DIY Garden Sunlight Chart (How to Plan for Your Garden)

Virginia weather leaped from arctic chill to blistering equator this week. Venturing out of the house without a heavy overcoat has been nice except when I have to look at my barren yard. All of the fun new projects popping up around Blogland have me dreaming about fresh flowers and outdoor entertaining. I have visions of hydrangeas, peonies, roses, and marigolds. I don't know that this year's budget will permit a large overhaul of our outdoor living areas, but it is wise to plan ahead. Today, I'm going to share a Gardening Tip with you. Take a peek at my Garden Sunlight Chart.

A few years back, I took a couple of days to chart the sunny/shady areas in the backyard. It was really helpful when choosing a plant to know which areas of my yard were full sun vs. partial shade, etc. I kept it on the counter next to the kitchen sink. It overlooks the back yard, making it easy for me to remember to fill it in.

I made a very rough sketch of the back of my house and the back yard. 

Clearly, it's not to scale. The scribbles that look like clouds are large bushes. I know you're shocked I don't have an art degree.


I assigned different letters/colors to certain areas of the yard and then wrote down what kind of sunlight each area had at different points in the day. 

For example, section D (blue) is full sun most of the day, and was the perfect spot to grow tomatoes. They more than quadrupled in size that year. Section E (red) is mostly shade, and was a terrific spot for my hydrangea bushes. (I also have hydrangea tips on the blog!) 

This might seem really boring, but I am learning that planning is essential to gardening. I wish I'd known that when I planted my daffodil bulbs a few years ago. It looks like someone just came and threw fistfuls of daffodils in my front flower beds. I may not have the resources to grow my dream garden this year, but I can take steps in the right direction.

{What's your favorite thing to plant, come Spring?}



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*This post was originally live here on the blog a few years ago, but I thought it would be nice to edit it and bring it back for new readers.