The deck that eats furniture
Not full sun or shade. How much usable light actually arrives across a day, when it arrives, and whether the spot ever dries.
About 30 moles of usable light a day with about 12 hours of direct sun in high summer. That is full sun, whatever the label on the plant says. Midwinter direct sun is about 10 hours, counted on its own day, not inferred from summer.
Of the groups in the reference set, salt-tolerant coastal shrub is the one that actually belongs in conditions like these.
Growing-season light
30
mol/m²/day
April to September, averaged
Midsummer direct sun
12
hours
On 15 July, traced against the plan
Freeze-thaw
0
cycles a year
What cracks pots, not what kills plants
| Month | Light | Direct sun | Dries in | Reads as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17.1 | 10 h | not that day | part shade |
| Feb | 21.8 | 9.5 h | not that day | part sun |
| Mar | 26.4 | 9 h | 8.8 h | part sun |
| Apr | 31.6 | 9.5 h | 7.5 h | full sun |
| May | 33.4 | 11.5 h | 7.4 h | full sun |
| Jun | 32.1 | 12 h | 8 h | full sun |
| Jul | 29.5 | 12 h | 8.3 h | full sun |
| Aug | 27.8 | 10.5 h | 8 h | part sun |
| Sep | 25.9 | 9.5 h | 8.3 h | part sun |
| Oct | 23.9 | 8.5 h | 9 h | part sun |
| Nov | 19 | 10 h | not that day | part sun |
| Dec | 15.8 | 10.5 h | not that day | part shade |
Salt air is a different problem from wind, and this is the group that solves both.
Watch for: Salt tolerance is specific. A plant that shrugs off wind inland can still burn in a coastal gale.
Examples, not recommendations: Escallonia; Griselinia; Elaeagnus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Fast, tall, evergreen screening, and the one plant most likely to become somebody else's problem.
Watch for: Only clumping species, and only with a root barrier. Running bamboo in a small garden is a decade-long regret.
Examples, not recommendations: Clumping Fargesia. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Height and depth quickly, at the cost of the space it takes.
Watch for: These reach the height quickly and then keep going. Plan the maintenance, not just the planting.
Examples, not recommendations: Photinia; Viburnum tinus; Laurel where it is not invasive. 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.
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.
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.
Salt air is a different problem from wind, and this is the group that solves both.
Watch for: Salt tolerance is specific. A plant that shrugs off wind inland can still burn in a coastal gale.
Examples, not recommendations: Escallonia; Griselinia; Elaeagnus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Wants a hot wall in summer and somewhere frost-free in winter, which makes it a decision about storage as much as position.
Watch for: It is the winter that costs. Somewhere bright, frost-free and unheated is a harder brief than the summer position.
Examples, not recommendations: Lemon; Calamondin; Kumquat. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Height and depth quickly, at the cost of the space it takes.
Watch for: These reach the height quickly and then keep going. Plan the maintenance, not just the planting.
Examples, not recommendations: Photinia; Viburnum tinus; Laurel where it is not invasive. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.
Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.
Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. 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.
For roofs, gravel and anywhere the answer to drainage is 'very'.
Watch for: Winter wet is the killer, not winter cold. In a wet climate these need overhead cover as much as drainage.
Examples, not recommendations: Sedum; Sempervivum; Delosperma. 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.
For ground that floods and then dries hard, which is a different problem from ground that is simply wet.
Watch for: The cycle is the point. Anything that only tolerates constant wet dies in the August between floods.
Examples, not recommendations: Iris in damp ground; Switchgrass; Joe Pye weed in North America. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Wants a hot wall in summer and somewhere frost-free in winter, which makes it a decision about storage as much as position.
Watch for: It is the winter that costs. Somewhere bright, frost-free and unheated is a harder brief than the summer position.
Examples, not recommendations: Lemon; Calamondin; Kumquat. 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.
Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.
Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.
Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. 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.
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.
Wants a hot wall in summer and somewhere frost-free in winter, which makes it a decision about storage as much as position.
Watch for: It is the winter that costs. Somewhere bright, frost-free and unheated is a harder brief than the summer position.
Examples, not recommendations: Lemon; Calamondin; Kumquat. 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.
Fast, tall, evergreen screening, and the one plant most likely to become somebody else's problem.
Watch for: Only clumping species, and only with a root barrier. Running bamboo in a small garden is a decade-long regret.
Examples, not recommendations: Clumping Fargesia. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.
Other questions about this place