There is no urban retreat more appealing
in the summer heat than a cool and private outside space. Town gardens that
are both small and shady are often considered the ultimate green-fingered
challenge but you would be amazed at just how attractive you can make them.
I certainly was when I lived in Dulwich, south-east London.
太太
enjoys the refinement of English Gardening
The "problems"
vary. Is your garden shady all day or does it get shafts of sunlight at
certain times? Or perhaps it is only shady in the winter? Maybe it is in the
lee of the house, or is the shade made by a tree that cannot or should not
be removed? Whatever the conditions, there is always a solution. All you
need is confidence and the most rudimentary knowledge of what will survive.
Here are 10 pointers that
worked in my L-shaped, 37ft by 15ft town garden.
1 Scale
The low light-levels in
shady gardens make things appear smaller. Boldness in everything from layout
to planting and ornament redresses the balance. So, make borders deep, paved
areas generous, and containers as big as space will allow - planted boldly
with one or, at most, two varieties. In the ground, vary things a little,
with one weird or wonderful plant occasionally taking the spotlight. Shady
gardens, especially, need character as well as beauty.
2 Boundaries
If you have brick walls,
power-jet or paint them (see no 4). Otherwise, consider covering fences with
panels of split bamboo, woven reeds or the endlessly versatile trellis.
Stylishly modern or grandly traditional, easy to install and inexpensive,
trellis is the answer to an urban gardener's prayer. I like to use the plain
squared variety as exterior wallpaper, floor to ceiling, to disguise ugly
walls and fences, and transform sunless places that the rain never reaches.
As a real boundary or a
disguise, trellis gives a feeling of space beyond. Grey and cream marbled
ivy, interspersed with different types of clematis (nearly all are
shade-tolerant), soon creates a beautiful evergreen barrier. Top the
supporting posts with ornamental balls, acorns or turned wooden pineapples.
3 Tree control
Never get rid of a tree
unless absolutely necessary; once gone, all that beauty and maturity will
take another 100 years to replace.
Under a deciduous tree, you
can grow the choicest bulbs that thrive on spring sunshine and summer shade.
Dry shade from a beech tree - the one really dense, deciduous tree - or an
evergreen is more restrictive but there are still solutions. You could grow
different varieties of wild cyclamen all year round or carpet the ground
with variegated ivy. In the worst case, gravel the area and bring different
pots to it to liven things up.
It is amazing how you can
improve light levels by carefully pruning trees and shrubs that have grown
too large or tangled into a more elegant, open shape. The great garden
designer Russell Page called this "carving with air".
I once turned a collapsed
white willow into a huge bonsai tree by thinning out the branches. The tree
did not seem to mind and underneath I created a raised bed, full of good
soil, where smaller plants did not have to compete with the tree's roots. If
you do this, be sure not to bury the trunk
4 Paint colour
Unless you live by the sea,
white-washed walls look cold and gloomy - they seem to green up more quickly
too. Instead, I find that Fowler Pink, a shell-pink/pale terracotta paint,
manufactured by Farrow & Ball, brings the warmth and light of the
Mediterranean to the gloomiest outlook.
In the man-made environment
of a roof or courtyard, rich warm colours, like bright red, raspberry pink
and Chinese yellow, can glow like embers on bonfire night if used boldly.
5 Sparkle and glamour
White flowers and silver
foliage bring a unique sparkle and glamour to a garden. Many such plants
will thrive with little or no sun, as do variegated varieties - too much sun
on their delicate leaves can burn, bleach or fade them.
Urban gardens, even shady
ones, are always a few degrees warmer than their country cousins, so take
advantage of this protected micro-climate. Quite a few exotic-looking,
architectural plants will be perfectly happy in the shade: cordylines (Torbay
Palms), Trachycarpus (Chusan Palm), and Fatsia japonica (castor-oil fig), to
name but three.
More glamorous still are
those with grey and silver leaves: stunning Melianthus major (cut it to the
ground each Easter ), Astelia nervosa (soft, sword-like leaves, two or
three-feet long), Santolina pinnata subsp. neapolitana (clip into huge
globes each spring for a change in texture and shape).
All silvers need sharp
drainage, so mix in a couple of generous spadefuls of grit or gravel with
the soil at planting time.
