Shade Gardening

By Mike Mathews

For most people living in the city, Shade gardening is the reality that they have to deal with every day. For the most part, the formal English and full sun gardens are out of the question. Small back yards with high fences to for privacy, large trees, tall building, and our penchant for large houses all have contributed to a shady urban garden landscape. It is highly probable that you have, at the least, one shady spot in your garden that is in need of help. Below is a list of the types of shade gardens and the plants best suited to them for colour and maintenance.

Deep Shade

Deep shade gardens are areas without much or any light, direct or indirect. These naturally occur under large densely leaved trees and tree groupings, deciduous or coniferous. One way around this problem area would be to thin out the trees, prune the canopy, or in the case of the conifer prune up from the ground several feet, exposing the ground to indirect light. Other areas of deep shade occur beside high fences and wall, practically those facing north.

Plants that can do well in this type of deep shade would be mostly woodland plants, especially those from your zone and area.

Here is a list of deep shade plants:

Aucuba (spotted laurel) Shrub

Cornus (dogwood) shrub

Euonymus (pindle) shrub

Lamium (dead nettle) plant

Milium (millet) grass

Rosa (rose) climber

Schizphrgma climber

Lonicera (honeysuckle) climber

Hydrangea

Dappled Shade

These gardens are generally under loose foliage trees or woody areas. The light received in these garden areas is a mixture of spotted light and shade that tends to stay the same during the day. There are many plants that thrive in this type of setting, mostly woodland varieties, but you may be able to plant some sunloving plants that are able to adapt to lower light conditions.

Here is a list of dappled sunlight plants:

Windflower (Anemone nemorosa)

Primrose (Primula)vulgaris)

Blue bells (Endymion non-scriptus)

Daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarsissus)

Wild Foxglove (Digitalis purpruea)

Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica)

Azaleas

Rhododendron

Lily (Lilium)

Solomon’s seal (Polygonamatum) Trilliums

Partial Shade

Partial shade is an ambiguous term used for areas that get some direct sunlight during the day and indirect for the rest. Most sun loving plants will adapt to this type of setting as will dappled shade plants.

With a little forethought and planning, you can beat the shade and have a great garden in these problem areas of your yard.

About the Author - Mike Mathews is a contributing writer and editor for the popular dog breed site: http://www.dog-breed-facts.com . He provides informative, real-world advice and tips on dog breeds, dog health , dog grooming and more. As well be sure to check out his free report on Dog Training.

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Wildlife Gardener

By Cheryl White

Gardening for wildlife has become quite a passion for me, although I only have a small urban garden I have still managed to fit a fair amount of bird and insect friendly flowers and plants in.

Since reading an article about the decline in popular species of birds such as sparrows, blackbirds and thrushes I decided to do my bit to help my local bird population by purchasing two seed feeders, a nut feeder, a bird table and a small bird bath I was ready and waiting for my new feathered visitors, which up to that point was few and far between.

After a couple of weeks of patiently waiting and watching I was beginning to loose hope, only the odd sparrow turned up every other day, though still I waited. After the fourth week success, it seemed that word had spread and dozens of sparrows flocked to my garden, amongst them birds that I had never seen in my garden such as Blue Tits, Great Tits and Green Finches.

I have found Blackbirds are a lot more common now, along with two grey squirrels which constantly argue over the feeders!

The success inspired my enthusiasm and I browsed on the internet to find some plants and shrubs that I could use in my garden which would be beneficial to wildlife with a little help I started to redesign my garden.

As I only have a small space trees and large shrubs were out of the question, though there seemed plenty of information to help choose the right plant for the right position, which believe me being a complete amateur gardener I needed all the help I could get!

I chose a Conester which is great for attracting butterflies and bees in the summer and supply red berries for the birds in autumn and early winter, Globe thistles which attract Blue Tits and finches when the turn to seed, several sorts of Cranesbill, Tickseed, Rudbeckia and Golden Marguerite which are also good for attracting a variety of insects, Clematis and honeysuckle which provide shelter and nesting sites once matured.

Over the last couple of years I have really begun to enjoy gardening, being able to watch all my efforts come to life and benefit the birds in a small way, which if more and more people put wildlife friendly plants, a birdfeeder or two and perhaps a pond if room permits then this would help to make up for some of their decline and help rebuild their numbers.

Even if you have no garden you could hang a bird feeder on the balcony or attach a feeder to a window, you can always make room for at least one!

Make a difference to your local feathered friends: you can get a lot pleasure watching all types of birds without even leaving your home.

Cheryl White is the author and Owner of http://www.money-4-work.com and http://www.work-n-earn.com Business opportunity websites,

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