Carolyn’s Shade Gardens Blog
Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
I am very excited to announce that I am starting a blog on shade gardening. One of the frustrating parts of my business is not being able to tell my customers and others all the interesting things that I have learned about shade gardening over the 18 years I have been in business (and the 35 years I have been gardening). My open house sales are too busy. Emails are too cumbersome (and possibly unwanted). However, almost every day, I think of something that I have learned, observed, or experienced and want to pass on to others.
Now I can post these observations on my blog. Interested gardeners can subscribe to my blog by clicking the “sign me up!” button on the sidebar. Don’t worry, you can easily unsubscribe. Please comment on as many posts as you can so I know what you like and please recommend my blog to everyone you know.
Thanks, Carolyn
CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
November 3, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Welcome to the scene. I really like the “starting” photos. I’ll stay tuned for more…
November 4, 2010 at 11:53 am
Thanks, it’s nice to know my husband likes my new blog.
November 4, 2010 at 5:11 pm
This is beautiful! I, too , will stay tuned. My toad lilies have more blooms than ever. I just noticed them this weekend when I had a chance to garden!
November 4, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Thanks, Linda. They were slightly set back by the frost but still look beautiful. Carolyn
November 4, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Hi Carolyn – so happy to hear you are “shade garden chatting”. Always interested in learning something new. Gardening in the shade is the best – thanks!
November 4, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Thanks, Cathy. I am glad you agree that shade is not a liability to be overcome but an advantage to savor. If for no other reason than the relative lack of weeds in the shade vs. the sun. Carolyn
November 4, 2010 at 5:34 pm
You selected a great tool, WordPress. Have fun!
November 4, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Thanks.
November 4, 2010 at 7:49 pm
So far, so worthwhile.
November 4, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Thanks, Eunice. Stay tuned. Carolyn
November 4, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Looking forward to good information – thanks for doing this!
November 4, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Thanks, Cindy. I look forward to sending out good information. Carolyn
November 4, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Great blog!. I love the info on Toad Lilies. Mine are mot doing well this year – maybe it’s the variety. Keep the news coming. Nancy
November 5, 2010 at 9:21 am
Thanks, Nancy. Do you know what cultivar of toad-lily you have? Is there anything special about where it is planted? Carolyn
November 5, 2010 at 10:13 am
Hi Carolyn
I am thrilled that you’ve started a blog (and website). I have a very shady backyard and am always looking for ideas. I recently purchased a hydrangea tree from you and it took beautifully. Can’t wait to see the blooms in the spring. Carol
November 5, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Thanks, Carol. I am glad your ‘Snow Queen’ hydrangea is doing well. It’s one of my favorite shrubs for shade. Fall color is one of its best attributes. Carolyn
November 5, 2010 at 10:38 am
As the trees cover more and more sun in my garden, I am so happy to have a gardener who sells shade plants and now writes about shade plants. I have been to many sales and I will look forward to the sales in the spring and now an on-going blog. Terrific! Patricia
November 5, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Thanks, Patricia. As the trees cover your garden to produce more shade, you will have less weeding, less pest and diseases, less need to water, less AC, but more beautiful plant choices. Carolyn
November 5, 2010 at 11:21 am
Carolyn, It looks great–I’m very impressed! Look forward to reading more. Wendy
November 5, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Thanks, Wendy. Look forward to seeing you. Carolyn
November 5, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Can you tell us about that birdhouse? Is it functional or just decorative? I’m thinking I’d like to add a few more to my shade garden.
November 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Hi Ken. The birdhouse is actually a dovecote. The holes go right through it so no birds nest in it so yes it is purely decorative–the symbol of Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. I bought the original 15 years ago in NC. Unfortunately, although the design was unique, the materials were shoddy. Before it completely fell apart, I had a local carpenter reproduce it with better materials. It still requires a lot of maintenance, but I love it. Carolyn
November 5, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Congratulations on the new blog. I’m already enjoying it and your wealth of knowledge. The one piece of info I always find helpful is how deer resistant certain plants are. Thanks for sharing.
November 5, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Thanks, Pat. I will try to include information about deer resistance, but if I forget remind me. My deer love my toad-lily—sorry. Carolyn
November 6, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Great Blog. looking forward to purchasing the Toad-lily plant in the Spring.
