Planning a Shade Garden

Lately, I have been dreaming about starting a shade garden
in my home’s side yard. With a playground behind our house, our backyard can
sometimes be noisy, and the side yard, which is on the north (and shadier) side
of the house, is a lot quieter. Also, my kids love to use the Slip ‘N Slide in
the side yard, which has a wide expanse of grass.

So, I’d love to create a rock garden in the shade next to
the house, to provide a pretty place for me to sit when I am watching the kids
play, or if I want a quiet spot to read a magazine or a book.

To jump start my plans, I did some research on Pinterest and
the Internet for shade and rock garden ideas. You can find the gardens that
inspired me on MomHomeGuide’s Yard and Garden Pinterest page.

The side of the house where I’d like to place the garden
abuts our paver patio, which is surrounded by small red gravel. So I plan to
use red gravel as the base for my side garden. I’d like to add some gray gravel
and perhaps some gray paver edging and some gray stepping stones to add a bit
of contrast.

In the garden, I’d like to plant some boxwood and some miniature ornamental grasses. I might also like to add some creeping garden phlox in violet, purple snapdragons, and a pretty garden bench to sit on. I created a collage on PicMonkey.com to serve as an idea board for what I’d like my garden to look – what do you think?

Lauren Kim is the executive editor of MomHomeGuide, a website about creating the perfect home for one's family. Visit MomHomeGuide for more on gardening, home decor, kids crafts and family activities.