Experiments in shade: Play around with combinations of shade-loving plants to find a magic mix

摘要

I find there are times when having a shady garden is a little trying. During the winter it's dark and chilly and I have to put up with questions about whether we ever get any sun. However, by early spring and throughout summer and autumn it's a placeof magic, of ever-changing moods created by the light and, most of all, by the parade of plants that mark the seasons. In early spring, the fiery colours of the new hybrid clivias make the shadows glow. Few could argue that they are not a marked improvement on the old, salmony-orange Clivia miniata as they possess larger, brighter flowers and broader, more attractive foliage. Some also have an additional attraction - fat, yummy-looking seed heads which are green through winter then colour up at flowering time. The yellow-flowered clivias have butter yellow seed heads which are really handsome in a shady setting.