It's Mother's Day and it's raining. Hosing down. The rain is spilling, gushing, pelting, driving and dumping. It's an absolute deluge. My dog and I went for a run this morning in a nearby forest. I took a few photographs along the way. Most of them were terrible. That's because it was raining and there wasn't any sun and I was taking pictures of shade loving plants.

This weeks blog is about three plants that love the shade.

I dipped into Beth Chatto's book The Green Tapestry, the chapter called 'The Shade Garden'. She's a marvellous writer. I'm planning a new shady garden under and around a kowhai and karo tree at the front of the house. I'm making a mental list of plants I want to acquire, hence my consultation with Beth Chatto.

My front garden. I want to build a shady garden under and around the kowhai and karo trees.

Hydrangea, azalea and Brachyglottis (species unknown) in my shady garden.

Brachyglottis (species unknown) — *Brachyglottis* (species unknown)

I won't be able to start the shady garden for a couple of weeks, for reasons obvious in the photo with the ladder. I want plants that look right and by looking right I mean plants that are bold enough to stand out from the ferns and leathery leaved natives that reside there. It's a challenge in this part of New Zealand, for those of us who live high-up in a cloud forest, to marry natives with non-natives.

Here are three possibilities. Unfortunately, Beth Chatto didn't write about any of them in The Green Tapestry, but she gave me lots of other ideas, which I intend following up.

Mahoe, whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus. Incidentally, there's a bivouac that some kids made, just right of the centre. — Mahoe, whiteywood, *Melicytus ramiflorus.* Incidentally, there's a bivouac that some kids made, just right of the centre.

Mahoe, whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus. — Mahoe, whiteywood, *Melicytus ramiflorus.*

Mahoe, whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus is found in many forests around Wellington. It's a hardy tree with tons of character. It quickly grows into an 'ancient looking' tree with its moss-covered gnarled trunk and branches. It can grow from 6 to 9 metres in height. It has a strange habit of growing extra branches from its base. They don't look like much when they're very young - a gawky bunch of bare sticks with a smattering of leaves. Give them time and before you know it they'll look like something out of Entwood. Their leaves make the most perfect leaf skeletons.

A mahoe forest at Polhill Reserve, Wellington.

Mahoe leaves have incredible colouring changes once they fall from the tree. They look as if they're painted with watercolours and someone dripped blue onto the still wet paint.

Mahoes are an underrated tree. They have a handsome shape and are very hardy. Their canopy isn't dense, allowing smaller plants to grow under them. Pre-European Maori used to rub mahoe sticks together to make fire.

Parataniwha, Elatostema rugosum. Wellington Botanic Garden (bottom left). — Parataniwha, *Elatostema rugosum.* Wellington Botanic Garden (bottom left).

I'm growing parataniwha, Elatostema rugosum in my garden. I had two plants and one died. I planted one in my fernery and one under the karo tree, in the front garden. I learnt one thing; parataniwha must have damp shade or they won't grow. Here are some photographs of parataniwha growing in the Wellington Botanic Garden and Te Papa. The shadier the spot the taller it grows.

I'll have another go at planting parataniwha in my shady garden, only this time I'm going to plant it in a thick layer of compost and mulch.

Parataniwha, Elatostema rugosum. Wellington Botanic Garden. — Parataniwha, *Elatostema rugosum.* Wellington Botanic Garden.

Parataniwha, Elatostema rugosum. Te Papa Museum, Wellington. — Parataniwha, *Elatostema rugosum.* Te Papa Museum, Wellington.

Parataniwha, Elatostema rugosum. Growing in my fernery. — Parataniwha, *Elatostema rugosum.* Growing in my fernery.

Clivias are great for shade. I have two. One is small and one is very small thanks to my dog digging it up a number of times. They are very slow growing. I will have to buy more of them if they're to have the same impact as these Clivias in the photograph below.

The leaves of the Clivia are bold and will look great planted with ferns, hostas, heucheras and hellebores in my shady garden.

Clivia miniata (I think), Wellington Botanic Garden. — *Clivia miniata* (I think), Wellington Botanic Garden.

Clivia miniata, My back courtyard. The sticks are to stop my dog from lying on the garden. I planted the 2 clivias under a silver fern to protect them from the sun in summer. — *Clivia miniata,* My back courtyard. The sticks are to stop my dog from lying on the garden. I planted the 2 clivias under a silver fern to protect them from the sun in summer.

I've become a member of Koanga Gardens so that I can buy their heritage seeds. Last week I bought 3 packets of heritage sweet peas and a few packets of various flowers. They should arrive in the post in a week.

I don't want to dismiss the garden centres attached to the big hardware stores and supermarkets, but they have limitations. For most suburban gardeners these are the only places we can buy plants. These sorts of garden centres have a limited range of plants - limited to what's in fashion, limited to what they can buy in bulk. Where does the suburban gardener go to find the hard-to-find plants? Online of course. I'm going to track down as many NZ nurseries that sell plants and seeds over the internet. I'll buy from them and see what happens. I'll let you know how I get on.

Before I go, here are a few photos of shade loving plants in the tropical glasshouse at the Wellington Botanic Garden. The heat, humidity and scent of hot foliage and sweet flowers is intoxicating on a cold autumn day.

And here's what I got for Mothers Day.