Episode 1: Easy Shade Garden Design
In Spring Hill Nursery’s 4-Alarm Landscape video series, we respond to real-life landscape SOS calls and revive struggling outdoor spaces with savvy design. Challenging conditions? No problem—we’re here to rescue your garden, one quality plant at a time.
Meet the Host: Andrae Protzman
Andrae is a Horticulture Expert at Spring Hill Nurseries. He describes himself as a recovering (not really) plant addict who’s never met a blank notebook he didn’t like. His favorite plants are coneflowers, hydrangeas and oaks.
The 4-Alarm Landscape Emergency
Sophie and Stephen’s biggest problem is poor plant performance in existing beds that receive full sun in the morning and deep shade in the afternoon. The garden is lacking shape, structure and visual flow at the foundation of the house. The soil is patchy and unproductive, and weeds are taking over.
Meet the Homeowners: Stephen & Sophie
“When we bought our home in the Dayton, OH area (Zone 6b), the interior needed a lot of love. We’ve spent the past two years transforming it into a space we’re proud of. Now that the inside finally feels like home, we’re turning our attention outdoors—to shaping our landscape so it’s just as welcoming and beautiful, letting the outside reflect the care we’ve taken inside.”
Before
The Design Solution
Want to see how Andrae rescues this 4-Alarm Landscape?
Watch the video to find out—and get pro planting tips too.
Andrae to the Rescue!
Watch as Sophie and Stephen’s garden goes from sad to spectacular thanks to carefully chosen plants that thrive in varied light conditions. This reimagined landscape feels fresh, full and inviting. The new garden offers texture, color, and movement through the seasons, and it’s easy to maintain!
Featured Varieties
These selections provide the perfect combination of color, texture and resilience—ideal for a garden with mixed light conditions. Plus, they’re backed by Spring
Hill Nursery’s No-Risk Guarantee.
Shop Shade-Loving Perennials
Installation Tips
- Before planting, take stock of your site’s natural conditions including sunlight, soil type and moisture levels. Choosing plants that naturally thrive in those conditions means less guesswork, fewer inputs and stronger, more resilient growth. A little observation up front leads to a garden that practically takes care of itself.
- For a garden that stays vibrant from spring through fall, mix plants with staggered bloom times. Pair early bloomers with midseason stars and late-season showstoppers to keep the color coming in waves. This layered approach ensures there’s always something in bloom, keeping your landscape lively and
engaging all season long. - To extend your display, give Asters a light trim in early to midsummer. Cutting them back by about one-third encourages bushier growth and delays flowering by two to three weeks perfect for staggering bloom times or ensuring a fresh burst of color just as other plants begin to fade.
- Create depth and drama in your garden by mixing plants of different heights. Tall, structural plants add vertical presence, mid-sized varieties provide balance, and low growers fill in the foreground with texture and color. This layered look draws the eye upward and outward, making even small spaces feel rich and multidimensional.
- Always check container-grown plants for potbound roots. If they’re circling tightly, gently loosen or tease them apart before placing the plant in the ground. This small step encourages roots to spread into the native soil, rather than continuing to spiral helping your plants establish faster and grow stronger in their new home
Part-Shade Garden FAQs
“What are the best low-maintenance plants for a part-shade front yard garden?”
How do I design a shade garden that still looks vibrant and colorful?
What’s a good foundation planting strategy for front yards with sun and shade?
Know & Grow: Gardening Resources
Ready to upgrade your own landscape?
Whether you're dreaming of a front yard garden design that stops neighbors in their tracks or a peaceful shade garden sanctuary, Spring Hill Nurseries has the resources and the plants, of course to help make it happen.
Apply for Spring Hill Nursery's 4-Alarm Landscape Series
Do you have a 4 Alarm Landscape emergency in your yard? Apply here, and you may be the next homeowner to have Andrae and the Spring Hill Nursery team come to the rescue!
