Local Life - Wigan - June 2019
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Gardening 77<br />
Some shady<br />
Award Winner<br />
characters<br />
by Angie Barker<br />
I recently visited a client to talk about garden design<br />
and they said they had seen a landscaper who told<br />
them there was no point having a border down the<br />
left hand side of their garden because it was in shade<br />
and nothing would grow there. After re-adjusting<br />
my face from the look of horror, I explained to the<br />
client that there are lots and lots of lovely plants<br />
which would thrive there and make a lovely display<br />
to soften the boring fence that otherwise would be<br />
the focal point of their garden.<br />
To illustrate the point here is a photo I took a few<br />
weeks ago of the shady border in my garden. Far<br />
from accepting that nothing will grow there, by<br />
considering a few design tricks, you can make a<br />
shady border a point of interest in your garden.<br />
Most important are the plants. In this border I have<br />
Hostas (I find that Hosta ‘Halcyon’ is pretty slug<br />
resistant), Polygonatum multiflorum, Tiarella ‘Spring<br />
Symphony’, Geranium nodosum, Lamprocapnos<br />
spectabilis (used to be called Dicentra ), Cyrtomium<br />
fortunei, Bergenia ‘Overture’, Liriope muscari<br />
‘Big Blue’, Ophiopogon planiscapus, Box, Aucuba<br />
japonica and Primula ‘Francesca’. I have a grand<br />
daughter named Francesca so I just had to have it!<br />
Another tip is to give your shady border some<br />
interest by placing a focal point. Here I have used a<br />
shiny cone which bounces light around but it could<br />
be a bird bath, sculpture or a large pot. Having a seat<br />
will give relief from any hot sun and enable you to<br />
enjoy your shade loving plants close up.<br />
I hope I have inspired you to consider any shady<br />
spots in your garden in a new light - Hubby says that<br />
is a terrible pun - but you get the picture!<br />
By the way, I’m now on the hunt for Campanula<br />
poscharskyana ‘Freya’ for the other little tike. One of<br />
the on line nurseries actually describes it as “small,<br />
but not as well behaved as it might first appear” -<br />
perfect!<br />
Angie is a qualified<br />
award-winning garden<br />
designer who will<br />
plan your garden to<br />
your needs from start<br />
to finish, supplying<br />
reputable contractors<br />
and the ideal plants.<br />
Call Angie now for your free consultation!<br />
Angie Barker Dip GD<br />
(Inst GD) BA (Hons)<br />
Garden Design For All Seasons<br />
Tel: 01942 522 405<br />
Mob: 07857 008 383<br />
Award Winner<br />
www.angiebarker.co.uk
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