back required; it simply dies down until spring, when asparagus-like spears emerge, quickly growing into upright stems.

It survives dry conditions and is a wonderful companion for hellebores, hostas and some shade-loving ligularias.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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