I’m a pro gardener – you don’t need a sunny garden to have a beautiful green lawn, these three grasses thrive in shade
IF you have a shady garden, you might dread summer.
Not only does it slash your ability to catch good rays, but it can also feel like it wreaks havoc on your garden.
While your friends all have sprawling lawns of lush green, you’re doing whatever it takes to keep the minimal grass you have alive.
You don’t have to put up with this, though.
In fact, according to one gardener, there are plenty of grasses that can survive a shady British summer.
“My favourite grass for part-shade – but it’s particularly hard to get hold of – would be melica uniflora albida,” award winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson shared.
“It’s this very airy little grass that’s got tiny white clusters at the end, which look like dew drops.
“My other favourite, hakonechloa macra, can take quite a lot of shade just so long as it’s in well-drained soil.”
These two recommendations can survive in part-shade, which Pollyanna says means four to six hours a day of sunlight.
For a garden that receives no sunlight at all, she recommends sowing luzula nivea seeds.
“A lot of grasses can handle quite a lot of shade,” she assured.
Pollyanna made the revelations on The Ins & Outs podcast, which she shares with interior design expert Jojo Barr.
Melica uniflora albida
This grass thrives in shade due to its natural adaptation to woodland environments with low light.
It has broad, flat leaves that maximise photosynthesis in diffuse light.
What’s more, its shallow, widespread root system efficiently absorbs nutrients and moisture from the upper soil layers.
The consistent moisture and stable temperatures of a shaded garden will even support its growth and metabolic functions.
July gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor Veronica Lorraine, has shared the tasks you need to tackle this July in your garden.
1. Prune Wisteria
You should only prune back Wisteria twice a year – and July – or mid summer – is one of those times. After flowering cut back long side shoots to around seven buds.five or six leaves.
2. Pinch out tomatoes
Your tomatoes should be really picking up – so pinch out all the side shoots without flowers – and remove all the leaves that are shading the tomatoes – this will give them maximum light and energy.
3. Keep weeding
Hand weeding and hoeing the surface of the soil will keep your weeds under check.
4. Feed Dahlias
To keep Dahlias flowering until Autumn, you must keep feeding them weekly with a liquid fertliser high in potassium – which encourages blooms.
5. Keep deadheading plants
Keep up with deadheading your bedding plants and perennials – so they keep coming back for the season. With roses make sure you’re deadheading back to a set of five leaves, giving you the best chance of them flowering again.
6. Check on your pond
If you’re lucky enough to have a pond – make sure it’s clear of algae, which can really bloom when the sun beats down.
7. Feed your lawn
Whether that’s with a liquid feed or granules. If you’ve chosen granules try to get them down before the rain comes, so they soak into the soil.
8. Tend to strawberry plants
Cut the leaves off strawberry plants after you’ve picked them – leaving the crown untouched – which should help with next years fruit.
9. Sow extra seeds
July weather is a great time to sow seeds as the warm soil and sunshine is great for germination. Try carrots, winter broccoli and other brassicas.
10. Move young plants into soil
Get any young plants you’ve got left in the greenhouse – like courgettes – into the soil.
Hakonechloa macra
Also known as Japanese forest grass, hakonechloa macra thrives in shade due to its natural adaptation to woodland environments with low light.
Its arching, slender leaves are efficient at capturing diffuse light for photosynthesis.
The plant’s slow growth rate conserves energy and resources in limited light conditions.
Cooler, more stable temperatures in shade reduce stress from heat and direct sunlight, creating a favourable microclimate for it to grow.
Luzula nivea
Also known as snow rush, this plant would rather be in the shade.
It isn’t technically a form of grass but can spread to do the same job as more popular seeds for luscious lawns.
The Royal Horticultural Society describes it as “a slowly spreading evergreen perennial forming a loose clump of narrow, dark green leaves to 30cm long”.
It grows lax clusters of small, shiny white flowers in early and mid-summer on stems that reach up to 60cm high.