Choosing the best plants for different types of shade areas | Garden Design | Gardening Australia

Tammy dives into the different types of shade found in a garden and shares her favourite plants to grow for each of these environments. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Don’t despair if you have lots of tricky, shady spots in your garden, there is always a perfect plant to bring life and colour into any spot!
How much shade is shade?
The amount of shade in one site can change throughout the year, even throughout a day. It’s well worth taking the time to observe how the sun and shadows move across your garden.
Full shade is simply no direct sun light. Part sun or semi shade means less than 4 hours of direct sun, or in dappled shade all day. Part sun could also be only morning sun, or only afternoon sun and that makes a big difference: direct morning sun is less intense than direct afternoon sun. If you have a spot with only afternoon sun, don’t choose ‘shade loving’ plants!
As well as the quantity of shade or sun, there are also different types of shade:
Cool shade:
In areas that don’t get warmed up by the sun, such as a sheltered balcony or a site bounded by cold concrete walls, it’s worth looking for plants that thrive in cool climates.
Heucheras are low-growing perennials with foliage that comes in a range of exquisite colours, from deep purple to dusty oranges to bright green. They need morning or dappled light for the best colour, but there are new cultivars to suit a range of light conditions. Use them to brighten up a dull understory, create a feature in hanging baskets, or add pops of interest to vertical gardens. In pots, use a well-draining premium potting mix and keep moist, especially in summer.
Hostas are a winner in full shade. Their bold, structural foliage is often used in formal borders but are equally stunning as a mass planting or a feature on their own. Some are naturally variegated with bright patches of green or white. They are frost tolerant due to winter dormancy, so it’s a good idea to pair with something evergreen. Keep an eye out for slugs and snails!
Cool shady sites may also be consistently damp as the sun isn’t drying out the soil. As long as there is some drainage, hostas are once again your friend!
Dry shade:
Alternatively, sites under the eaves of a house, a dense canopy, or sheltered by walls, can be devoid of any natural rainfall. You can water these areas more often and add lots of organic matter to soils to increase water retention, but choosing drought-tolerant species will help a lot!
Bromeliads may be forest dwellers but hate having wet feet. Instead, you can water every so often into the cups of their leaves. A mass planting of different colours can bring the tropical look much further south in a sheltered spot.
Clivias are an old favourite. You may be familiar with the traditional orange flowers, but they now come in various colours and leaf forms. They are bomb-proof and perfect for planting under trees!
Fatsia japonica seems like a moisture loving tropical plant, and does well indoors, but it also does surprisingly well in cool climates with dry periods. It can become a large shrub when planted in the ground and spreads by suckers, so best to keep it contained.
Sometimes wind can be the cause of a dry spot too, like a wind tunnel like down the side of the house. In that case look to shade loving, tough succulents like the vibrant Kalanchoe ‘Flapjacks’.
Warm shade:
If you have a sheltered site in a warm temperate to tropical climate, then you can grow a lot of indoor plants outside. Things like calatheas, aglaonemas, and ctenanthes. Try growing a mix of different species, colours, patterns for an exciting year-round display.
Alternatively, there aren’t many plants as richly coloured and easy to grow as the big leafed Cordyline fruticosa cultivars which like full to part shade.
Coleus have striking leaf colours and patterns and can be easily pruned and propagated. They can handle full sun, but as they like to stay moist part shade is the perfect balance, so they don’t dry out too quickly.
The right plants matched with the right type of shade can pump some colour and drama into those neglected spots in your garden!
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[@frunomaol5069]

I second the call for info on vegetables that handle shade.

[@GardeningAustralia]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@richgarden]

So True, nice to turn shade into a beautiful area.

[@GardeningAustralia]

It really is! Thanks for watching 😊

[@Katie_v]

Good info, thank you. I like that you took into account dry vs damp and warm vs cool microclimates. 👍🏻

[@GardeningAustralia]

Glad it was helpful!

[@freeman10000]

Fabulous, informative and entertaining.

[@GardeningAustralia]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@umegarden861]

what a beautiful plants classic👍

[@romeohosang9518]

Thanks a lot. May I suggest posting a video for edibles (vegetables, herbs, shrubs, trees) that love shady areas please?

[@GardeningAustralia]

Great suggestion!

[@jackboyd9821]

Thank you for the shade house and planting tips

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

great segment. Made even better by a favourite plant, Cane Begonia Irene Nuss being in some of the scenes.

[@GardeningAustralia]

Beautiful plant! Thanks for watching 😊

[@marydiscuillo142]

I definitely noticed that when u take plants out of their containers to report u don't loosen roots in any way I've always done that and woas afraid I would cut the plant. What's your opinion? Thank you!

[@jongbasco]

i was expecting actual lighting levels variation, i thought u were going yo show a range of lux per type of shade. most of it are temp and soil type, and watering reqts

[@ericaschmerbeck4181]

I would not be planting kalanchoe flapjacks in too much shade, they won't look their best.

[@1Odama]

Always enjoy gardening Australia. the only problem is they sound great but really is more commercial than anything else. the last pot after done is in my humble opinion over populated and which to see pot after one year .... doubt it cause just a pony show for no for TV...