Glossary of Shade Gardening Terms
So what is the difference between partial shade and full shade? What about dappled shade? How do I know whether my garden is moist versus dry shade? Gardeners throw out a lot of terms that could get lost in translation, so we put together a helpful glossary of shade gardening vocabulary for you to reference!
Full shade: Full Shade refers to a spot in a garden that doesn’t allow any light in. This is usually found under evergreen trees or densely planted shrubs. This area requires plants that enjoy cooler temperatures and close to no direct sunlight throughout the day. (Beacon Impatiens™ love full shade areas)
Partial shade: Partial shade refers to the amount of time that an area in your garden is in direct sunlight, 6 hours or less to qualify as partial shade. One bit that can get confusing is that for an area to be qualified as partial shade, four or more of the hours of sunlight the area gets must be in the morning.
Filtered shade: This type of shade is created by sunlight filtering through taller plants or structures. This is the most common shade found in woodland gardens and suburban areas.
Microclimate: A microclimate in a garden is a section of beds or containers that experience a different climate compared to the rest of the garden. This is usually characterized by cooler temperatures and lower light conditions, making it the perfect spot to plant beacon impatiens!
Dry Shade: This refers to the soil moisture in a shaded area, dry shade being the area found underneath large shade trees. The trees roots soak up most of the soil’s moisture, making it a competitive environment for plants.
Moist shade: Moist shade is caused by limited sun exposure to an area in your garden that prevents the soil from fully evaporating its moisture, leaving it moist throughout the day.
Mulch: Mulch is a soil amendment, usually containing organic materials like woodchips and bark or inorganic materials like stones. This is applied to soil to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. Mulch can make your garden beds more visually appealing, and it helps keep your plants nice and moist, especially underneath trees.
Shade cloth: A shade cloth is a material used to reduce the amount of sunlight plants receive by filtering out sunlight. This also protects plants from harsh temperatures and sun damage, leaving your garden cool and shady.
Habit: The habit of a plant refers to the overall shape, size, and form of a plant. It’s basically the plants overall appearance.
Mounding: Plants that grow outward, forming a rounded, mound shape. This is the growth habit of Beacon Impatiens.
We hope that you can use these definitions as a guide next time you hear a gardening term you’re not familiar with. Or impress your friends with the breadth of your shade gardening knowledge!