How to Grow in a North-Facing Garden

How to Encourage Light in your North-Facing Garden

Just because your garden is north-facing, it doesn’t mean there will be no sunlight at all. Some areas may receive snippets of light throughout the day, especially in summer.

Having large trees in your garden can make it appear darker, due to them blocking the light. To help tackle this, trim the lower branches to help create gaps, encouraging more sunlight into your garden.

Another tip to make your garden appear lighter is to plant white or light-coloured flowers such as snowdrops. A green garden is amazing but it is also great to break it up with colour. This enhances the lighter areas of your north-facing garden.

Hostas

Hostas are a great addition to any garden not just a shaded one. Due to them being known for their large foliage, Hostas are fantastic at filling gaps in your garden. Add them to your borders or beds to make your garden appear greener and fuller.

The only downside to hostas is that they are extremely susceptible to slug damage because of their big green leaves. Using a pest control method is crucial through wetter weather to ensure the slugs and snails stay away.

Snowdrops

If you are looking for a spring bulb that grows in the shade, then snowdrops are the answer. Snowdrops are native to woodlands so are known for growing well in lightly shaded, well-drained areas. As mentioned earlier, snowdrops produce dainty white flowers shaped like bells, so add hints of white throughout your garden brightening up the space.

Does vertical growing help?

Vertical growing is another method that will benefit a shaded area as the higher plants are grown the closer they are to reach the sunlight. Building a trellis or wigwam will help plants grow vertically as it encourages them to reach for the light promoting fast growth.

Should I replace my lawn?

Another tip for making the most of your garden is to ditch your lawn. This may seem excessive, but if your garden remains in the shade all through summer, your lawn may struggle to survive.

Replace your lawn with a rockery full of succulents that love the shade or even a seating area surrounded by pots. There are many ways in which you can make the most of your space it is just finding the ones which will suit your garden.

Encourage Wildlife to your North-Facing Garden

Nothing beats sitting outside enjoying your garden while being surrounded by wildlife. Encouraging wildlife in your garden may seem unnecessary, however, wildlife help pollinate flowers, deter pests and even improve soil quality.

Tasks such as building a bug hotel or hanging bird feeders are excellent ways to encourage wildlife and they’ll soon begin to offer a helping hand around the garden.