Growing for success | Let’s get shady: top picks for your oasis

The shady area under the canopy of trees can be substantially cooler than the surrounding environment.

This occurs naturally, as trees and plants cool themselves through transpiration, which in turn cools the surrounding air like large-scale evaporative coolers.

With the added bonus of UV protection from the overhead canopy, it is a great place to spend the afternoon on a hot summer’s day.

The cooler environment and reduced sunlight will also affect the plants that can thrive in these spaces, so extra thought is required when planning your garden.

There is a huge range of plants to choose from, allowing you to create a unique feel or theme for the area based on your selections.

Ferns are a great example, with their lush foliage evoking images of a subtropical rainforest fern gully.

Many ferns grow well in shaded regions if given a bit of care.

Cyathea cooperi the Australian tree fern, is a reasonably quick-growing, tall, usually single-trunked, elegant tree fern with long, spreading fronds that create a wonderful canopy.

These are a protected plant and can only be removed from the bush under licence. They are sold by trunk height and supplied with an environmental tag.

It is important to keep the crown, from where the fronds emerge, damp with overhead watering.

Understorey ferns, such as the bird’s nest fern Asplenium nidus, with their dark green, broad, upright foliage, can make a striking impact and pair well with other contrasting foliage.

Asplenium bulbiferum, with its gracefully arching, deeply divided light green foliage, or the blue fern Phlebodium aureum, with its clumps of bold, blue-green leaves, offer striking changes in foliage colour and form when planted alongside the bird’s nest fern.

The silver lady fern, Blechnum gibbum, also known as the dwarf tree fern, is perfect as an understorey plant.

It creates a distinct tropical look as it grows, producing a rosette of light green fronds that emerge from the top of a dark, black stem as the fern matures.

Arthropodium moonbeam is a variegated variety of the New Zealand lily, well-known to gardeners for the success of other cultivars such as Matapouri Bay and Te Puna.

These lilies grow and flower happily in shady places.

Their star-shaped flowers appear on long, arching stems above the broad, strappy foliage. Moonbeam’s striking variegated foliage can stand out beautifully against the green foliage of ferns and works well as a border plant.

Ajuga reptans is an excellent shade-tolerant ground cover that can spread through a fernery or shady garden.

Available in forms ranging from variegated foliage to thick dark green, golden, or almost black leaves, it produces short violet-blue flower spikes during spring and summer.

It can form a dense enough cover to suppress weed growth, keep the ground cooler and conserve moisture.

Ligularia dentata pandora features dark purple or chocolate leaves that add depth to a lush garden bed.

The tall, golden-yellow flowers provide a stunning contrast in spring and summer.

Related to the tractor seat plant (Ligularia dentata reniformis), dentata pandora has similarly shaped leaves but on a smaller scale.

These plants look stunning when mass-planted as ground cover or used as a low border and grow well under deciduous trees, even when exposed to occasional winter frosts.

Heucheras are another low-growing option that can add colour and texture to shady areas.

They come in a variety of foliage colours, including dark plum, orange, gold, rust red, purple and variegated forms.

They are easy to grow and require little maintenance apart from the occasional cutback and feed.

Planted among other plants or used as a border, heucheras can bring a tropical feel to your garden with their vibrant foliage.

This weekend, when the weather is warm, take a moment to imagine relaxing in your own shady garden corner under a canopy of tree fern fronds.

Once you have that picture in your mind, drop in and see us — we’ll help you bring it to life!