Hello! This is the north facing side of the house, pretty much shady for the whole day, only an hour or so in summer through the west. Any ideas on what to put here? I know flowers might be difficult, but I’m done with mowing! Whole space is about 8' by 60' and I'm in zone 9b, quite windy sometimes!
by Small-Claim-2487
16 Comments
Pave over with asphalt.
That is so ideal for a no-lawn I can hardly stand to look at it. I’d run a path down it, mostly straight down the middle but with a couple of crooks so you can’t look straight down the whole expanse. Hydrangeas, hostas, foxgloves, and ferns would be my starter flavors, unless I was a native plant zealot, in which case I’d lean that way. That looks like a huge pain to mow so even with planting, weeding, and mulching you’ll recoup your labor in a few years.
[put an arbor above your existing fence. Then grow some nice vines on it.](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/211174962507270/)
Mulch the whole thing
there are lots of shade-loving vines, consider putting up some trellises and climbing vines to add some vertical interest!
Poke milkweed.
There’s a lot of straight lines here so maybe add shrubs in rings or some beds with curved edging. Because you’re in 9b succulents with round leaves(Jade, aeonium, etc.) in river rock mulch would be some good contrast. You could do bougainvillea in tree rings along the fence with begonias and ajuga beds between them for more shade tolerant color. Do a path down the middle with 1×2’ pavers spaced 3” apart with microclover growing between.
Do you use this area now? If not what would have to change so you would use it? It has access to backyard and garage door. Is there a gate to the street? First floor windows do not look out. It does seem that’s the neighbor’s garage so is quite private and a skinny secret garden or outdoor work space could be back there.
I’d probably build it out as garden storage. Add shallow custom fitted lean to sheds along it that are low enough not to bother the neighbors and pave the ground. I’d go much further and spread native flower seeds on the ground, run a vine or three along the fence, expand the concrete pad for a level space to build little projects…
Do trial runs before spending a dime or sore muscle changing anything. Set out a chair and see if it’s nice and private on a hot day. Build some minor project on the concrete pad. Set out weather tolerant garden gear back there like the wheelbarrow to see if it’s convenient.
Ferns, hydrangeas, hostas, etc just research some shade loving plants. Also Pennsylvania sedge is a beautiful native shade loving ground cover
A zipline
Hey, I have a north facing front yard. I’m in 7b or 8a, and high altitude. But I do use plants that could absolutely work in your situation and have designed a few beds in partial/nearly full shade. Can I dm you some pics of those for inspo?
Another vignette. Consider the Big picture, the entire site and adjacent lots.
no need to complicate this (no curving paths, eww). too narrow and short of a space. a straight path will look better in my humble opinion. curving paths are better for longer stretches.
a 2’-2.5’ wide, straight path. mulch, gravel, stones, whatever you want. this is important though: define the two landscape beds by using <<edging>> to separate the path from the beds. choose your product, anything will look better than nothing.
your “fence side” landscape bed should be wider than the foundation bed. look up native understory species in your area, preferably from your state university’s website.
if you’re east coast 9b… consider oakleaf hydrangea (specimen), inland sea oats (plant a mass of them if you use them), native fern…
if you look at these plants listed here, you’ll find they have different textures. for upright showy plants, like the oakleaf and ferns, plant in odd numbers. accumulate more of the same species over time and just keep layering. keep it simple, 5-7 plant species.
Batting practice cage. Or golf swing practice cage.
any sun there?
Bocce