Sun-loving marigolds, snap dragons and pelargonium will just not bloom well in shade. But a whole host of colorful, leafy and fragrant plants will as long as you know what type of shade you have and how you can create the conditions to get shade-loving plants to grow and do their best.

Since so many of us live amidst the shade of buildings or tall trees in older neighborhoods, we have to learn the tricks of the trade for gardening in the shade.

Right now is an excellent time to begin crafting your shade garden. Before you spend money on the plants that haven't worked for you in the past, you need to go the nurseries armed with your new plant list and plan. The nurseries are now full of the right kinds of plants you need to grow a successful shade garden.

To begin, you need to know what type of shade you have, either light, dappled, partial or deep. This is further complicated by the moisture conditions of dry shade or wet shade.

This doesn't mean you cannot have wonderful plants growing all summer in all of these conditions, but you have to know what you have so that the right plants can be planted in the right place to give you a great blooming garden from spring to fall in whatever shade you have.

What Kind of Shade Do You Have?

There are as many different interpretations of shade types as there are books written about shade. For the sake of consistency, I am using shade definitions from the American Horticultural Society in their book "Gardening in Shade" (DK Publishing, 1999)

Light -- Light shade is a permanent shade cast by a building or a wall on sites otherwise open to light. It is the kind of shade cast by a shadow from trees or a building. It offers you the most opportunity for blooming plants that otherwise like the sun.

Dappled -- Dappled shade is caused by the canopy of open branches from trees over the garden you want to plant. This is probably the most common shade in suburban backyards. This is also the most common woodland shade garden environment.

The trees in dappled shade offer you the chance to grow more flowering plants like daffodils and tulips in spring before the leaves appear and create their shade. At the same time, you can create more light in this garden by removing the lower branches to allow more light to penetrate this garden.

Cutting the lower branches of your trees is called "raising the canopy" and I have done this to great success adding more sunlight to my shady backyard.

Partial -- After light shade, this type of shade has provided me with the most opportunity for flowers in shade. Here, is shade caused by the sun moving across the sky from morning to night. It is the most beneficial for a variety of plants.

I have had great luck with this type of shade because there are a great many plants, including foxglove, lupine and delphinium that love morning sun and afternoon shade.

Deep -- Deep shade is the dense kind of shade found under evergreens or under shrubs and trees that just do not allow any light at all. This is the most cooling kind of shade but also the most difficult to find plants that will bloom here. But it also can be the most interesting as you find those plants that have the best leaf structure.

Dry Shade of Moist Shade?

After years of failure, I have found this is the most critical conditions for shade gardening. If you are under a great maple tree, which many of us are, you are in dry shade. Many plants such as moisture-loving astilbe will not thrive there.

Yes, you can water over and over and over, but, when there is drought, which is common, or water restrictions, which is just as common, growing plants under trees in dry shade becomes very problematic.

There are some great plants that will grow in dry shade including: Hosta, epimedium, aster divaricatus and lamium. My colleague Charles Cresson, author of "The American Flower Garden" adds euphorbia, ajuga, geranium, helleborus, dicentra, bergenia, and aruncus to the list.

Moist shade is best described as an area that is evenly moist over a great part of the season. There is no gigantic maple tree overhead and rainwater does penetrate to the ground. You can add most of the other shade loving plants to this list is you have a moist shade area.

Soil and Moisture Conditions for Shade.

If you have dry shade or moist shade, the best way to make sure you will have success with your shade garden is to add lots of compost. Compost helps retain moisture in dry areas and it helps drain an area if it tends to be too moist.

As you begin your garden, dig a two to three inch thick layer of organic matter such as compost, composted manure or shredded leaves into the soil. If you are struggling with tree roots, do your best to scratch it into the soil around the roots and leave a thin layer on top of the ground.

Plant your plants and then add a two to three inch thick layer of mulch to hold in moisture. My favorite shade mulch is composed of compost, shredded leaves and what is known as double shredded bark in the landscape trade.

Plants for Shade.

There are more plants that will grow well in shade than you can imagine. There are whole books written about them. Be careful of people at garden centers who tell you "this plant will take a little shade." They may be giving you great advice but you need to know your conditions and do your research before you make a decision.

Annuals/Containers -- Annuals are plants that will only live one year and then be killed by frost. The list of annuals for shade is quite limited. Some of the most reliable include

Impatiens -- Commonly available but still quite nice. Look for the new peach colors and the rose blossomed varieties. Especially good because they do not need to be pruned during the season.

Tuberous Begonia -- Beautiful blossoms, colorful leaves, perpetually in bloom in colors of cream, pink, orange, and more on trailing or upright plants. Excellent for containers.

Coleus -- All leaves and nothing but leaves. But this plant know for its love of the indoors will also add fabulous color from various shades of green to pink to dark purple to the outdoors.

Perennials -- Perennials will come back every year. There are dozens of them that will do well is shade but here are some of my favorites:

Astilbe -- A fern-like plant, 12 to 18 inches tall with spires of white or pink flowers in June, July and August, likes plenty of water. A real foundation of any shade garden.

Bergenia -- Large cabbage-like leaves, pretty pink flowers on stalky stems. Evergreen for most of the year.

Columbine -- Aquilegia has dozens of cultivars. Pretty spring to early summer bloomer that will disappear in summer heat.

Coral Bells -- Heuchera has big leaves in green tinged with pink and purple. Flower is very attractive to hummingbirds. Many new varieties that make this easy-care winner one of the most "hip" plants to grow among the cognoscenti.

Dicentra -- Bleeding heart will fill the garden with color in May and June and then spread under moist conditions. Dig up the sprouts and give them to your friends.

Hellebores -- Blooms in February or March and then has evergreen palmate leaves for the rest of the year. Will spread by seed.

Hosta -- The king and queen of the shade garden in all type of shade either wet or dry. I like the blue shades of hosta in particular but there are hundreds in green, yellow, blue and variegated that bloom at different times from early summer till late.

Ligularia -- Loves moist shade. Produces big leaves with a stalky yellow flower that takes up a big space in your garden. Exotic but very interesting.

Lily of the Valley -- An ancient favorite that has such an aromatic and lovely bloom you will feel you are in a fairy story you want to read to your kids.

Pulmonaria — Lungwort is one of my all-time favorites with pink, red or blue flowers on short, 12 inch stalks in May and June. Easy to grow and spreads like crazy. An easy plant to dig and separate for your friends.

Spiderwort -- Tradescantia produces one flush of tiny blue, pink or even white flowers in June then goes semi-dormant for the rest of the summer. It is not a fantastic plant but it is very reliable in almost any type of shade.

The perennials for your shade garden can be planted anytime the soil can be worked. Certainly from late April until early October are great times to work in your shade. garden. If you plant in July and August, remember that these months can be very hot and dry and you should provide extra water.

Annuals can be brought to the garden any time after the last frost, usually after Mother's Day and will probably be killed by frost in October. If you protect your annuals from frost you can keep them going until early November.

Don't feel that just because you have shade you cannot have a great garden. Japanese gardeners love shade and so do I. You simply have to learn what grows best for you and you will adjust your sight from the bright colors of marigolds in full sun to the soft greens of hosta in deep shade.