Set Your Shade Garden Aglow With Light

Light and life are inextricably related. From its beginning, the human race has worshipped, celebrated and sought to capture light. And I believe that gardeners, more than most people, are aware of light: how it affects our plants and how it affects our moods. Phototropism (how plants grow toward the sun) and seasonal affective disorder are just two examples of its effects.

People seem to want what they seemingly can't have. Folks with straight hair want curly hair. Those with curly hair want straight hair. Shade gardeners want more sun. Sun gardeners want more shade. My personal garden resides in partial to full shade. Over the years I have celebrated it, cursed it, embraced it and tweaked it. My garden has gone through this process with me, indulging me, being patient with me and occasionally fighting back at me. Finally, my garden is all the better for it, as am I. We are at peace.

Allow me to take you on my journey. If your garden is a shade garden, I believe that I can save you time, money and frustration. Let's take a walk and have that conversation.

Take inventory of how light plays in your garden. As most gardeners realize, a truly great personalized garden takes time to develop. This type of garden is no one-weekend DIY project, no matter what television commercials preach to us. A great gardener is one who has developed a keen sense of observation. An experienced gardener knows that the sun hits his or her garden differently at different times of year, that the intensity of the sun ebbs and flows with the seasons, and that the color of sunlight changes with its intensity.

Whether you are in the process of initially developing your shade garden or in the continual process of editing and renovating, take a year to really notice how light interacts with your garden. Take photographs or keep a journal to document your findings. Your garden will be better for it.

On the edge of my pond, beside the largest waterfall, is a flat boulder that I affectionately call my "wine rock." I sit there in the mornings with coffee or in the afternoon with a good malbec, watch the koi and reflect on life.

I took this picture one day in late spring, when the morning sun appeared through the trees and perfectly choreographed the interactive dance between the hardy begonia (Begonia grandis, zones 6 to 9) and the autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora, zones 5 to 9). This only happens for a few minutes each morning, but what a spectacular way to start the day. I wouldn't miss it.


Consider pruning, limbing up or removal to open up your space. Your garden space will speak to you if you open your mind and soul and simply listen. My approach to garden design incorporates a bit of mysticism, as I believe that a space will let you know what it yearns to become. A successfully executed garden is a collaboration between what the space says and how the gardener interprets that language. This skill comes naturally to some people but is a learned skill to most. If you are having trouble in this area, don't hesitate to enlist the help of a good garden designer or landscape architect with whose work you are familiar.

Once you have a vision for the shape and scope your garden should take, you may find it necessary to prune, thin saplings or limb up your trees to create an environment that welcomes sunlight. You may also need to hire a good arborist to remove trees that are detracting from the overall feel of your garden or inhibiting your sight lines. This sometimes requires fortitude, but your garden will thank you in the end.


Embrace the art of backlighting. Some of the more mundane plants in your garden will suddenly take on new vibrancy when placed in front of available light.

Some of the most effective plants for this technique are those that are translucent by nature, those that capture and diffuse light.

My favorite translucent plant is the sometimes-invasive horsetail rush (Equisetum hyemale, zones 3 to 11). Its 3- to 4-foot upright growth habit is a perfect foil for a curved or rounded sculpture, or a clumping shrub. Just be sure to contain it, lest it spread indefinitely.


Apart from backlighting an individual plant, you can backlight an entire garden scene. This photo shows a magical late-afternoon garden moment. Who wouldn't want to return home to this after sitting in rush-hour traffic?


Capture reflections on water. Water features are great instruments to use in our quest for inviting light into our garden spaces. Water churns, bubbles, spills and cascades, all the while capturing light in ever-changing ways. A properly sited and designed water feature can be a mesmerizing focal point.

I wholeheartedly recommend that you consult a pond professional, and that you view his or her work in other gardens, before you design and install your pond. A poorly designed water feature will most assuredly be an expensive disappointment.

Find pond designers on Houzz


Watch ice illuminate the winter garden. Most of us consider ponds to be warm-weather features that are covered, drained or put to bed for the winter. Your pond can reinvent itself in winter, performing double duty as a cold-weather garden focal point. Consider the captivating beauty of ice as it forms in a pond. Notice how its opaque beauty captures the winter light better than any artist could.


