The corner of the boardwalk

The Boardwalk Garden has always had its' challenges. When we moved in, it was totally shade from trees overhead. Slowly, we have opened it up a bit but the reality is that we are not willing to remove the trees from around the house. They are what keeps the house protected from the weather and, importantly, cool in the summer! So it still remains, largely a full shade garden.

They don't actually mean full shade when they label plants full shade. Because to a plant, and consequently to a gardener, full shade really means 'not much sun'. There is an expectation that there will always be some sun. Its like blue meaning purple in flower talk. You can't overthink it or it will drive you nuts. Finding plants that will grow in this garden has been a long journey full of dead plants.

The second challenge is our pets. Both cats and dogs alike love this garden. The cats love it for the large patch of catmint just off the deck. They roll in it a lot. The patch always seems to survive them but some years, it is a pretty flat patch in the middle. The dogs love it for the shade. There are lots of places to lay with the sideyard adjacent to the garden and the boardwalk on the other side but they love laying in the cool earth. Or should I say, laying in the hole they have dug in the cool earth. There are parts of this garden I have surrendered to the dogs. Not bothering to plant there anymore.

Another difficulty is that dogs always take the shortest path to the target and when they lay in the shady sideyard and a vehicle pulls in, the shortest path is directly through this garden. I have still not decided if I will continue to leave this path unplanted or if I am going to try and build some sort of tall-ish barrier to discourage them. I will probably follow their cue and take the path of least resistance. The path is likely here to stay, I do not want a dog with a broken leg and that is always the danger with a tall-ish barrier - you run the risk they try to jump.

Hosta, Lady Slipper and of course, Lamium, do well here. Last year I tried Columbine. This year they are the saddest looking Columbine I have ever seen. I will move them. Add hosta in spots and try something else. Coral Bells did not work either but I have been trying to persist with one specimen. This is the year, though, that I take pity on her and give her a happier home. Not sure where I will move her to yet but her bags are packed and she is just waiting for me to find her a little bit more sun and maybe a little less damp.

Which brings me to the final challenge in this garden. It is always damp. It never dries out completely. It is a raised bed garden that was built by the previous owner and filled with garden soil, surrounded by rock in a full shade setting. It wicks up water and hangs onto it forever... and a day. It is why the dogs like to dig sleeping holes in it. Summer afternoons, you can count on at least two of them sleeping here.