Essential shade garden

What seemed like a failure is the best kind of start

In answering questions in poet gardener Frank Harney's review of a failed shade bed we used this 1-2-3 analysis of successful shade gardening. To grow well under trees you must focus on:

• Overcoming low light
• Alleviating water shortage
• Creating a plant mix that has the fewest inter-species antagonisms

These are the keys to growing a good garden under trees. Follow the links above to learn more about this shady garden (below) and your own.

An important heads up: Never expect a shade bed to look like a sun garden. Use the woods as your model -- you'll see there is less diversity there than in a garden. Only a half dozen species may be there, but each will be thriving and covering large areas.

Related articles: What's Coming Up 106, page 3.