The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson

The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson

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The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson
The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson
Garden design challenges: easy ways to deal with a shady garden

Garden design challenges: easy ways to deal with a shady garden

Today in our 'Common Garden Design Conundrums', we take a look at how to design and plant shady gardens. I share my design tips and tricks, plant lists, and dry shade planting suggestions

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Jo Thompson
Jun 26, 2024
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The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson
The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson
Garden design challenges: easy ways to deal with a shady garden
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Welcome to the next in this series of Common Garden Design Conundrums, where I’m covering a number of seemingly-impossible garden design challenges

The thought of a shady garden can be off-putting. Where’s that glorious sun? What can be planted there? Won’t it feel gloomy? What’s the point?

Well, I’m here to reassure you and to put things right. Using light, colour and architecture, you can create the most magical of spots in places you’d never believe could feel special.

A shady spot can be turned into a very special place

Here’s a taster of just a few of the subjects that I’m covering over the next few months:

  • How to create privacy

  • How to screen bins and a bad view

  • How to cope with wet soils

  • How to garden with children and play in mind

  • How to deal with a shady garden

  • How to deal with areas that are hot and dry

  • How to deal with a sloping garden

  • How to design your front garden

  • How to deal with a wide and shallow garden

  • How to deal with a long narrow garden

If you’ve got a garden challenge that isn’t listed here, let me know in the Comments, and I’ll write about it:

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This week, we’re taking a look at easy ways to deal with shady gardens and shady spots

Do you have a spot like this one below in your garden - an unloved corner that you’d love to transform? Or maybe your whole garden is one big shady corner?

a shady garden
The grim reality

The thought of a shady garden can be off-putting. Where’s that glorious sun? What can be planted there? Won’t it feel gloomy? What’s the point?

Well, I’m here to reassure you and to put things right.

Using the right mix of plants, light, colour and architecture, you can create the most magical of spots in places you’d never believe could feel special.

And this is how we can do it:

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