Flower Shade Gardening

Flower Shade Gardening offers a chance to use plants not seen in the sunnier gardens. There are so many flowers that grow and bloom into some of the most beautiful even though they are in shade. The pleasure of flower shade gardening can be just as easy as sun filled gardens with a little research and preparation.

Not every flower does well in a shaded area. Here are some things to consider:

• what is the best type of soil to use
• how much and how often to water your flowers
• plant food that needs to be used
• and some general planting tips for planting flowers in the shade.

In many gardens and yards, there may be trees, structures, or shrubs around the area that you wish to plant your garden. If this is the case you may find that there will be competition among the roots of the trees and the new flowers. Moisture and food that is needed for the survival of the garden will be at a premium and competition will be high.

Soil Considerations

You will need to take a look at the soil and possibly change it to suite shade plants. Most of your flowers will thrive in the shade in leaf litter that has fallen off of the trees and will provide some nutrients in the soil. Leaving the leaves on the ground however, will begin to mat the floor of your garden making it difficult for the flowers to pop up into the dappled sunlight.

Mulching the leaves with your lawn mower will allow decomposition to speed up. Once you have mulched the leaves, you can spread the mulch around between your flowers. You can even add them to your compost as well.

Adding some slow release fertilizer to your soil mixture will improve the health and well being of your plants. When your plants get the essential nutrients that are needed, your plants will be more disease resistant and less likely develop problems.

Watering

With the proper soil and mulch, watering will be easy to do and won't be such a chore in drier weather. Moisture will be held in place by the mulch along with the nutrients that the plants need. Test the soil for moisture content visually to see if there is any evidence of wilting plants. Also feel the soil, if it is dry, it will be in need of watering.

The only way to water is to make sure you do it thoroughly. Water must go down to the roots. Shallow watering will make the roots come to the surface to find water which isn't a good result, the roots should go down to find water, not stay on the surface. Without the sun evaporation will be minimal, but don't forget that the wind can dry out soil very quickly. Cloudy days that are windy are exactly the days that you should check on the water and moisture situation. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because the sun isn't out all day that the wind will not dry out your soil and plants. There are many flowers to choose from that would be great in a shade garden. Some may need to be planted in areas that have partial or dappled shade, while others will be fine in a much shadier space with little or no sun all day.

The different types of shaded areas can have a very big impact on the flowers that you plant. There is dry shade and moist or even wet shade. Be sure to decide what sort of shade you have in the area you are going to plant your flowers or shrubs.

Dry shade is usually where there are roots to contend with. Not a problem, just add your soil/compost mix about 6 to 8 inches deep with a border to hold everything in place.

Wet or moist soil requires plants that like that environment. Some plants simply don't like too much moisture, or having their roots saturated all the time.

With proper preparation and research on flower shade gardening, your yard will bloom into an absolutely beautiful and relaxing place to be proud of.

Flowers for shade gardening

Flower Shade Gardening Books

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