Shade: Bloom Gardener's Guide: 2

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If you think a dank, high-walled urban yard means you can’t have a garden, think again. Whether your whole garden, courtyard or balcony is cast in shade, or you just have a north-facing window box,Shadewill inspire you. Susanna Grant agrees “Ferns are always useful as there are so many different cultivars. Mixing different foliages and heights together gives a lovely, textured planting.” Nigel Slater’s wonderful London garden does this beautifully – layers of prehistoric plants languish in a cool courtyard creating a lost-in-time stillness that is entirely absent in the froth of a blousy cottage garden. Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Robbiae’ – classic woodland plant good for a lower storey planting – dark glossy leaves and acid green flowers. Asplenium scolopendrium – with leaves like glossy green tongues, this evergreen fern is a perfect companion to other ferns and lower storey planting offering vertical interest and form. Fatshedera ‘Angyo Star’ is a hybrid of Fatsia Japonica and English Ivy,' according to experts at the Southern Living Plant Collection. 'Gorgeous oversized green leaves are accented with creamy white, illuminating part shade to full shade areas. This climbing vine has the beauty of English Ivy without the need for you to worry about roots growing into the mortar or spreading aggressively.'

Also, for most gardens, even sun-drenched ones, the flowers don’t last forever. If you don’t have nice foliage, and you don’t have contrasting shapes of green, it’s just all going to look a bit dull. Hydrangea anomola subs. petiolaris – a shady courtyard’s best friend, this generous climber, although slow to get going, will romp along a shady wall or fence and produce generous mops of lacy white flowerheads in late spring and early summer. Shade by Susanna Grant is from theBloom Gardener’s Guideseries. Bloom is anaward-winning independent print magazinefor gardeners, plant admirers, nature lovers and outdoor adventurers. It won the Garden Publication of the Year at the Garden Media Guild Awards 2021. The na_sr cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.Grant's top three shrubs to style up your small space are chaenomeles speciosa 'Geisha Girl' (flowering quince); fatsia polycarpa 'Green Fingers' and viburnum x burkwoodii. Fatsia polycarpa ‘Fingers’ – alternative cultivar to the more recognisable Fatsia japonica, its slender palmate leaves have a lovely movement to them. Although most climbers aren’t suited to deep shade, many like their roots shaded, as they grow towards the sun and there’re some that are definitely suitable for north-facing walls. Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can open up a whole new world of plants to explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs.

Susanna says you should use the same mix of bulbs, shrubs, climbers, perennials, and edibles that you’d find in any garden—even small trees. For example, a couple of years ago, Susanna decided to add some small bare-root spindle trees ( Euonymus europaeus) to create a true forest garden. Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can open up a whole new world of plantsto explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs. Susanna is well-acquainted with gardening in deep shade in the city. Her own garden is located in East London, just off a busy main street. “I’m surrounded by sirens and street noise but also have bats, dragonflies, and loads of sparrows swooping about. It’s never quiet, but I can zone out the traffic by staring at hoverflies,” she says. The na_tc cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com. This handbook will tell you everything you need to know to make the most of shady garden spaces. Whether your whole garden, courtyard or balcony is cast in shade, or you simply have a window box on a shadowy sill, Shade will inspire you to transform the space with lush and interesting planting that looks good (and is beloved by wildlife) all year round.How many hours [of sun] and whether it’s full, full shade, or whether it’s just that you don’t get direct light but you’re not overcast, that sort of thing,” she explains. Interestingly, Grant says she thinks all gardening is trial and error, and what you often find is things can change shape in different settings. If you're planting them in the ground, make sure they're around 50cm away from any walls or fences, so they're not in a rain shadow and can receive rain. Shade by Susanna Grant, an excellent reference book One of the Bloom Gardener’s Guides comes up trumps! Shady plants deserve ambassadors like Susanna: someone who can view a dim corner as an opportunity rather than obstacle."