Planting Dry Shade: Difficult, Not Impossible

This client garden gave me a planting site about as tough as they come — dry shade under the high canopy of some huge conifers, with root competition throughout and almost no rain reaching the ground. Two years after planting, I'm walking through what's actually working, what's still finding its footing, and the pre-soaking method that gave these plants their start.

This one leans on my Forever vs. For Now framework. The plants I've built the bed around versus the ones I'm still watching prove themselves. More on that idea here.