Anita
November 6, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Thanks, Anita. I forgot to say that another advantage of toad-lilies is that they have interesting leaves that come up early in the spring unlike many fall bloomers. Carolyn
November 7, 2010 at 9:34 am
Congratulations Carolyn on your new blog! I love the layout and look forward to learning from you and others as I continue to develop my woodland garden. Jane
November 7, 2010 at 10:50 am
Thanks, Jane. I just changed the layout significantly yesterday for larger font and more definition. I hope you liked it enough to subscribe. Carolyn
November 7, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I’m thrilled to see your new blog. I loved the toad-lily photo next to the Italian arum. I have them planted together too and mine looks fabulous this year. The deer walked right past it to eat all my ferns and hostas but didn’t touch the toad-lily. Rachelle
November 7, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Hi Rachelle, That is why I always say that my deer like my toad-lily, because yours don’t. My deer never touch ferns, yours do. It is easier to say what they always eat–tulips, daylilies, hostas–than to be right about what they don’t eat.
but I will still try to give deer resistant information. Glad you liked the photo. Thanks, Carolyn
November 10, 2010 at 3:12 pm
hi carolyn,
i think your blog idea is terrific as well as your web site. your info is always interesting, up to date, to the pt, and an easy read.
for me, much better then any book. so keep the stuff coming
regards, laura
November 10, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Thanks, Laura. The answers to all your questions about the nursery are in the documents under pages on the sidebar to the right of my blog posts. If the sidebar is blank, just right click the the photo header at the top. You can always do that to see the website info. Carolyn
November 16, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Great web site. Beautiful gardens. You are now our official shade garden source for all of our customers.
Adam Sherman
Cottage Industries, Inc
November 16, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Thanks Adam. I look forward to working with you. Cottage Industries is my favorite home renovator. Carolyn
November 20, 2010 at 10:38 am
I was wondering if this is also true if the majority of my leaves are from white pines? Can they be used as mulch as well, or could they have a detrimental effect on certain types of plants?
November 20, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Hi Robin. I have an area under white pine trees, and I just leave the needles as mulch. I have always felt that concerns about their potential acidity were overrated. I just did a goggle search of “pine needles as mulch,” and the results confirmed that they are very beneficial. Carolyn
November 20, 2010 at 11:35 am
This is a wonderful blog – I’ve often tought of volunteering at a place like Chanticleer just to find out what to do at certain times, and this answers lots of questions I have – thank you! ~ Murray Callahan
November 20, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Thanks Murray. I am very excited to be able to pass on all the practical stuff I have learned over the years. I think you should still volunteer at Chanticleer–that would be an amazing experience. Carolyn
November 20, 2010 at 11:39 am
Carolyn – Thanks for the tip on grinding leaves for the lawn, I have two questions –
(1) Does your husband use a regular lawn mower and how high does your husband adjust the lawn mower from the ground for grinding leaves?
(2) Do you wait until all your leaves are down and do this leaf grinding process one time or do you do the leaf grinding process weekly until all the leaves are down and ground up?
November 20, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Hi Patti. My husband uses a regular lawn mower to grind the leaves, and it is so old it has no settings. The leaves get ground as the lawn gets mowed. Leaves that collect after mowing has ended for the season all get ground at once. Our motto is make it easy. Carolyn
November 24, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Carolyn…I’m loving your blog…just haven’t had time to comment on it. You have indeed done an elegant job in establishing this way to communicate with your “fans!” I particularly liked the section on cleaning up your yard – will save me and my husband much angst!
Keep your thoughts coming, Joanne
November 24, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Thanks Joanne. I think a lot of my customers are enjoying in addition to gardeners from all around the world, which is fun. Carolyn
November 26, 2010 at 12:10 am
Enjoying your blog! I started my blog for exactly the same reasons! Much easier for clients to visit a blog at their leisure instead of bombarding them with emails. Although I’m sure a lot of the plants in your garden would not survive our brutal Texas summers, who can pass up gorgeous garden photos! Always looking for design inspiration (plant material can be adapted). Happy blogging!!
November 26, 2010 at 10:33 am
Hi Toni, It seems to be working so far as I have a lot of subscriptions. Now customers are sending questions to my blog. Time will tell. Carolyn
December 5, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Love the blog Carolyn. You have done a wonderful job.
December 5, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Thanks Katherine. It’s a lot of work but I enjoy it. Carolyn
August 6, 2012 at 10:56 am
Just stumbled across you looking for ideas of where to plant my new toad lilies. Would you please fill me in on your business and location. I am a shade gardener as well. I live in Iowa. Zone 5a.
August 8, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Gayle, All the information about my business is on the right sidebar of my blog/website under About CSG and Contact CSG. I am in PA now zone 7a. Carolyn
December 31, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a great blog like this one today.