Shaded gardens: is it possible?

Plants and lawns are, by their very nature, sun lovers. Especially in dry gardens, which allow for significant savings in water resources used for irrigation, plants have the ability to withstand drought and often require prolonged exposure to sunlight. Is it, therefore, possible to create a lawn that follows the dry garden philosophy even on land with little sun exposure?

The answer is yes, although shaded gardens are not particularly easy to manage. But with some precautions, a few expert tips, and the right design, even a garden with little sunlight can be lush and, at the same time, eco-friendly.

1. Expert tips
2. The most suitable alternative lawns for a shaded garden
3. Low-water plants that withstand shade

Expert tips

The presence of large trees or buildings represents one of the greatest challenges for a garden of any kind. In these conditions, it is easy for the lawn to lose density and recover it very slowly. For this reason, the most valuable advice for maintaining a shaded garden is to avoid stressing the plants as much as possible. Below are our tips.

1. Minimize foot traffic: shade tends to make the lawn less resilient, and walking on the grass, especially when it is damp, can damage it.
2. Always check that the soil is not damp before watering: the presence of shade may allow for longer intervals between irrigation sessions.
3. Do not use herbicides against weeds: in addition to damaging the environment, chemicals also jeopardize the resilience of the delicate shaded garden.
4. Consider alternative solutions: the Gravel Garden, for example, is a garden composed of gravel and shade-tolerant plants, and can be a valid alternative to a classic lawn for shaded gardens.
5. Mow more frequently: fewer hours of sunlight may result in taller lawns, which will stretch out and broaden their leaves to capture as many sunbeams as possible.

The most suitable alternative lawns for a shaded garden

Our low-water lawns love sunny exposure, and even the most resistant varieties, in any case, need at least half a day of sun. When creating a shaded garden, the most adaptable variety is Frankenia laevis, which fares well even in partial shade situations. This groundcover is highly resistant to cold and salt spray, and it stays very low, thus requiring very little maintenance.

Other varieties of alternative lawns for a shaded garden are Achillea crithmifolia and the hardy Lippia nodiflora and Verbena hybrida, plants that adapt to many different situations. However, if sunlight hours are particularly scarce, a preliminary trial with a few seedlings is recommended, so as to assess the final yield before proceeding with the full project. In this way, it will be possible to understand which plants and in what percentages react best to the soil and climate, to find the ideal combination of plants for your shaded garden.

If even Frankenia has difficulty adapting, it is a good idea to consider alternatives, and choose a mixed Gravel Garden composed, instead of of lawns, of low-water plants.

Low-water plants that withstand shade

The plants that prove most suitable for shaded areas are those from the undergrowth or those typical of the Mediterranean scrub. The Arbutus unedo, for example, commonly known as the strawberry tree, is a very drought-resistant evergreen fruit tree that also withstands the coldest winters and is undaunted by shaded gardens. The Phillyrea, a woody plant that can reach a height of 6–7 m, also performs excellently in shaded soils, as does the Pistacia lentiscus, an evergreen shrub with a bushy habit, and the Laurus nobilis, the common bay laurel that grows well in all soils. Tulbaghia and Agapanthus are also suitable for shaded gardens, as they can even flower with very little sun exposure.

In our work of designing and creating gardens, we have learned that by observing nature, great results can be achieved, much more than by trying to manipulate it. A predominantly shaded area is not a place where it is easy to grow plants suitable for coastal gardens with plenty of sun, which is why it is preferable to choose undergrowth plants that need fewer hours of sunlight. Making use of nature's strategies, always respecting it in your choices, and learning from it is the best way to achieve results. And so, no condition will ever be impossible to manage when creating your own green space.