Spend summer in the shade

We’d like to have a perennial garden, but we’ve moved into a place that has a lot of trees in the yard. We get some sun a couple of times during the day, but there is no place that gets full sun all day. What are some perennials that grow and bloom in part sun or shade?

Hosta and spiderwort are two shade-loving perennials to add to a shady landscape.

In mid-summer, many gardeners might say you’re lucky to have those shady spots, where you can be outdoors but can stay out of the blazing July sun. Landscape designers know the benefits:

“A shade garden in the summer is a wonderful place to relax,” says landscape designer Mary Higgins, who owns Lavender Blue Garden Design in Middle Tennessee.

“I take care of a lot of gardens in the sun. When I get home, I find I get a lot of pleasure out of my shade garden. The sunny garden takes work. The shade garden is a place I can actually sit and read, relax and slow down, even on a hot day.”

There are plenty of plants that can thrive in areas that don’t get full sun.

Transplant azaleas in early fall

I have an azalea I’d like to move to a different location in the yard. Can I dig it up and move it now?

Now is not the best time to transplant azaleas, but start planning to make the move, because you can do it soon. The U.S. National Arboretum Web site and the Azalea Society of America both suggest early fall, after the weather has cooled a bit, as a good time to transplant an azalea.

When the time comes, start by preparing the new planting site (azaleas need good drainage, partial sun, and slightly acid soil). Dig a wide hole, but not a deep one because azaleas have fairly shallow roots. Dig the azalea with as big a root ball as you can manage, then lift the plant by the root ball, not by the trunk, and move it to its new location. If it’s a very large plant, you may want to work a tarp or a big square of burlap under the root ball, then tie it up and lift it using the tarp (probably not a one-person job).

When you place the root ball in its new hole, make sure it’s at the same level as it had been growing. Fill the hole with soil and water thoroughly, and add a couple of inches of pine straw mulch. Water it again the next day, and at least once a week for several weeks, the Azalea Society suggests. Water deeply if the plant begins to look wilted.