How to makemy own shade (landscaping, growing, fertilizer, Dogwood)
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So we downsized which, of course, meant a much smaller gardening area in a 1000 sq ft courtyard which is mostly full sun. My previous garden was mature and about 3/4 light shade. To economize and because I love what I had in my previous garden, I am digging up many perennials to bring to our new house.
We were all ready to install a nice 7 ft arbor to give us a bit of shade for hostas, hydrangeas, etc but the crapy HOA says we can't have anything taller than the 6 ft fence. Long term plan is to get elected to HOA and have that stupid rule struck down but now I'm stuck with my shade loving plants getting too much sun.
I tried a few patio umbrellas in the courtyard but that isn't the best solution. Now I've bought some shade cloth to try to make some sun protection for specific plants. Is it possible the plants which have been growing in shade will acclimate to more sun in a season or two or should I put them in containers where I can move them to a shaded porch?
Our previous house is still on the market and I hate to leave so many treasures behind. I've been dividing daylilies, iris, asters, hostas, sedum, baptisia and lots of other perennials. And there is still so much there nobody will ever know what has been dug up.
I'm afraid I already know the answer to my question but I'm hoping you folks here will have some suggestions. Thank you.
How tall are these plants? You could build some lath shade structures that are right at 6 feet tall. Not gorgeous, but better than losing your favorites.
Your backyard is completely enclosed, right?
IME, many of the plants you list will take all the sun I can give them and still want more, so I suspect that quite a few of them will make the adjustment. Yes, I know we live in very different climates, but I wouldn’t throw in the towel just yet.
If you put a trellis up on either side and run string across a grape vine will provide a lot of shade although you will need to deal with cutting the grapes off. Our neighbors had an arbor at their gate and then ran string across to their pergola which has a canvass awning over it. The grape leaves created such a perfect shade entrance way for her yard. There are many different colors of string so she used green and it actually disappeared once the grape vines grew in.
I have a nice grove of banana plants on the corner of my patio. I love the lush tropical feel and the are big enough to throw shade. Mine die back every winter, here in zone 8b, but you could probably find a variety that is hearty in NC.
If we get a mild winter, the plants will get taller than the roof, but these are shorter because they had died back to the ground last winter.
Last edited by gentlearts; 12-24-2020 at 07:09 AM..
You could try a moveable screen while you're waiting to get elected to the HOA. Or, depending on the fence, you could use shade cloth to make corner covers, triangular and attached to the fence. You could use the same for the screen and use it like a sail, (or maybe I mean sun dial?) depending on time of day and direction of the sun.
It is going to provide me with shade in the summers on my apartment balcony. It's super hardy, and I just bought some of the fertilizer and pesticide in one, after initially having some aphid problems, and since then it's been problem free, and it blooms constantly from early spring and is still blooming at late summer.
But, unfortunately, you will probably have to give away or sell most of your plants. Instead of trying to make your new space work for the plants you have - you're better off figuring out what plants will work in your new space. And then, if the plants you already have work in your new space - great. If not, then give your plants away or sell them, and start learning about new plants that will work in your new space.
I had to finally give up on a bougainvillea I had on my balcony. It tried really hard to like my balcony, but, even with giving it the best effort and conditions I could, and special bougainvillea fertilizer, it was just never going to flourish on my balcony, so I had to let it go.
Actually nothing can be taller than 6 feet. However we can put anything we want in pots. That makes no sense to me at all. Tall is tall, no matter where it is growing. I planted some new evergreen dogwoods in planters and I won't live long enough to see them reach 6 feet but I wanted to try them. I guess they (HOA) is worried about roots and drainage and plumbing. I don't know.
You could try a moveable screen while you're waiting to get elected to the HOA. Or, depending on the fence, you could use shade cloth to make corner covers, triangular and attached to the fence. You could use the same for the screen and use it like a sail, (or maybe I mean sun dial?) depending on time of day and direction of the sun.
I think this is what I will end up doing. I still haven't given up on the idea of patio umbrellas in the garden. I have ordered 2 matching 9ft umbrellas and as long as we can walk under them I see no problem. They will have to be lowered during bad weather and I"m looking for some slate pieces to put the bases on so they don't sink into the ground or get rusted.
I also have decided to grow my beloved hosta in large pots on my shaded front porch. That is better than doing away with them all together or losing them to sun scorch.
I do appreciate all the fine suggestions. This is my first experience with a strict HOA and it's come as a great shock.
I think this is what I will end up doing. I still haven't given up on the idea of patio umbrellas in the garden. I have ordered 2 matching 9ft umbrellas and as long as we can walk under them I see no problem. They will have to be lowered during bad weather and I"m looking for some slate pieces to put the bases on so they don't sink into the ground or get rusted.
I also have decided to grow my beloved hosta in large pots on my shaded front porch. That is better than doing away with them all together or losing them to sun scorch.
I do appreciate all the fine suggestions. This is my first experience with a strict HOA and it's come as a great shock.
Yeah, I hate HOAs. And getting on the board doesn't necessarily change anything except your blood pressure. Most people who get on the board are the control freaks who have an agenda. And majority rules. So, you can go with the best intentions, with logic and statistics, and if the majority votes to do something completely idiotic, based on nothing but emotions, then you get something idiotic.
I bought a condo, which was my first experience with a HOA, and sold it a year later because of the HOA, and I never bought anything again that had one, and I never would again. And, yep, I got on the board, hoping to make a difference.
Honestly, I can tell you, though, that if you become a major pain in the rear, you'll probably get away with it. There was a woman who owned in our association, who just blatantly broke all the rules regarding what she could plant around her condo, and she was such a pain to deal with, that although the board members complained about her, they also would leave her alone, rather than deal with her.
How she accomplished this was by showing up at the board meetings any time the board sent her a notice about complying with the landscaping rules. She's show up and ask to be heard, and then just talk and talk and talk and talk and rant and rant and rant, and take up a bunch of time. This would, of course, cause the board meeting to end up going into the wee hours of the morning.
So, when the plant nazi member of the group would want to send yet another threat to this woman regarding her improper plantings, the other board members would groan and usually decide to put it off.
So, you could become the crazy, annoying person they decide isn't worth bothering with.
Plan B could be trying to get other members to vote to change the rules. Basically, to get them to leave you alone, though, you just need to make it harder for them to say no than to leave you alone. You make them dread dealing with you to the point that they decide not to.
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