In March we saw the return of Jim Paine, who is an environmentalist, horticulturalist and for decades ran a nursery in Attleborough. His talk was titled “Gardening in the shade”. He gave us an insight into the seasons and how they are formed by the Earth’s tilt as it rotates around the sun. We may not have the hottest weather on the planet, but we have the greatest amount of daylight. Light is a vital ingredient for plants to photosynthesise and produce chlorophyll. The leaves act as solar panels. Many plants produce larger leaves when grown in the shade to maximise light, are thinner and will often appear darker green due to increased chlorophyll. The positioning of leaves on stems grown in the shade is important. These are often at right angles or arranged in a staggered radial manner one above the other, to maximise the amount of light that can be absorbed.
Full sun is classed as more than 6 hours of direct sun; full shade is less than 3 hours. All plants need water and some shady areas can be dry, especially if under trees. It is important to keep these areas moist by improving the soil and watering. Plants that prefer the shade are Hostas, Hellebores, Astilbes and Hydrangeas.
Jim had dug out some shade loving plants from his garden to sell at the end of the evening. All were sold very quickly. He highlighted that just because part of your garden is in the shade, it doesn’t have to be boring as there are many plants that will thrive in those conditions.
