The mountain deck that cooks while the air is cool
Not full sun or shade. How much usable light actually arrives across a day, when it arrives, and whether the spot ever dries.
About 41 moles of usable light a day with about 15.5 hours of direct sun in high summer. That is full sun, whatever the label on the plant says. Midwinter direct sun is about 9 hours, counted on its own day, not inferred from summer.
Of the groups in the reference set, fruiting vegetable 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
41
mol/m²/day
April to September, averaged
Midsummer direct sun
15.5
hours
On 15 July, traced against the plan
Freeze-thaw
121
cycles a year
What cracks pots, not what kills plants
| Month | Light | Direct sun | Dries in | Reads as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.3 | 9 h | not that day | shade |
| Feb | 15.4 | 10 h | not that day | part shade |
| Mar | 23.7 | 12 h | not that day | part sun |
| Apr | 33.2 | 13.5 h | 9.3 h | full sun |
| May | 40.4 | 15 h | 8.5 h | full sun |
| Jun | 47.5 | 15.5 h | 7.9 h | full sun |
| Jul | 51 | 15.5 h | 7.1 h | full sun |
| Aug | 43.2 | 14 h | 7 h | full sun |
| Sep | 31.7 | 12.5 h | 8.4 h | full sun |
| Oct | 19.7 | 11 h | not that day | part sun |
| Nov | 10.8 | 9 h | not that day | part shade |
| Dec | 7.7 | 8.5 h | not that day | shade |
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 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.
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.
For the corner that never dries, which most planting advice treats as a fault to fix.
Watch for: These want consistent moisture, not stagnant water. Standing water still needs solving.
Examples, not recommendations: Astilbe; Ligularia; Iris sibirica. 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Other questions about this place