What plants work best in shady edible landscapes?
Written by
Benjamin Miller
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.To cultivate food in shady places, you must choose the right shade-tolerant edible plants which will grow in low light conditions. These plants are suited to low light and are suitable for product beauty. With the proper choice of varieties, you can make any shady corner productive under a tree or on the north side of a wall.
Herbs dominate the options for plants well-suited for shady gardens, such as lemon balm and mint. They grow well with only three hours of morning sunshine. Parsley thrives in shade and adds its stimulating flavor to many dishes, as well as lovely greenery to the garden. They thrive on covered patios, where I have grown them successfully, with no more than an hour of direct sunlight.
If you're maintaining a shady area, you're better off growing greens and salad vegetables than sun-loving ones. Sorrel grows tangy leaves in shady spots, while kale provides a continuous harvest of highly nutritious leaves with little sun. If you are under deciduous canopies, wild leeks will happily naturalize. These will be ready for constant harvest from spring to fall.
Herb Solutions
- Mint thrives in 2-3 hours of filtered light
- Lemon balm produces fragrant leaves in damp shade
- Parsley maintains flavor with morning sun only
Leafy Greens
- Sorrel grows year-round in full shade
- Kale produces sweeter leaves with limited sun
- Wild leeks naturalize under tree canopies
Fruiting Plants
- Alpine strawberries bear fruit in dappled light
- Currants flower and fruit under high canopy
- Gooseberries tolerate north-facing locations
Those with shaded areas may want to consider fruiting plants. For instance, alpine strawberries will produce sweet berries when planted in the dappled light of the tree tops. Currants and gooseberries are heavy bloomers under the trees. These plant materials have great ornamental value when in bloom, offering a very delicious form of produce later on.
Increase the productivity of shade gardens with smart techniques. By planting your beds farther apart than in sunny ones, you lessen competition for light. Use reflective surfaces, such as white-painted walls, to bounce available light. Use light-colored pots that amplify existing light conditions.
Beyond their benefits in food production, shade gardens offer additional ecological rewards. They create cool microclimates by giving shelter in summer heat and are supportive of beneficial insect life. The shaded area where I grow my herbs is home to greater numbers of ladybugs and pollinating insects than my sunniest vegetable beds, thus creating a natural pest control system.
Start a shade garden with simple cuttings of lemon balm or a few seeds of sorrel. You will be harvesting, in a matter of months, from areas of your landscape you view as unproductive. These useful plants are cheering proof that food can grow in beauty even when sunlight is limited.
Read the full article: 10 Essential Edible Landscape Design Tips
