PITTSBURGH Magazine
Home & Garden

Spring 2008 Issue

A supplement to PITTSBURGH Magazine

Call 412-622-1360 to order

Made In The Shade

Five tenets of shade gardening to get you started.
Read more.

From the Top

Spectacular views from around the region.

Simply Superb Solutions

Home Resources: A local guide to some home and garden experts.

and much more!

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Made In The Shade

By Lindsay Bond Totten
Photography by Lindsay Bond Totten and John Totten

You know you're hopelessly hooked on shade gardening when the latest catalog arrives and you flip immediately to the section labeled "Wildflowers." "Color" no longer pushes your buttons, but foliage does. And you have more varieties of hellebore in your backyard than pairs of shoes in your closet.

If so, welcome aboard. A passion for shade gardening puts you near the leading edge of horticulture's "hot spot." Fueled by a surge of interest in native plants and a desire by many to downsize a bit, shade gardening offers a natural alternative to high-maintenance perennial borders. Shade gardens are easy to care for, environmentally friendly and can't be beat as a peaceful refuge after an exhausting day at work.

A certain amount of effort is required at the outset, and, of course, you need some trees. But the "to do" list is not long, the result oh-so-rewarding.

Read more for five important tenets of shade gardening to get you started.