What colors is shade planting suitable for?

Many people who have summer cottages are interested in the question - what flowers to plant in the shade. In any area there are low-light places where sunlight almost does not penetrate. In the shady places of the garden, it is so nice to take a break from the annoying sun, surrounded by beautiful flower beds. As a rule, gardeners consider such corners unsuitable for planting. But it turns out that it is quite appropriate to plant various flowers in shaded areas. Shade-loving cultures are outwardly different from light-loving ones and prefer certain growth conditions.

Choosing a landing site

Before planting plants, you need to take a close look at your garden. It is necessary to estimate the amount of shade in the place where you are going to organize the flower garden. There are several factors that affect its formation and the conditions for plant development.

1. The presence of trees. Many shade-loving crops like to grow under trees or next to shrubs.
2. The quality of the land. Some flowers are very finicky and prefer fertile soil. If necessary, the substrate can be added to the soil.
3. Humidity. There are shade-loving plants that prefer moisture, and there are those that will survive in any environment.
4. Groundwater availability. If the site is flooded, it is important that crops grow on it that can withstand a large flow of water.
5. The amount and degree of shading. There are plants that like to grow in a strong shady zone, and there are those that love partial shade.

Shade-loving and shade-tolerant plants

Plants suitable for shade zones can be divided into shade-loving and shade-tolerant. Shade-loving ornamental plants cannot stand the scorching sun and do not like open areas. In such conditions, they will not be able to develop and will die very quickly. These include lily of the valley, ever-flowering begonia, clefthoof. Shade-tolerant ones are called so because they can grow both under the sun and in the shade. These are irises, forget-me-nots, violets, badan, tenacious, Waller's balsam.

Now you need to decide which flowers to plant in the shade: annuals or perennials. Annual crops go through the entire development cycle in one growing season. Ephemeres develop very quickly, and winter crops emerge only by autumn. Usually annuals delight with their bright colors and various shades. Shade-tolerant annuals include daisies. If they grow in the sun, then they can be perennials. Bloom in late May - early June and bloom until late autumn. In the place where they grow, weeds are not allowed to break through. They are from 5 to 60 centimeters high.

Perennial plants grow for over 2 years. Their root system grows stronger and deeper underground than in annuals. They are known for their easy adaptation to the environment and climate. Lily is one of the most beautiful and fragrant perennials that love shade. It blooms in summer and will tolerate cold weather well if it is well protected from frost.

The microclimate formed in highly shady areas is very suitable for flowers that like to grow in conditions of high humidity and soil. This is geranium hellebore, volzhanka... This microclimate is favorable for hostas - plants with a great variety of colorful foliage of various shades. The hellebore is often planted in very shady places, even in dense thickets, it adapts perfectly. It is unpretentious and tolerates cold well. Its height is from 30 to 40 centimeters, has dense foliage and blooms gorgeous. Tenacious is one of the shade-tolerant perennial crops. She is often decorated with a platform for other flowers. It tolerates frost well and prefers moderate humidity.The height of a low-growing plant is from 10 to 40 centimeters.

The conditions of weakly shaded areas next to trees with openwork foliage prefer periwinkle, comfrey, broadleaf, spring primrose, mountain goat. These plants can grow in dry soil conditions. In partial shade, some medicinal herbs, such as lemon balm, peppermint, rhodiola rosea, tarragon. You can make a flower bed of different varieties of peony.

Conditions for growing flowers in the shade

Even if you grow ornamental crops that love shade and high humidity, you still need to create suitable conditions for their development. A chic flower garden cannot grow in viscous clay soil.

Advice

Sand and peat can be added to improve the composition of the clay soil. Fertile soil and humus are great for enriching sandy soil.

Shade-tolerant plants are distinguished by the decorativeness and richness of their foliage, they preserve its colorfulness for a very long time. If a multi-tiered shady flower bed is being formed, you need to ensure that its first rows are occupied by low-growing plants, and the latter by tall specimens. If the flower garden is formed next to the trees or in the central place of the shadow zone, then the tall species are placed in the center of the composition, and the lower ones are planted according to the degree of remoteness so that they do not block each other. Such a flower bed looks beautiful from different sides.

Advice

To fill the empty space of the flower bed, which is not planted with flowers, you can use potted plants, which are very convenient to transfer from place to place. This way, you can create different compositions every time.

Plants growing in the shade need moderate and infrequent watering. The optimal time for planting and transplanting them is May.

The most common plants that thrive in the shade are: milk-flowered bell, early lilies of the valley, snapdragons, hyacinths, violets, daffodils, tulips. Many gardeners deservedly love geraniums, which have many advantages. A flower bed with fuchsia blooms until the coldest days and refreshes any garden.

There are a lot of plants that can be planted in shady places. Everyone can choose the option they like best for themselves. Someone likes to see a lot of vegetation in their garden, while someone prefers flowers. Annual crops can be used to create different, unique flower gardens each year. And perennials will become a wonderful permanent decoration of a summer cottage.

The main thing is to make the right choice of flowers for planting in shady conditions. After all, not every culture can withstand the lack of lighting, so it is better to give preference to unpretentious ones. And then the flower bed will delight you with its fabulous appearance for a long time.