Made in the Shade

As the heat of midsummer descends and blooms fade, these five leafy sanctuaries help their creators keep their cool

By Jim D oDson • P hotogr a Phs By ly n n D onova n

Oak Ridge Hideaway

Fif teen years ago, K athie and Paul Tiedeman found the perfect retirement home in the hardwoods of Oak R idge. As the lively forest that surrounds their house has grown, so have the Tiedemans’ many shade gardens, including a serene moss garden highlighted by a dramatic sculptural tree root, autumn ferns and mountain laurel; lush borders of rhododendron and irises under overhanging maples; a newly installed terrace under dog woods with beds of hellebores, trillium and Japanese ferns; even a whimsical blue bottle garden.

“T he garden has been a work in progress,” says K athie. “Ever y year we seem to lose a little more sunlight, so that’s why we have a yard that’s becoming moss and Paul raises his tomatoes in rolling tubs — tomatoes on wheels,” she adds with a laugh. “T he thing I love about a shade garden, on the other hand, is that it quenches your thirst for nature on the hottest days, a perfect retreat that soothes.”

“T his garden is like a sanctuar y for both people and animals on a summer day,” agrees Paul, a retired electronics salesman who spent years traveling to Kyoto, Japan, explaining the Tiedemans’ botanical bent for Asian elegance. “We can sit here quietly on a summer day and listen to life around us in the forest. T hat’s ver y special.”

Enchantment in Shade

“Maybe the thing I like most about our garden is the wildlife it attracts,” says Dan Donovan. “T he peace of mind it br ings, especially on a summer evening when things beg in to stir, is quite wonder f ul.”

Dan Donovan and wife, Lynn, O.Henry’s longtime contributing photographer, moved to the rolling countr yside of Southeast Guilford Count y 18 years ago and immediately began planting a garden for all seasons around their new home.

Beneath a grove of hickor y, white oak and mulberr y trees out back, however, the winding paths of their enchanting garden eventually morphed into a splendid shade garden that makes for the perfect retreat when the temperature soars. Beds of L enten roses, gardenia bushes, mountain laurel, hydrangea and shade-tolerant forsythia pro vide the cooling ef fect of a forest glen. A lone Lincoln rose even finds enough filtered sunlight to lushly bloom in early summer.

A defining element that helps tie it all together is the restf ul sound of r unning water f rom the small goldfish pond at the center of the garden, where whimsy r ules in the form an old fashioned hand pump and actual cit y fire hydrant Dan transformed into a pumping station. A mature weeping cherr y presides over the tranquil setting. Other whimsical elements in the garden include a moose-themed fire pit that Dan commissioned a local ar tist to make and a classic British red phone booth situated of f in the verdure of the east garden. “T he phone really works,” provides Lynn. “If a tornado hits, that’s where we’ll hide.”

It’s hard to imagine even nature disturbing this peaceable k ingdom, where family dogs Fiona and Luna roam f reely along the garden’s paths and their predecessors, Ollie and Summer, rest beneath tree peonies that never fail to bloom come early summer.

W hat a paradise in shade it seems.

A Little Zen Off New Garden Road

“Ithink of our garden as A mer ican zen,” says Celine Sprag ue with a quiet smile. “By that, I mean it’s a simple garden made up of broadleaf everg reens layered with other plants for a subtle ef fect that is both comfor ting and inviting, a cozy ef fect year-round.”

O ver t wo decades, Celine and husband, Stan, have cultivated a classic shaded retreat behind their home in Woodland Hills. L eyland cypress trees, robust wa x myr tles and several var ieties of hydrangea for m a verdant backdrop for mat ure camellia, a zalea and laurel plantings. T he combination produces a br illiant seasonal show of color highlighted by splashes of native bleeding hear t and Beardlip penstemon.

“Essentially, this is a no -pr une garden,” says Celine, a long time gardener who helped shape the Greensboro Arboret um’s perennial garden. “My oldest daughter is an ar tist who talk s about the impor tance of negative space, a place for your eyes to rest. T hat’s how we look at this garden, a tranquil place to rest on a summer day. A shade garden also saves a lot of water,” she adds. “T hat’s increasingly impor tant these days.”

The Hosta Queen of Rabbit Hollow Road

When K athy Rooney and husband, Doug Canavello, moved into their house on 27 acres in the woods of Summer field back in 20 08, she star ted her home garden with a few phlox plants. “Not long af ter wards, a f r iend brought me several hosta plants f rom L owe’s and, in a word, I quick ly got addicted,” explains the long time Rolfing exper t. “W hen I lear ned that there are over 8,0 0 0 cultivars of hosta plants, they became my passion.”

Today, Rooney’s ter raced woodland garden boasts more than 30 0 dif ferent cultivars, and, sur pr ise, sur pr ise, t wice that many color f ul and rare var ieties of hostas, with names like “Mar ilyn Monroe,” “Great Expectations,” “Fr ied Bananas” and “Empress Wu.”

Her ongoing battle against native voles (that munch hostas f rom the underside) combined with loss of several large shade trees that fell when Hur r icane Michael blew through the reg ion in 2018 doesn’t dim her ardor for ever- expanding her domain of beautif ul shade-loving plants in the least. “Hostas are hardy and endlessly interesting. I’m always out in my garden look ing for new places to plant more hostas,” she adds with a hear t y laugh. “Besides, it keeps me out of trouble!”

Jeanette Wyndham’s Sun and Shade Garden

Seven years ago, when Jeanette and Gordon Wyndham gave up their beloved 4-acre garden in Summer field in favor of an independent living cottage at W hitestone Retirement Communit y on Holden Road, they didn’t g ive up their love of keeping a garden. Now, a spectacular pr ivate garden spans more than 10 0 feet above a retaining wall just out their back door.

T he celebrated curator of the Arboret um’s perennial border — who ear ned the nick name “W hack ’em Wyndham” f rom her volunteers due to her belief that perennial plants thr ive by being cut dow n af ter blooming — has spent the past decade creating a living border. A mi x of sun and shade elements range f rom the Japanese laceleaf maple she raised f rom a cutting to diverse planting of vibur nums, mahonia, dog woods, ostr ich fer ns and several unique native plants g iven to her by long time f r iend Graham R ay.

“Shade gardens are ver y special,” says Dame Wyndham, who recently lost a couple large shade trees but — tr ue to for m — ar tf ully rose to the challenge by planting more sun-loving plants. “T hat work s out well,” she quips, “for Gordon’s tomatoes around the cor ner.” OH

Jim Do d son is th e foun ding e dit or of O.Henr y.