Here's my side garden. I'm going for the natural look as best I can. A work in progress, for sure, as ongoing back issues have kept me from really getting out there the last few years. It did have a fairly muddy pea gravel path when we bought the property. I slipped and fell on it more than once after a rain. So we added the pebble concrete pathway and a gat at rear connecting to front garden.
A large red oak and several yaupon trees have grown so the 4 years we have lived here the garden gets almost total shade now (a good think in TX summer heat). A few bits of sunshine here and there for 1-2 hours max a day. As you can see, the owner before me planted lots of nandina and liriope along with yaupon holly (which is very invasive). There is bird-planted native red-bloomed Turk's Cap but not showing in the photo. I've not added much color yet (that has survived Texas summer heat). The coral wax begonias in pots come through winter just fine and really stand up to the summer heat. Would love any suggestions for flowering perennial bushes/flowers that you think might tolerate total shade and temps around 32º-35º, sometimes 37º+ C in the summer. I tried variegated hostas, which I love, along the path, but every last one died from the heat. Our winters only get a hard freeze about 10 days total so I usually just blanket or bucket cover cold-sensitive plants or dolly them indoors.
Beautiful lupin, GD2. Very healthy indeed. I must try my hand at lupins one day, since their midget cousins (Texas bluebonnets) do so well here in the southern U.S. They might burn off in late summer, but should do OK in our mile spring temps, when bluebonnets thrive.
Lovely garden, @Peggy in Texas. Hot dry shade under trees is pretty challenging! I have similar summer temps to you and have lots of colourful plants like echinacea, salvia, heleniums, agastache, coreopsis, kniphofia etc., but they are in full sun. I have a shady patch under trees where most things go to die in summer. Fine for spring bulbs and plants like ajuga, aquilegia etc. but pretty much everything else fails.. If you have acid soil (or could create it with raised beds) Camelias and Azaleas would probably cope and give you some summer colour. Some roses should cope too if you choose carefully. Probably best to ask local forums and garden centres, tho.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Sadly my soil is very alkaline. My city sits atop the largest limestone plateau in the state. Can't dig a hole without hitting white limestone layers everywhere. Azaleas and camelias would need much amending to make it here as the few azaleas I have tried with just normal fertilizer have not done well. I have been thinking lately about some ajuga or portucula, as they do well in Texas and I want a ground cover on the center "island" (knowing the pathway should keep it in control from moving where I don't want it.
I forgot about aquilegia for shade. Why didn't I think of that one? I actually have some of that at my cabin property in a pot up on the front veranda, protected from the hot sun. You've given me some food for thought, Nollie. I do tend to go with plants promoted in local garden centers. My Dad, the real gardener if the family, always said: "If your local nurseries don't carry it, you probably shouldn't plant it, Peggy." When will I ever learn to heed his wise words? LOL
Thank you, Runnybeak. Yes, in Texas one must think long and hard before ever entertaining the notion of removing a tree that offers even a modicum of valuable summer shade. I'm hoping to be able to do more with this garden and my front garden this year. I'm getting annual radio frequency ablations done on my lower back vertebra now and they are proving to be fairly successful for me (they don't work for all people), provided I go back every 12-15 months. Getting round 3 done Aug. 8th. So this fall and next spring I'm certain I will make needed garden improvements.
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The penstemon is called "Raven", and the plant in the pot is an Angel pelargonium called "Berkswell Carnival".