My garden is bright and sunny in spring but once my Japanese maple leafs out, it becomes quite shady. How do I know what plants will grow well?
Trial and error is a big part of gardening. Light patterns in a garden not only commonly shift from one season to the next, they evolve over time as the garden matures. As a result, a plant that may flourish this year, may show signs of decline just a few years down the road as light patterns become less than ideal for that particular plant.
This is a big part of the reason why gardens are such dynamic places and gardeners are constantly planning the next renovation.
You already know that you have full sun early each spring. That's a good start. The big question now is how much sun is your garden getting during the rest of growing season and what is the quality of that sunlight? Japanese maples often let through filtered light, which means the shade in your garden is likely not dense, giving you more options.
Keep in mind that “full sun” plants don't actually require direct sunlight from dawn until dusk as their designation would suggest. What they require is six hours or more of direct sunlight during periods of active growth. Shade plants, on the other hand, require less than four hours of direct sunlight while they are actively growing and plants designated as "partial shade" fall somewhere in between.
Once you get an idea how many hours of direct sunlight your garden is getting, you will be able to make an educated guess which plants will do well in your garden. If you guess wrong, the plant will show signs of decline and you'll need to move it to another location. But don't despair, sooner or later you will hit on the ideal combination. Just plan your next move the second you attain perfection because it won't last long.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
