the freshman gardener
Sun vs. Shade 102:
Why cardinal directions matter
Cardinal Directions
In Sun vs. Shade 101, we learned about the types of sun and why that matters to plants and flowers. This lesson is about the direction the sun comes from and how that matters to your garden. By direction I mean north, south, east and west. These are known as the cardinal directions.
Where the shade and sun fall on the dirt in your garden is important. We can sit and stare at all the parts of our garden or all the beds around our house to see when and where the sun hits. That can be kind of time consuming however. I mean I love sitting and starting at my plants but sometimes I have other things to do. That’s why knowing the direction of your buildings and fences can help.
North vs. South
I live in the Pacific Northwest, the Northern Hemisphere. Here, the north side of a building or fence or tree will get a lot of shade and only a little direct sunlight. The Southern side will gets the opposite with full bright sun for a big part of the day.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the South side is shadier and the north side is sunnier. Keep that in mind when planning your garden and pay attention to the buildings that will cast shade and where that shade falls.
East vs. West
East and West also really matter in gardening. Eastern early morning light is a lot cooler than the afternoon sun. I love to use the eastern side of my house to plant my favorite “partial sun” loving plants. They are ones that would shrivel and burn if they had the more hot afternoon sun.
The late afternoon sunlight tends to be hot and intense. Where I live, the summers are HOT. Not Arizona hot, but we get a few weeks that go over 100 degrees. I have to be really careful about what I plant on the western side of my house because of this. Even a lot of my partial sun loving plants don’t do well on this side because of how hot it gets in the summers. (We’ll get into how to handle heat waves and cold freezes later on).
Homework:
- In your notebook, under your growing zone, write down what hemisphere you live in. (northern above equator and southern below).
- Write down in your notes what side of your garden or house is shady and what side is more hot/sunny.
Sun vs. Shade 102: A+
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. There are SO many gardeners who know a lot more than I do about gardening. BUT – I do know some things and I’m learning more and more every day. When I started out I wish I’d had someone to simply give me the basics and make it easy. There’s so much to know and it became overwhelming very quickly. I hope The Freshman Gardener is helpful. Thanks for being here. xo
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