Monday, August 2, 2010

Living in the Dark


Ok, so I'm really jealous of the thriving plants on the balcony of this London home. Right now, I'm jealous of pretty much anyone who is able to successfully grow anything at home - inside or out. While my new apartment is fab in many ways - and an overall improvement over the last place - one huge drawback is the almost complete lack of sunlight due to being located on the first floor, in the back, under enormously tall trees with very heavy leaf cover. I have a little back porch and a good-sized yard space, but esentially it's like being on the floor of the rainforest. Every plant I've purchased and attempted to keep has died within a matter of days due to lack of sunlight. I've become very frustrated, to say the least.

Are there any plants that I can find easily at a store that DON'T require sunlight? I had dreams of filling my back porch with pots of varying foliage, but now I'm afraid that isn't possible. Any siggestions?

3 comments:

Kate said...

Oh yeah! Lots of them, actually.

Do you want flowers or just foliage? Hosta is always the obvious choice. Lots of big green leaves with little purple flowers popping up in the summer (I think we're past the flowering time this year, but next year...). Coleus is a gorgeous shade loving leafy plant. There's astilbe, bleeding heart, bee balm, ferns, columbine (my personal favorite), toad lilies, not to mention the other million lilies that do well in shade, coral bells, ferns...the list goes on and on. OH! And if you want to get super special and exotic, you can plant hellebores! They bloom in late winter and are just gorgeous.

Unfortunately, most nurseries are out of a lot of the good stuff this late in the season, but next spring, do yourself a favor and head to Faddegon's in Latham. Tell them about your garden space and they'll help you out. I was just there and they still have lots of coral bells, lilies and bee balm if you want to get started for next year.

jess said...

ferns!

they're very low light, as are some orchids (:

Kim said...

oh boy! i should've asked for advice on this earlier in the summer! thanks for the suggestions, and thanks especially for the tip on where to go -- i wasn't sure which place would be my best bet. awesome! i'll keep you updated. :)

Followers

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin