What should I plant in an 'morning shade/afternoon sun' spot?

16 years ago

I'm a "fairly" new homeowner and want to finally get started on my garden. I planted some spring bulbs in a small portion of my front yard last fall and I really loved the results (although I was too enthusiastic and everything was overcrowded, but still very pretty). Now, I want to expand my horizons and start planting summer & fall blooms too.

The area on the west wall of my house is just screaming for some plants (its 4ft x 50ft). My Problem: the area is shaded by the house next door for most of the day except for the three hours of direct, unobstructed sun it gets during late afternoon (usually from 2pm-5pm). But then, right back into the shade as the sun keeps moving.

Since I'm looking for summer & fall color I'm hoping that the intensity of the sun during these months will make up for the short duration of direct sunlight. I live in the Midwest where it gets really hot & humid during the summers with very few cloudy days.

I want to approach my garden design a little better this time since I over-planted my spring bulbs (oops). I've been searching the web, visiting the library and keeping magazine clippings but I dont know what to plant in my "problem" spot. Could I get away with full sun? If not, should I look for Part Shade or Part Sun plants? Is 3 hours of direct sun too much for Full Shade plants?

Please help :-(

Comments (2)

girlgroupgirl
16 years ago
I think there are plenty of things that you could grow, however, what you don't mention is if you want shrubs or flowers or both...

How about Spirea Japonica or any spirea? They take a beating. Then there are good old black eyed susans, and the delicate looking columbine are way tuffer than they appear. Blooms early too so you'd have them before black eyed susans bloom.
Also, think about daylilies. They can often take more shade than you might expect, and thrive in some very difficult situations. I have mine where they get punished and they do fine.
Many perennial grasses do fine in a situation like this. Look or grasses native to your region. http://ohioline.osu.edu/b865/b865_16.html

If you need an edging, try candytuft. It is also very tough, and can take some shade. Your shade pattern might be somewhat different during the winter on that side of your house, so these plants could handle pretty much all of that.

Just a few suggestions! Good luck!

girlgroupgirl
busyd95
16 years ago
You haven't said whether there is anything there at present, so I am assuming not. As you are planting in a long narrow strip, you will need some shrubs for the "back bone" of your garden--somethings that will provide some interest while your perennials are growing and before they bloom. I also imagine that this is a side of your home--generally side plantings require some height to offset the long and narrow aspect of the space. A mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs is also desireable so that you continue to have some interest in winter.

You don't have to do this all at once, but you should consider purchasing a few shrubs each year. Look for an upright/columnar evergreen, maybe some boxwood, hydranga should do well with this exposure, as long as it is well watered, and will give you blooms as well. There are also some roses that will do ok with this amount of sun. Rose of Sharon (not a rose) is a lovely arching shrub with beautiful blooms; magnolia is another possibility.

For perennials, look at coneflower, monarda, as well as those listed above.
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I didn't have specific plants just yet, but one idea was an Azalea. I was reading some plant descriptions on ones I liked and some say "Morning sun with afternoon shade only" So I was looking into a solution to prevent them from getting too hot and still get enough sun on the west side of a building. (Afternoon sun only area). Will some shade cloth work? Something like a tight mesh over it?
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who is in OR?? poster in british columbia canada??? esh in GA ... the inclination of the sun ... the intensity of the light in GA.. may as well put esh on mars .. lol ... once you get the sun thing in mind.. then you can start thinking regionally .... and those peeps south of the mason-dixon line .... KY/TN state line ... may as well be considered tropical .. compared to us in the the great white north... so you MIGHT get away .. with a bit more afternoon sun .. than they can .... then you throw in ... that the the wind currents of BC caused by the pacific ... you are actually a VERY BIZARRE zone 8 ... zone being MINIMUM winter temp ONLY ... you stay warmer because of the ocean effect .... more than would be indicated for how north you are ... because you are technically north of my great white north MI.. but warmer in winter.. go figure on all that ... so even though you are north of me.. you have warmer winters than me... whats that all about.. lol .. i have 1500 hosta ... the light went on for me.. after getting a beautiful hosta book by a british author ... and she listed nearly every hosta as full sun .... and after changing my whole database ... i realized that her full sun .. was not my full sun ... and it had everything to do with latitude ... the ladder to the northpole .. i am just below 45 degrees north.. or half way to the pole ... GBrit is near 60 degrees north ... and their version of full sun.. is much weaker than i am ... so they can grow.. what i call a shade plant.. in full sun ... GIVEN ENOUGH water and good soil ... etc.. etc. blah.. blah .. blah ... anyway.. i digress .. check out the link, and have a good day ken Here is a link that might be useful:
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Hi Bart, I grow Lavender Lassie in a spot that gets some sun in early spring, but once the trees leaf out it is in pretty Stygian shade all the rest of the season (May-October). It grows as a big sprawly shrub and blooms beautifully (big flush) in spring. No bloom after, however. I'm trying a baby LL in a sunnier spot, to see if I get re-bloom, though others on this forum have told me LL is basically a once-bloomer even in sun. My only hesitation about LL in your conditions is that the flowers might kind of bleach out in the afternoon sun. One of my MIPs is in a rather shady spot, and does ok - not as well as the ones in sun (smaller plant, fewer flowers, a bit more BS) but ok. I have a recommendation for your spot - how about Carefree Beauty/Katy Road Pink? I have multiple specimens of this rose in various conditions: full sun, shade, partial shade with major root competition from trees, a too-small container, etc etc etc. Nothing seems to bother this rose - they all bloom well (the one in shade is a bit leggier and blooms a bit less than the others, but still) and are healthy and trouble free. If you are ok with once-bloomers, Constance Spry and Himmelsauge are ones that I grow in shade that do quite well, and I bet they wouldn't mind afternoon sun. Anyway, good luck with this problem spot!
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Couple of additional points: 1. I observed the spot (west/northwest corner of house) again in more detail; the site is in shade until 12:30, then sun til 4:30, then shade again. So 4 hours of sun. 2. I saw the endless summer at a reputable local nursery, the nursery's label (not the companies) said full to part sun. This seems strange because it significantly differs from everything else. 3. When I bought this house there was an old mophead either right there or nearby, I had to remove everything to do some re-grading of the yard. But I remember they were blue and I don't think reblooming. All that being said, perhaps it's better to go with a mini oak-leaf hydrangea at this spot? Are those easier to grow? thanks
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What should I plant in an 'morning shade/afternoon sun' spot?

Comments (2)

girlgroupgirl

busyd95

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