I am always amazed how few shady gardens there are in England. When we talk about shade, we all have our own ideas about what is shade. I like to begin by explaining that all shade is not created equal. It's sort of like going to the store and asking for white paint. You see, all shade is not necessarily the same.
Dense shade is by far the most difficult type of shade in which to garden.
If you go out into a stand of old woods, especially old oaks and maples, you are probably experiencing dense shade. By the lack of substantial vegetation on the woodland floor, you can quickly surmise that little grows in dense shade. The problem is that plants need light to photosynthesize and produce food, so only those plants with low metabolism are able to survive. Light or partial shade is an ideal condition to grow a wide variety of wonderful garden plants. Light shade occurs where there are smattering of large and small trees, where indirect rays of light can filter through the canopy of limbs.