Just as a checkerboard
marble floor brings life to a Georgian hall, painting an aggregate one black
and white will do the same for a roof. As it weathers, the texture of the
slabs will show through, creating a delightfully ancient, seedy and exotic
look.
Gravel also gives sparkle
to a shady place. Pea shingle is kindest to shoes, but there is a coarser
one called Cotswold buff. Paving stones laid by the door into the house will
prevent half the gravel ending up on the kitchen or sitting-room floor.
6 Planting
The legendary American
fashion editor Diana Vreeland suggested decorating a room in nothing but
different shades of green. Try this in your garden by mixing different leaf
textures and shapes with some opulent white flowers - perhaps hydrangeas or
tobacco flowers - and chic touches of black, silver and lime.
Viola 'Molly Sanderson' has
jet-black flowers, as does V. 'Bowles' Black' which seeds freely but never
becomes a nuisance. Giant mop-heads of bay look wonderful in squares of
easy-going black ophiopogon, underplanted with baby pink and white cyclamen,
set in old flag-stones. And glamorous hostas are never so happy as when they
are grown in a shady place.
You will not do much better
than H. sieboldiana var. elegans with its huge blue/green quilted leaves.
Insist on elegans - the regular H. sieboldiana is not worth having. Hostas
are very happy in pots and a ring of vaseline around the rim will protect
them from their arch-enemies, slugs and snails.
Talking of hostas, which
are moisture-lovers too, do have an outside tap fitted or install a watering
system, as shady gardens tend to be on the dry side.
7 Climbers
In my view, all houses
should be softened with climbing plants, but avoid sun-lovers which strive
upwards towards the light, leaving their feet bare. Instead, concentrate on
varieties that are happy in shade, such as Hydrangea anomala subsp.
petiolaris, Akebia quinata, clematis and camellias.
Add height with trellis
pyramids, wreathed in climbers. I also use large urns planted with
low-maintenance architectural plants; often light levels are better six or
seven feet up, and sometimes it is actually quite sunny. Another way of
adding height, with space at a premium, is with large standards such as bay
(Laurus nobilis).
8 Containers
Always go for the largest
containers possible. They will need watering less often, besides looking
good. Square, wooden, Versailles tubs with mirrored panels bring another
dimension to a small area - the reflections make a strongly patterned floor
appear to go on forever.
Not only do plants grow
well in naturally porous terracotta, but this takes the patina of age well
and adds warmth. Terracotta is also a particularly effective foil for
architectural box-wood shapes - globes, squares, pyramids and mop-heads -
and for yew, which is best trained as a cone or pyramid. Bay, box, holly and
yew will all be happy in shade, as long as they are not underneath dripping
branches.
Ban plastic containers
unless they are black and shiny; if used with confidence, these make a
sophisticated foil for plants. For spring, cram them with white hyacinths.
For the summer, raspberry and black Pelargonium 'Lord Bute'. And, for the
autumn, pink, green and cream ornamental cabbages. Lilies look elegant in
galvanized florist's buckets.
With all garden containers,
make sure you provide adequate drainage holes. Generally, John Innes No 2 is
a safe bet for planting up. Do not economise by using garden soil: you will
get worms, usually a gardener's best friend but very disruptive in the
confined space of a pot.
Ornament and vistas
The smaller the space, the
more important it is to place things well.
In a shady garden, try to
site benches, ornamental urns or wall-fountains in the light, so that they
can be seen through the gloom. Think about the different views, not just
from your window to the end of the garden, but also across the space and
looking back at the house.
Nothing brings a garden to
life like moving water: a wall-fountain opposite a bench, for instance, or
at the far end of a vista. There are some excellent ready-made fountains,
both traditional and ultra-modern, which run on a concealed re-circulating
pump, so all they require is a safe electrical connection (do consult a
qualified electrician over this). Or you could go for a white seat or
pale-stone ornament surrounded by ferns, hellebores and moss.
10 Atmosphere
Apart from weekends, you
probably use your garden most at night - to relax after a busy day or to
entertain friends.
Do not be afraid of
lighting your outside space. Uplighting is as effective in the garden as it
is inside, so keep everything low down, and many small sources of light are
much more atmospheric than a few large ones. Consider flares, strings of
fairy-lights and thick candles in hurricane jars. And white flowers and
heady scents should be added for maximum evening romance. -
'The
Daily Telegraph'
