SandT.... raisingirl gives such excellent advice, a pleasure to read...
All I would like to say if I may, is that please don't be afraid of your north facing site, and to advise you that you do not need to grow shade loving plants in such conditions. Personally, I find them rather boring, I have no interest in Hostas, Ferns and suchlike, so I grow exuberant roses and all sorts of sun lovers north facing. Helianthemums - no problem. Even plumbago like Ceratostigma willmottianum will bloom profusely in a sunless position. As long as there are no huge trees and shrubs getting in the way.
7th August 21.47 hrs, a bit of sun late from the west.. might get an hour in the morning in June..
Helianthum 'Sterntaler'.. never saw any sun. Winter drainage was more important..
An area of my garden that's about 30 x 15 foot, not all is visible but you can see what you can cram in, if you try.
Most of it is shady at some point.. The left side is the virtually sunless north facing..
Enjoy your garden and don't be afraid of a bit of shade. Grow what you like, it's trial and error, which is the same for all of us really..
Liri Just click on Report at the foot of the offending post - you'll get a box come up and you just have to say Advert or Spam or whatever and the Mods will zap it next time they're around.
We usually post that we've reported it so that people know it's been done - otherwise the Mods' Inbox gets a bit full with everyone being helpful
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for the help everyone, we're so busy sorting out structural problems found inside the house that I couldn't think straight about the garden.
i'll put some hostas and ferns in the shady bit, but yes, it wouof be nice to have some more showy flowers too.
We also fancied a small tree to give the garden some sense of cocooning and less of an urban feel. Where would you position this so it doesn't soak up all of our sunlight? Somebody recommended crabapple, Magnolia, or Japanese cherry blossom. Some have also suggested a flagpole tree but I don't know if they just look a bit daft.
Back to flowers and plants again: we're actually heading to a garden centre tomorrow; March 12th. If you could get 5-6 plants or flowers for some summer colour, what would you go for? Thinking of getting some failsafe perennials in now and just leaving them.
Long-term, hoping to have lavender, rudbeckia, Echinacea, phlox, an architectheal palm(?), lots of climbing roses, penstemons(?), easy border flowed for shade and something else for structure at the back. thanks!
Hi. May I ask what happened in the end re the garden & sun please? I'm in a very similar situation re 2 story Victorian house and concerns re sun. Thank you
If you are already in situ, it will be a case of noting the sun and shade in your garden over the next 12 months. Your location in the UK will also come into the equation as will the health of any existing shrubs/plants.
As @philippasmith2 suggests, winter isn't necessarily the best guide. Not only is the sun lower, but it follows a much shorter arc in the sky - it only really perfectly "rises in the east and sets in the west" around the equinox. In winter you'll find it rises kind of towards the southeast and sets towards the southwest.
My front garden is northwest-facing and gets literally zero direct sun in winter, but is bathed in sunshine from late afternoon and through the evening in the summer months. And I'm in Kent; the further north you are, the more pronounced will be the difference.
It's also about all the other buildings/fences/trees etc in neighbouring plots. They all have a large impact on the amounts of sun and shade in a garden. You can have a north facing site, but if no one else nearby has any large hedges ,fences or trees, you'll get more light, and vice versa.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
SandT.... raisingirl gives such excellent advice, a pleasure to read...
All I would like to say if I may, is that please don't be afraid of your north facing site, and to advise you that you do not need to grow shade loving plants in such conditions. Personally, I find them rather boring, I have no interest in Hostas, Ferns and suchlike, so I grow exuberant roses and all sorts of sun lovers north facing. Helianthemums - no problem. Even plumbago like Ceratostigma willmottianum will bloom profusely in a sunless position. As long as there are no huge trees and shrubs getting in the way.
7th August 21.47 hrs, a bit of sun late from the west.. might get an hour in the morning in June..
Helianthum 'Sterntaler'.. never saw any sun. Winter drainage was more important..
An area of my garden that's about 30 x 15 foot, not all is visible but you can see what you can cram in, if you try.
Most of it is shady at some point.. The left side is the virtually sunless north facing..
Enjoy your garden and don't be afraid of a bit of shade. Grow what you like, it's trial and error, which is the same for all of us really..
Thanks Dove. I'd have done it but realised I didn't know how...
Liri
Just click on Report at the foot of the offending post - you'll get a box come up and you just have to say Advert or Spam or whatever and the Mods will zap it next time they're around.
We usually post that we've reported it so that people know it's been done - otherwise the Mods' Inbox gets a bit full with everyone being helpful
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove. I'll know for next time.
Do they really think any of us are sufficiently gullible to respond to their ads?
Thanks for the help everyone, we're so busy sorting out structural problems found inside the house that I couldn't think straight about the garden.
i'll put some hostas and ferns in the shady bit, but yes, it wouof be nice to have some more showy flowers too.
We also fancied a small tree to give the garden some sense of cocooning and less of an urban feel. Where would you position this so it doesn't soak up all of our sunlight? Somebody recommended crabapple, Magnolia, or Japanese cherry blossom. Some have also suggested a flagpole tree but I don't know if they just look a bit daft.
Back to flowers and plants again: we're actually heading to a garden centre tomorrow; March 12th. If you could get 5-6 plants or flowers for some summer colour, what would you go for? Thinking of getting some failsafe perennials in now and just leaving them.
Long-term, hoping to have lavender, rudbeckia, Echinacea, phlox, an architectheal palm(?), lots of climbing roses, penstemons(?), easy border flowed for shade and something else for structure at the back. thanks!
Last edited: 11 March 2017 19:17:05
Gah, full of typos because I always post from my (slow) iPhone. Sorry!
Your location in the UK will also come into the equation as will the health of any existing shrubs/plants.
My front garden is northwest-facing and gets literally zero direct sun in winter, but is bathed in sunshine from late afternoon and through the evening in the summer months. And I'm in Kent; the further north you are, the more pronounced will be the difference.
They all have a large impact on the amounts of sun and shade in a garden.
You can have a north facing site, but if no one else nearby has any large hedges ,fences or trees, you'll get more light, and vice versa.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...