Add glass. Nothing captures, reflects and refracts light like glass. The pieces shown here were custom designed to mimic new shoots of plant growth and placed so that they rise from a sea of shade-loving ground cover.

One thing to consider before installing a glass sculpture in your garden is possible breakage from overhead limbs falling in inclement weather. Assess your budget and tolerance level for loss before purchasing your glass. If you decide to invest in a glass garden sculpture, you'll get shining rewards.


Let light project onto a screen. Much like the drive-in movie theaters of the past, you can project light in your garden, capturing its movement and nuances, by erecting a screen or wall, or even by enlisting the side of your house. This three-paneled privacy screen, constructed out of concrete backer board like you would find underneath a tile floor, faces west and projects a virtual documentary of the afternoon sun. Who wouldn't want to watch this light show?


Create the illusion of light by using chartreuse foliage. The human eye generally reads sunlight as having a yellowish cast. You can introduce the illusion of light into a shade garden by introducing plants with chartreuse foliage. This photograph illustrates the principle brilliantly. Don't you almost want to squint when you view this photo? On a closer look, you realize that this is a shaded area, that the effect of sunlight is an illusion.

Pulling this illusion off successfully does require some skill, but here are some pointers to get you started.
Begin by observing how shafts of sunlight pierce the tree canopy in your garden and the resulting shape on your garden floor. Is it an elongated triangle, a line or a patch? Leave your plants in their pots and arrange them in this pattern until the result is pleasing to you. Easier still, wait until the sunlight creates its unique shape on your garden floor, then trace the pattern with your potted plants.
Some of my favorite chartreuse-leafed plants for you to consider, taking into account your specific growing conditions:
'Sun Power' and 'Sum and Substance' hostas (Hosta cvs, zones 4 to 9)'All Gold' and 'Aureola' Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra cvs, zones 4 to 9)'Orange Dream' Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Orange Dream', zones 5 to 9)Golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', zone 5 to 11)Scotch moss (Sagina subulata 'Aurea', zones 3 to 9) 'Skylands' Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis 'Skylands', zones 4 to 8)
Note that most plants with chartreuse foliage require at least several hours of sunlight to perform properly.


Add plants with white flowers or variegated foliage. Nothing brightens a shade garden like white flowers and foliage. While white doesn't imitate sunlight quite as well as chartreuse, it is still very effective in giving the illusion of light. It is also particularly effective at dusk, when it seems to glow.

What's a shade garden without at least one hydrangea? Before buying your hydrangea, do some quick research on the types best suited for your location.

The oakleafs and mopheads are better suited for shade, while the paniculatas require sun to reach their blooming potential. 'Little Honey' (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey', zones 5 to 9) combines the best attributes for our discussion in that it can take shade or partial sun, and has chartruese foliage and white flowers. Another one of my favorites is 'Incrediball' (Hydrangea arborescens 'Abetwo', zones 3 to 9). Its nondrooping 12-inch flower heads are real showstoppers.

Some plants with variegated foliage for you to consider are bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla, zones 3 to 8), 'Patriot' hosta (Hosta 'Patriot', zones 3 to 8), 'River Mist' Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium 'River Mist', zones 4 to 9), and 'Floating Clouds' redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Floating Clouds', zones 5 to 9).


Invest in garden lighting. Nothing animates a garden quite like good-quality lighting. This spectacular photo says it all. There are a few things to consider before light installation. Do your research with regard to technology, annual utility cost, and fixture and bulb life.

LED lighting has come a long way in just the last couple of years and is extremely cost effective over time. Buy the best-quality lighting you can afford. Cheaper lighting will end up costing you more in the long run, in terms of both replacements and energy use.

Most important, decide which focal points should be illuminated and which ones are better left to daylight. There is a fine line between just enough lighting and too much. Consider the seductive beauty of shadows and darkness to gain the most from lighting your garden.

I've seen way too many DIY lighting projects that end up looking like the Las Vegas strip. If you aren't gifted with an eye for design, please consider having your system designed and installed by a licensed professional with whose work you are familiar.

More:
Find outdoor lighting pros on Houzz
The 3 Top Ways to Light Up Your Landscape

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