The
Season
‘THERE ARE
ALWAYS FLOWERS
FOR THOSE
WHO WANT TO
SEE THEM.’
— HENRI MATISSE
for Trying
w
e
N
s
g
n
i
h
T
THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT
WHAT MIGHT GROW IN THE SHADE
By Amelia Winkelman
M
y first encounter with a daffodil
this year ignited me with so much
joy that my plant-ignorant self
announced it’s time I grounded
myself with some light gardening.
Ground as in come back down to
Earth, not punish like your parents
used to, but who’s to say which direction this new endeavor
will go?
I live in an apartment with a shady balcony. I know
this adds some limitations, so I talked to Lorrie Bolivar,
a plant broker, to assess the shady situation. Bolivar
works for a wholesale plant nursery, Nursery Net, and
travels around the state looking for the perfect plants
for diff erent commercial and private landscape projects.
Bolivar says lots of plants do well in the shade, but she
recommends buying perennials, plants that come back
for more than one year without needing to be replanted,
because they tend to have longer blooms than annual
plants and require less fertilizer.
Many salvias have long bloom times, though they
require sun, Bolivar says. Hostas thrive in the shade and
“get a really tall, pretty and very fragrant bloom in the
middle of the summer,” she says.
10
M A R C H
2 1 ,
2 0 2 4
Salvias are perennial shrubs. Some types are ever-
green, meaning they have color all year long. Hostas are
leafy, easy to maintain perennials.
I visited Eugene’s Down to Earth garden center to see
what I was working with. In the rows of charming plants,
I was not compelled by any shade-dwellers until I laid my
eyes upon the ethereal bleeding heart, a perennial with
pink, drooping, heart-shaped fl owers.
Another perennial that can grow in the shade is mint,
Bolivar says. Mojitos are beloved in my household, so it’s
an obvious choice. Though, it's “one of those plants that
does not play nicely with others,” Bolivar says.
Mint needs to be planted in a separate pot which can
then be situated in a garden bed to keep it from spread-
ing, she says, but the pot should have a few holes and be
made of plastic, ceramic, galvanized steel or any other
plant-safe material.
‘If you see plants that
make you
feel good,
just get them.’
— Lorrie Bolivar,
Nursery Net plant broker
After I asked Bolivar about many of the guidelines I
assumed I needed to follow, she reassured me that my
inexperience is not an issue.
“If you see plants that make you feel good, just get
them,” Bolivar says. “Just try it, don’t be afraid. You’ll
develop a relationship with that plant and it’ll be really
fun. If you want to assign a bunch of rules to it, then it
becomes more intimidating.”
As of now, my lineup includes the magnifi cent heart
perennial and mojito mint, though I do plan to add both
perennial and annual plants as summer approaches,
giving me more time to scour the city for shade plants.
Photos by Todd Cooper
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M