Placement of plants often involves a bit of guesswork and then trial and error for the best successes. In some cases, I witness a native in its habitat and hope to duplicate these conditions, or I see a plant in another garden and observe its sun exposure and other conditions that might increase its chances to thrive.

No doubt, I’ve often failed, sometimes killing a plant but other times causing it to underperform. While our native common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana, above) will tolerate a degree of shade and continue to flower, Vernal (below) and Asian hybrids survive and grow, but rarely flower satisfactorily in more than light shade. The precise degree of sunlight that encourages rather than discourages flowering is beyond my comprehension, so mistakes will be made since must-have plants will be planted into this mostly shaded garden.

There are a half dozen large paperbushes (Edgeworthia chrysantha) scattered about the garden in varying degrees of sunlight, but also with varying degrees of soil moisture. While flowering is barely diminished in shade, the rate of growth and fullness of one paperbush is a fraction of ones in more sun. Another in part sun grows slightly slower than others nearby due to damp soil, at least that’s my guess.

And, the educated guess is your best bet, but always followed by observation and a willingness to move a plant that’s not doing well. While many plants adapt to a range of conditions, others are more picky. Two ‘Marvel’ mahonias (Mahonia x media ‘Marvel’, or Berberis x hortensis, below) are planted in conditions varying from part sun to part shade, and while both grow vigorously, the one in shade flowers a few weeks later in autumn, but also with flowers considerably smaller than the other. I’ll wait another year before deciding if the shaded one should be moved.