Mini Makeover: Liana's Hard-to-Plant, Shaded Space
Last updated: Sep 19 2022
Key takeaways
Transform difficult shaded areas by selecting shade-tolerant plants that provide year-round structure, colorful blooms, and low-maintenance appeal even in challenging growing conditions.
Prepare neglected planting areas by removing overgrown vegetation, defining new garden beds, and improving the soil before installing new plants.
Layer evergreen shrubs, flowering perennials, and ornamental grasses to create texture, color, and visual interest while maximizing the beauty of shaded spaces.
This week’s Mini Makeover follows Liana with @lianagardens. As an avid gardener and plant enthusiast in Zone 7, Liana has been upgrading her landscape little by little over the past few years. She had one last untouched space of her yard to tackle—a shaded pocket at the north side of her yard, overgrown and a magnet for deer and rabbits. So, she got to work crafting a low-maintenance plan for her hard-to-plant area referred to as “no man’s land.”
With year-round interest, evergreen structure, colorful blooms and easy care at the top of her wish list, Liana chose plants accordingly. Since this was a completely new garden bed, she wanted to properly prep and define the space. And given that this area of her yard had been neglected for over a decade, she had her work cut out for her!
After trimming back existing shrubs and dodging stubborn Pin Oak roots, Liana began planting a mixture of Skip Laurels, Endless Summer® BloomStruck® Hydrangeas, Rozanne Geraniums, and Carex Evergolds. While the planning and prepping took a bit more time and a 2-week heat wave delayed the project, the actual planting only spanned about a day and a half.
We’re so impressed with the transformation, and as you can see in her video, the space is totally new and improved! Liana’s makeover is the perfect example of taking a neglected, unmanageable area and turning it into something beautiful.
Liana reflects on her project by saying, “I like to build my beds with flexibility, knowing I may want to change something in the future or add new plantings in.” We think she has the right idea there! After all, that’s the beauty of gardening—getting to be creative with varieties, styles and layouts and allowing your landscape to evolve with your preferences. We sure can’t wait to see how her new space grows in the seasons to come!
Have a tough area of your yard that needs a little TLC? With a few of your favorite plants suited to your location and needs, you, too, can transform your landscape. Be sure to follow along with the rest of our Mini Makeovers Series for more fun, simple and satisfying redesigns!
Learn more about Liana from @lianagardens and shop her plant picks below!
Written by
Sarah Logie
As Content Strategist at Trees.com, Sarah is smitten with words and a fanatic for flowers, particularly cut florals and house plants. With a love for curating compelling content, she also enjoys furthering her plant knowledge along the way! A few of her favorite flowers include hibiscus, hydrangeas, peonies and dahlias.
Sarah’s fondness for plants was cultivated through many childhood trips to Longwood Gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as through her first job out of college at a floral event design company. In her free time, catch her snapping photos of anything and everything, day-dreaming about interior decor, and enjoying the outdoors any chance she gets.
