This year I put in a shade garden on the north side of the Red House. I love shade gardens and was really excited about planting it. Here is a look at its progression this year.
March:
I tilled up the area and added compost.
May:
I added 'Candy Mountain' foxgloves, 'June' hostas, white bleeding hearts, ostrich ferns, pink impatiens, and Double Fiesta Olé Purple impatiens.
I loved the white bleeding hearts. Hopefully they will return next year even larger!
I added the foxglove to my shade garden as they tend to fry if they get too much sun here in North Carolina, but I think this was a little too much shade for them. Next year I will try foxgloves somewhere with a little more sun. The drainage issues that my clay causes is another challenge for them.
August:
In June I had planted a Clematis pitcheri and some violets I had grown from seed. It's August, and the violets are still going strong! (Ignore all the weeds..)
September:
This month saw my favorite addition to the shade garden - a little moss garden. As you can see, the impatiens loved the cooler weather. The Clematis pitcheri bloomed, but it really needs to be in a sunnier place next year.
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| Clematis pitcheri |
October:
Impatiens are still going strong!
November:
Things are winding down in the garden now.
This winter we hope to do something about the drainage issue with the path, as it right now it channels water down from our sloping back yard and becomes a soggy mess when it rains.
One thing I wish I had in the shade garden was a small seating area. It's the only part of the yard that I want to be in during the blisteringly hot summertime! The big log seat you see there on the other side of the path is in sun for most of the day.
Maybe next year...
