Almost every rock garden enthusiast will encounter a moment when they find themselves standing uncertainly on the northern side, or in the shadow of an enormous boulder. Many people simply write off this area as a ‘lost cause’, yet shade is not the end of the rock garden – in fact, it marks the beginning of a whole new, mystical world.
As gardeners, we can be prone to become obsessed with sunlight. We seek out southern exposure, count the hours of sunshine, and sometimes look almost regretfully at those corners of our garden where ‘the light doesn’t reach’. In a rock garden, this sensation is even more pronounced: the northern side of the stones, the darker strip beside the house wall, or the shade cast by a larger shrub often remain barren, as if life has come to a halt there.
Shade is not a flaw in the system. In the high mountains, where our favourite plants originate, the most captivating communities of life are often found precisely in mossy, cool, north-facing rock crevices. Here, the colours are deeper, the textures more velvety, and the sense of calm is tangible.
Continue reading Rock garden shade dwellers: The absence of light is not the end of the garden, but the beginning of a new world →
