GARDEN DESIGN AND SUN EXPOSURE

BLUEPRINT

This is a layout of my beds.  I color coded them based on the amount of sun/shade they receive each day.  This changes a bit at the beginning and end of the season.  Yellow is for full sun, 5-6+ hours of direct sunlight.  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, corn and squash can take the heat, but make sure to water regularly.  Green is for partial shade/partial sun, 2-4+ hours of morning and afternoon sun.  Swiss chard, spinach, beans, leafy greens and root vegetables fall into this area.  Partial shade is different from partial sun even though the two terms are often used interchangeably.   A plant that is listed as partial sun would tolerate the  afternoon sun, when it is the most intense, over plants listed as partial shade, which would do better with the morning sun.  (Dappled shade is equal parts of sun and shade filtered from overhead trees)  Blue is the most shady part of my garden. I will reserve this for my summer greens, leaf lettuce and mesclun, herbs such as chives, oregano, and parsley, carrots and beets, and plants that have a tendency to bolt in the heat.  (Spinach does well the sun in the spring, but will bolt in the summer.  Root vegetables take longer in the shade to mature, but do not always take the summer sun well.)

The first beds....

...on the side of the house

Just enough room for one more 4x4 bed!

Cabbage patch

Dogie proof

Raised beds near the creek

On left "Frame it All raised bed with Veggie Wall"

Closer view of bed on the right