I’m going to write about a number of issues that you should think about when you are choosing plants for your garden. The first few blogs will be about what are called cultural issues — as in horticultural, not opera or literature although I kind of like the idea of a tenor tulip. Cultural issues are all those considerations that determine whether a plant will survive and thrive in a particular location. They don’t ask whether the plant will look good, just whether it will make it.

The first of these is sunlight. When people say a plant needs “full sun,” they mean at least 4 – 6 hours of sun a day. Lots of times we don’t have a clear idea how much sun our gardens get, so if you’re really interested, just make yourself a chart and go out at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. and note down whether a particular spot is in the sun. If it’s got 4 – 6 hours, particularly of afternoon sun, you can call it “full sun.” If it’s exposed to the sun for the entire day, make sure it can also take some dryness in the soil, or else get yourself a good irrigation system.

by Rinda West

“Part sun” or “part shade” means 2 – 4 hours of sun a day. I know that seems like a lot. Often plants that say they like part shade prefer morning sun. Afternoon sun is the exposure that really fries plants. Plants that like shade often like moist ground as well. When you think “part shade,” think of the floor of an open woodland.

Full shade means less than 2 hours of sun a day. Some plants will do well enough with almost no sun at all: they’ll grow on the north side of a building or under a heavy canopy cover. But most plants need some sun.

So what do you do when you really have a very shady site? Say, under a dense maple? You want to look for plants that bloom in early spring before the trees have leafed out. Bulbs are good for this. But you can also look for what are called “groundcovers” — plants that grow low to the ground, such as Canadian Ginger or Bugleweed. In fact, there are lots of wonderful plants that grow in dense shade: Hostas and Ferns, Barrenwort and Lamium, Pulmonaria and lots of sedges. Pachysandra fills in between containers and the fence in a shady city garden. (See photo.)

Online nursery catalogs usually indicate what a plant’s sun requirements are, along with the kind of soil it likes and its hardiness zone. They don’t always agree about how much sun a plant needs/can take, but if you compare a few of them, you’ll start to get the idea.

So you can start with the plant you crave and study it to see if it will grow for you, or you can start with your site, and research plants that will grow under your conditions. At the beginning, I think it’s worth haunting the local garden center to see what’s in flower at any given moment. Talk to the people who work there: mostly they work there because they love plants, and they know what they’re talking about. (There’s not a real fortune to be made in working retail, as you probably know.) Don’t feel like you have to buy. Just hang out and see what’s growing.