SHADY PLOTS
About fifteen years ago, the then-owner of my house decided to build a big new garage. I don’t know for sure, but I assume that the original garage was a one-car structure built sometime between 1882, when the house was constructed, and World War Two. Both my neighbors, whose houses are similar to mine, have old-fashioned one-car garages.
The big new garage took up most of the north side of the back yard, leaving only a ribbon of land between the back of the garage and the fence that marks the property line. When we moved in nine years ago, the area was filled with untamed flora ranging from the runaway wisteria that originated on my neighbors’ property to self-sown honeysuckle, English ivy, and an astonishing array of weeds. Extra fence panels leaned against one end of the garage and several stacks of bluestone sidewalk slabs sat by the concrete garage foundation wall. This mess of plants and detritus was eventually joined by my compost tumbler, which I like to keep out of sight.
Over the years, I struggled to keep the invasive vines in check and eradicate the weeds. Eventually the spare fence panels departed from the scene and I made valiant attempts to get rid of some of the ivy. I continued to make and harvest compost from the tumbler. Other parts of the garden developed over time, but the ribbon in the back remained unimproved. The thought of it became a thorn in my side, especially as I pursued last year’s garden perfection project.
But now it’s a new year and all of that is going to change. I am going to take the back strip firmly in hand and make a shade garden. It will not be an ordinary shade garden; it will be full of interesting plants. There will be color and texture and a path to walk on. It will be the envy of the neighborhood–even if only one of the neighbors can actually see it from his property.
The strip is about thirty-five feet long and six feet wide. The long back wall of the garage runs parallel to the fence and the earth slopes slightly away from the garage for drainage purposes. Installing plants close to the garage would eventually cause some amount of soil retention or accumulation which could have a negative effect on drainage, so I will put the plants closer to the fence and create a walkway or path by the garage. I think that the bluestone slabs would work for the path, though some of them may have become degraded by exposure to the elements. Taking a cue from the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes, I can lever the slabs into place without too much strain.
The fun part will be picking the plants. The space is relatively shady because of nearby trees and the shadow cast by the building; another reason not to install plants right by the back wall and directly under the eaves. Since weeds grow abundantly in the long strip, I know that the light conditions are sufficient to give cultivated plants a fair chance of thriving.
The plot is too narrow for most shrubs, except possibly the columnar type, like Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’, a Japanese holly that is only twelve to eighteen inches wide and can reach eight feet in height. The only problem is that ‘Sky Pencil’ may require more sunlight than the site offers. An even better choice would be Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea ‘Helmond’s Pillar’.
At twenty-four inches wide, ‘Helmond’s Pillar’ is a little fatter than ‘Sky Pencil’, but it still fits the allotted space nicely. It has lovely green-bronze foliage that reddens in the fall, as well as attractive berries. I think I’ll order three to anchor the new garden.
Of course I will install clumps of foxgloves for height, beauty and ease of care. Self-sown ones are coming up all over the garden, so I probably won’t have to pay for any additional plants. In the same cost-saving mode, I will divide my existing Hosta plantaginea or August lilies and use them in the new area. Unlike other hosta species, H. plantaginea offers large, waxy white flowers that have a glorious fragrance.
Closer to the path I may fill in with some low growers like pulmonaria, with its stunning, true-blue spring flowers and silver-speckled leaves. Cyclamen, including the spring-blooming cyclamen coum and the fall-blooming C. hederifolium would add butterfly-like blossoms and ephemeral but lovely foliage.
Tradescantia or spiderwort would work well as a mid-border filler, as would some of the more shade-tolerant hardy geraniums.
Next fall I’ll plant the new bed with lots of spring-flowering bulbs, especially the tall, elegant lily-flowering tulips and ‘Thalia’, a fragrant heirloom Narcissus.
Why go to so much trouble with a part of the garden that few people will see? Because I will see it every time I do my daily garden tour and it will be a lovely, restful spot. There is something to be said for private horticultural pleasures.