Made in the Shade

Being a micro-farm and growing on just under half an acre has its challenges. To ensure I have enough flowers and foliage for our customers, I’ve started converting every inch of our property into plantings that benefit our business, pollinators, and wildlife. Our lawn is slowly getting smaller as I plant more and more perennials and flowers for cutting. But, I had ignored a strip of lawn along our fence that spent most of the day in the shade. After all, cut flowers need full sun, right? But, I discovered that plenty of plants love the shade and are excellent for bouquets and arrangements. So began a project to turn this neglected piece of unused lawn into a perennial shade garden.

It all started a few weeks ago when I admired a neighbor’s ferns and imagined how amazing they would look in a bouquet. I thought how lovely it would be to grow ferns here on the farm for that purpose, and I knew immediately the perfect spot for this new endeavor! I sheepishly told my husband about my grand plans and that we would start yet another planting project. I can’t tell you how many holes we’ve dug over the twenty years we’ve lived on this property or the countless number of rocks we’ve dug up, but it must be in the hundreds. So, neither of us was too enthusiastic about picking up that shovel yet again. But, I knew that this project would be a good investment in the future of our farm and that it would make our landscape much more appealing.

I’m ashamed to say that this part of our property has been a bit of an eyesore for years. We had placed down tarps that permanently held piles of garden soil and compost in varying stages of use. The two giant honey locust trees and assorted sugar maples on the perimeter of the fence kept the area shaded; thus, the lawn never looked quite lush. When my son was younger, we would use the site to play soccer or other yard games, but now that he’s a busy teenager, it rarely gets used for those purposes. And so, I knew it would be the perfect spot for our new shade garden project.

To get started, we cleared what little sod was in the area, placed some landscape timbers down to frame the garden, and filled the frame with garden soil. With the two of us working, this took about two hours to complete. Not bad at all compared to most of our other projects around the farm!

In doing some research, I found that many plants grow well in part shade to shade. The following shade-loving (or tolerating) flowers or foliage work well for cutting: Bleeding heart, columbine, hellebore, astilbe, lady’s mantle, Japanese Anemone, Solomon’s Seal, Coral Bells, Hydrangea, Rhododendron, Azalea, Japanese Andromeda, Lily of the Valley, Foxglove, Ferns, and for bulbs: tulips, daffodils, muscari, allium, and fritillaria.

I knew I wanted to grow ferns for bouquet foliage, so I purchased three varieties: Cinnamon fern, Goldie’s Giant Wood fern, and Red Lady fern I also added three astilbe varieties which include Bridal Veil, Fanal’s Early Red, and Ostrich Plume. I’ve always enjoyed bleeding hearts, and their flowers look so delicate and whimsical in bouquets, so I planted two of those along with a variegated Solomon’s seal, Clementine Red columbine, and aruncus Chantilly Lace. I also added hellebore varieties Confetti Cake and Wedding Crasher. Hopefully, these will mature, spread, and provide years of foliage and flowers for the farm and our customers.

This shade garden project needs to be completed, as I still have plenty of planting space for more shade-loving plants. I have plans to visit the nursery today to see what else we can add to this new growing space. I would also like to add a few large stones that have been sitting in a pile since our floral studio building project. They will add some extra interest to the shade garden and look better there than sitting in a pile by the studio. Who knows, perhaps I’ll add a decoration or two-some wind chimes or a cute statue that will make me smile while I harvest. I will share an update when the project is complete, so stay tuned!

Ultimately, I’m happy with how the new shade garden is turning out. It is much more pleasing to the eye than piles of soil under tarps (as much as I love a good mound of garden soil!). Plus, the plants will provide enjoyment for us, wildlife, and our customers. And that makes for a great project! I’m excited to continue working on the garden space and add more plants that will appreciate those growing conditions because buying more plants is always fun! If you’re working on any garden projects, I’d love to hear about them, and as always, happy growing!