Ask the Experts

Written by Cynthia Van Hazinga

Photo: Pam Spaulding/Positive Images
Watering deeply by hand will promote healthier roots and help save water.

Q: Can you give me ideas for creating a more finished look in a new garden bed?
—Elizabeth Coppola, Wayne, Pennsylvania

A: There are a few things you can do to minimize the forlorn look of a new garden and make it seem well established. Rachel Kane, who tends acres of flowers at Perennial Pleasures Nursery in East Hardwick, Vermont, suggests planting a few large landscape-size specimens. “Small plants are more affordable, but they will look rather lonely for a couple of years while bulking up. So to detract the attention from all that bare earth, plant a couple of whoppers,” such as a New England aster or a nice-size clump of coreopsis or phlox. Fill in the space around your other plants with annuals or ground-covering plants, which can be thinned or removed later on. “Height is very important in blending a garden bed into the landscape, and helping it to command its own space,” Kane explains, “so never be afraid to try some plants in the 4- to 6-foot range. If you have enough room, include a small shrub or two, such as a hydrangea, a spreading juniper or a spirea. Not only will they add mass to the planting, they’ll add winter interest, too.”

Q: Plants list sun requirements on the tags, but I’m not sure if my yard is partly sunny or partly shady. How is this measured?
—Susan Meaderill, Bethesda, Maryland

A: Knowing how much sun or shade your yard has is critical to choosing the right plants. Charlie Nardozzi, senior horticulturist with the National Gardening Association (garden.org), explained the five different types of light and which plants grow best in each exposure. Deep shade is found under large evergreen trees with low branches, such as hemlock and spruce. (Only moss can grow under these conditions.) Medium shade is found under mature deciduous trees with their lowest branches at least 20 feet off the ground, such as maples, or on the north side of a building or hedge. Plants such as hostas and ferns grow well here. Part shade is usually found under small deciduous trees or trees with thin canopies, such as flowering plum or honey locust. Dappled sunlight filters to the ground providing enough light for shadeloving plants such as azalea, mountain laurel, bleeding heart, ligularia, pulmonaria and lamium. Finally, part sun describes a spot that receives three to four hours of direct sun a day, not necessarily all at once. Plants such as astilbe, coleus, impatiens, heuchera and tiarella grow well under these conditions.

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