The bed at the bottom of the slope
Not full sun or shade. How much usable light actually arrives across a day, when it arrives, and whether the spot ever dries.
About 35.1 moles of usable light a day with about 15 hours of direct sun in high summer. That is full sun, whatever the label on the plant says. Midwinter direct sun is about 0 hours, counted on its own day, not inferred from summer.
Of the groups in the reference set, espaliered fruit on a warm wall is the one that actually belongs in conditions like these. Anything planted here sits wet for 6 months of the year, so drainage is the decision before the plant is.
Growing-season light
35.1
mol/m²/day
April to September, averaged
Midsummer direct sun
15
hours
On 15 July, traced against the plan
Freeze-thaw
83
cycles a year
What cracks pots, not what kills plants
| Month | Light | Direct sun | Dries in | Reads as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.4 | 0 h | not that day | shade |
| Feb | 11 | 0 h | not that day | part shade |
| Mar | 22 | 12 h | not that day | part sun |
| Apr | 30.5 | 13.5 h | 10 h | full sun |
| May | 36.9 | 15 h | 8.8 h | full sun |
| Jun | 41.1 | 15.5 h | 8.1 h | full sun |
| Jul | 41.4 | 15 h | 7.8 h | full sun |
| Aug | 35.2 | 14 h | 7.8 h | full sun |
| Sep | 26.1 | 12.5 h | 9.7 h | part sun |
| Oct | 12.5 | 0 h | not that day | part shade |
| Nov | 8 | 0 h | not that day | shade |
| Dec | 6.2 | 0 h | not that day | shade |
The cheapest screening per metre and the best for everything that is not a person.
Watch for: Mixed hedges take four years to be a screen and want cutting once a year to stay one.
Examples, not recommendations: Regional native hedging mixes. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Screens in summer, filters in winter, and holds brown leaves through the cold.
Watch for: Winter screening is partial. If the problem is a winter sightline, this is not the answer.
Examples, not recommendations: Beech; Hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The classic answer to a sightline when there is no room for a hedge.
Watch for: Narrow forms lose their shape if the top is ever cut. Buy the mature height you want.
Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Dense all year, and it wants more width than people allow for.
Watch for: A hedge kept below its natural width thins at the base, which is exactly where a seated sightline runs.
Examples, not recommendations: Yew; Portuguese laurel; Holly. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Summer shade that gives the winter sun back. The best shade device there is, and the slowest.
Watch for: Mature spread is the number that matters, and it is almost always larger than the space allowed.
Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Shade over a pergola in July and bare timber in January, which is usually exactly right.
Watch for: Wisteria in particular puts real load on a structure. Build for it before planting it.
Examples, not recommendations: Grape vine; Wisteria, given the structure for it; Virginia creeper. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The most productive use of a sunny wall there is, and it takes real commitment.
Watch for: This needs pruning twice a year, forever. Skipped for two seasons it becomes a shrub against a wall.
Examples, not recommendations: Apple; Pear; Fig in warm positions. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Movement instead of resistance, which is why these survive a balcony.
Watch for: Grasses in containers on a windy terrace dry out faster than anything else on the plot.
Examples, not recommendations: Miscanthus; Calamagrostis; Stipa. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Summer shade that gives the winter sun back. The best shade device there is, and the slowest.
Watch for: Mature spread is the number that matters, and it is almost always larger than the space allowed.
Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Structure and a canopy edge without committing the whole garden to shade.
Watch for: Many small trees resent reflected heat off a wall far more than they resent full sun.
Examples, not recommendations: Crabapple; Japanese maple in sheltered positions; Redbud. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Planted as a community rather than as specimens, and it wants full sun and poor soil.
Watch for: Rich soil and shade both make it flop. It is a group that is ruined by kindness.
Examples, not recommendations: Echinacea; Little bluestem; Achillea. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The most common failed planting in any garden, usually because it was never a light problem people checked.
Watch for: Below about twelve moles a day, no grass mix holds. That is when a different ground cover is the answer, not more seed.
Examples, not recommendations: Fine fescue mixes; Clover and micro-clover blends; Moss, accepted rather than fought. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The only group that will take a shallow, baking, exposed substrate and stay alive without watering.
Watch for: It fails in shade, not in drought. Under an overhang or a parapet shadow it thins out and the substrate takes over.
Examples, not recommendations: Sedum album; Sedum spurium; Sempervivum in the gaps. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Built for thin, sharp-draining ground in hard light. Wet feet kill these long before cold does.
Watch for: Almost nothing here is about temperature. Winter wet at the crown is what finishes them, so drainage beats hardiness every time.
Examples, not recommendations: Saxifrage; Sempervivum; Dianthus in gritty soil. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The most productive use of a sunny wall there is, and it takes real commitment.
Watch for: This needs pruning twice a year, forever. Skipped for two seasons it becomes a shrub against a wall.
Examples, not recommendations: Apple; Pear; Fig in warm positions. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.
Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.
Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The most light-hungry thing most people try to grow, and the one most often put in the wrong place.
Watch for: Leaves grow at fifteen moles a day; fruit needs more than twenty. That gap is why people get plants and no crop.
Examples, not recommendations: Tomato; Pepper; Courgette. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Reliable in less light than people expect, and destroyed by still, damp air.
Watch for: Airflow matters more than the last few moles of light. A still corner gives mildew every year whatever else is right.
Examples, not recommendations: Raspberry; Blackcurrant; Gooseberry. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.
Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.
Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
The most light-hungry thing most people try to grow, and the one most often put in the wrong place.
Watch for: Leaves grow at fifteen moles a day; fruit needs more than twenty. That gap is why people get plants and no crop.
Examples, not recommendations: Tomato; Pepper; Courgette. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Movement instead of resistance, which is why these survive a balcony.
Watch for: Grasses in containers on a windy terrace dry out faster than anything else on the plot.
Examples, not recommendations: Miscanthus; Calamagrostis; Stipa. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Deliberately temporary, which makes it the right answer to an awkward spot.
Watch for: Daily watering in summer. If nobody will do that, this is a plan to buy plants and kill them.
Examples, not recommendations: Regional bedding for the season. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Other questions about this place