Do you have a shady spot in your yard that currently consists of dead grass and weeds? This is exactly what we had in the small strip of grass between our house and our neighbour’s home a few years ago. The grass was dying and the weeds were slowly taking over. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this spot as it’s not a place we spend much time near, but it is visible from the front of our home and along the path to our neighbour’s backyard. In this post, Side Shade Garden On A Budget 8 Years Later, I show you how to create a lush shade garden on a budget.
Garden Location
This shade garden can be planted anywhere that’s shaded and other plants or grass have difficulty growing. This could be a patch of earth under taller trees at the back of your yard or it could be along the shaded side of your home. The garden that I created is approximately 6.5 ft wide and 40 feet long, but the ideas presented here could work in any size space. First, you’ll want to ensure that the area is properly drained and that it does receive at least a few hours of sunlight or dappled sunlight during the day.
Preparing The Earth For Planting
I recommend completely removing any old plants and grass, including their roots. Then you can amend the soil to make it suitable for planting. We already had a thin layer of topsoil, so I simply added a few additional bags of topsoil and a little compost to create reasonably fertile soil. I’ve never had to fertilize this garden because the soil quality I started with was good and the plants I chose are not heavy feeders. If you have heavy clay soil you may need further soil amendments.
Choosing The Shade Plants
I did some research on shade plants in my zone before purchasing anything. I also relied on my own personal experience with plants in our city. We live in Ottawa, Canada, in the Zone 5a plant hardiness zone. All of the plants I used have thrived and we’ve never had any winter losses.
When choosing your plants, consider the goals for your garden. I wanted a low-maintenance garden that would fill a large space economically and look good from the street. Additionally, I wanted a taller plant to hide some unsightly infrastructure (pipes and our air conditioning unit). I also chose one really beautiful plant (hydrangeas) that I knew I’d be able to harvest flowers from.
Side Shade Garden On A Budget 8 Years Later: The Plants
From front to back, here is a listing of the plants I used:
- Astrantia (Masterwort)
- Hostas
- Coral Bells
- White Bleeding Heart
- Limelight Hydrangea
- Astilbe
- Spirea
- Barberry (large burgundy-leaf bush)
- Ferns, Painted Ferns
- Sweet Woodruff (ground cover)
Purchasing The Plants
I wanted to plant this garden as economically as possible, so I used cuttings from hostas and purchased small plants from Canadian Tire and The Real Canadian Superstore for everything else. Since I planted the garden in spring, allowing the plants a full season to grow before winter, none of the plants were on sale. However, purchasing early in the season has the advantage of great selection and high-quality plants that haven’t withered after months spent in a garden centre. I chose the smallest-sized plants for everything knowing that it would take a little time for the garden to fill out, but that I would save hundreds of dollars this way. Other ways to find economical or free plants are to see if neighbours or members of local online gardening groups are dividing plants and giving away their excess plants.
Arrangement Of Plants
I started with the placement of the barberry bush since I knew where it needed to go to block the view of the pipes and air conditioner. Behind the barberry bush, I planted the sweet woodruff in a 6.5 ft by 15 ft long space. I believe I used thirty-six 4″ plants and spread them out evenly in the space. Sweet woodruff is a spreader and by the end of the second season, it had filled in all the available space. The plants were $2 each so I was able to fill this large space for only $72. I could have used even fewer plants to achieve the same result over a longer time period, though weeding between the plants would have been necessary. Right behind the barberry bush, I planted a couple of hostas and ferns.
In front of the barberry bush, I placed two hydrangea bushes about halfway between the barberry and the front edge of the garden. I placed them up against the wall since I know they would grow quite large eventually. I then planted the remainder of the plants around them, leaving ample space between plants.
Caring For The Young Garden
Right after I planted everything I gave the plants a deep watering and used about 10 bags of mulch to fill in around all the plants. I top up the mulch every year as it decomposes a little each season. Adding the mulch is critical if you want a low-maintenance garden. Over the past 8 years, I have never spent more than 30 minutes per season weeding and I have never had to water once past the initial root-establishing phase. I watered the plants every other day for the first 2-3 weeks only. This was a huge improvement over the grass that resided here previously which needed twice-weekly watering in the summer.
Year 1
This is how the garden looked right after planting.
Year 2
This is how the garden looked during the second year.
Year 8
The garden is now mature and I’m pleased with how everything turned out. We haven’t lost a single plant, though I did try adding some Lily of the valley around year 4 and it didn’t survive. We have rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and occasional deer in our neighbourhood and they haven’t bothered any of our other plants over the years.
The barberry bush has reached a point where it completely obstructs the view of the unsightly pipes and air conditioner. I’m really pleased that the sweet woodruff has continued to cover the large area at the back of the garden. My favourite plants are the hydrangea bushes since they provide so many beautiful flowers that I use for arrangements in the summer and fall. The bushes bloom in July and the flowers start as a pretty green colour, changing to white, and then a beautiful blush colour, and finally a pretty rose colour in the early fall. I also frequently cut fern and hosta leaves for arrangments.
Ongoing Care
The hostas need to be divided soon since they are becoming overgrown and they block light from the smaller plants. The best time to do this is in early spring before the leaves open up. It can also be done in early fall once the leaves start to fade. As mentioned above, the cedar mulch needs to be topped up every year with about 3-4 bags of mulch.
Summary
I hope you have enjoyed my post, Side Shade Garden On A Budget 8 Years Later. Did you get some ideas for a shady spot in your garden? The time spent creating this garden was worth it since it enhances the curb appeal of our home and provides a little garden retreat that our family really enjoys.
Are you interested in gardening? If so, you might want to read my posts about creating raised garden beds. The first post in the series can be read here. Happy gardening!
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