How to plan your garden around light and shade | Garden Design and Inspiration | Gardening Australia

In a garden there are different types of shade – you can make the most of it by clever plant selection. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

At the height of summer, plants can soon become stressed in full sun but shade needs to be considered all year round as all plants, to some degree, need light to grow.

Deciduous trees provide seasonal shade – filtered light in summer and more sun in winter. Under the canopy there are also areas that get angled morning and afternoon sun, which can be intense, so you need to choose plants that can tolerate those extremes.

Josh has succulents – Aloe and Pig’s Ear – in this position under his Gleditsia tree and they are tough enough to cope. Other options are Lomandra and Neoregelia Bromeliads, although different varieties have different sun tolerance; if the leaves are bleaching that’s a sure sign a bromeliad is getting too much sun, but Josh’s are doing well so he adds another for colour contrast.

Evergreen Sugar Gums provide dappled light on the eastern side of Josh’s house. They provide year-round dry shade and a number of native grasses thrive in this: lomandra, sword-sedge and dianellas.

A bare patch at the back will be filled with other tried-and-tested species: Correa ‘Bicheno Bells’, Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’ and Dianella ‘Cassa Blue’.

Using small plants means you only need to dig small holes, which minimizes disturbance to the tree roots.

Controllable Shade such as removable shade sails are good for areas near the house where you want summer protection but winter light. Another option is to grow a deciduous tree or vine. Josh has trained a grapevine over his pergola, which provides summer shade, autumn colour, fruit and still allows in winter sun! It can be trimmed to provide exactly the right level of shade to grow a range of productive plants underneath, such as herbs, a makrut lime and blueberry. These will take full sun but thrive in light shade and need less watering in the hotter months.

Featured Plants:
HONEY LOCUST – Gleditsia triacanthos *
ALOE – Aloe ‘Gemini’
PIG’S EAR – Cotyledon orbiculata ‘Silver Waves’ *
SPINY-HEADED MAT-RUSH – Lomandra longifolia cv.
BROMELIAD – Neoregelia cv.
DWARF SUGAR GUM – Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’
COASTAL SWORD-SEDGE – Lepidosperma gladiatum
BLACK-ANTHER FLAX-LILY – Dianella revoluta
NATIVE FUCHSIA – Correa pulchella‘Bicheno Bells’
– Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’
BLUE FLAX-LILY – Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’
GRAPE ‘PERLETTE’ – Vitis vinifera cv.
MAKRUT LIME – Citrus hystrix
* Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area

Filmed on Whadjuk Country | Perth, WA
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