A dark, forgotten corner of our garden has been given a new lease of life.
Beneath a canopy created by our magnificent Elder tree and numerous conifers, a lack of both light and moisture has resulted in an ongoing struggle to keep the area maintained and looking lovely.
Patchy grass, expanses of bare earth and neglected borders. We’ve never really made an effort to do much in that corner and have spent most our time when we’re in the garden looking the other way!
But as part of our garden transformation this year we agreed this had to be tackled. And we’re so glad we did. Wow, what a difference. Now we sit at breakfast on the decking gazing at the corner and loving what we see.
So what did we do?
First things first, we discovered the delights of grass seed! And are loving the lush lawn that has sprung up. Gorgeous. But that’s a whole separate blog to follow!!
Laying a few paving stones to create a short path to the workshop really smartened things up and was a great spot for some colourful garden pots to help create a bit of a feature.
Next. Plants. After a long natter with a very helpful chap at the local garden centre, I made my choice of a selection of shade loving plants that would give a splash of colour and all year round greenery – I’m a sucker for an evergreen.
Heuchera – Mulberry – a glorious perennial with striking, deep red-purple foliage with stems of small white flowers during the summer.
Heuchera – Winterberry – eye-catching, bright green, ruffled foliage with mottled green veins with stems of small pink flowers during the summer.
Fucshia – Snowcap – Ladies Eardrops – resplendent, bold, drop white and scarlet flowers on dark green foliage, flowering throughout summer. Loved by bees so that’s a big garden tick. Most fuchsias are deciduous, shedding their leaves as temperatures drop in the autumn/winter – I made an exception from my evergreen rule for this. I do love a fucshia.
Note: while some fucshia varieties may prefer full sun, those with dark foliage can thrive in the shade.
Pieris – Mountain Fire – intense, vivid, red-tinged foliage that transitions to coppery-green and then dark green, producing clusters of creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers in spring, similar to lily-of-the-valley. It thrives and blooms best in dappled or partial shade.
Azalea Diamond Pink – beautiful, striking, flamboyant pink blooms on glossy evergreen foliage, these magnificent shrubs generally prefer a spot with partial shade or dappled sunlight. What better way to add a burst of colour from March to June.
So that’s been my starting point with shade loving plants. This will no doubt be added to over the coming months.
Our neglected corner is now a thriving part of the garden we are proud of. And it really didn’t take a lot to do. A little bit of thought. A little bit of care. Happy days.
