Urban Shade Garden
Urban gardening in low light isn’t difficult with the right plants. Herbs are perfect for city gardens in shade, particularly indoors. They are one of the easiest things to grow in low light, and they also grow very well in containers. As a bonus, they’re just the kind of plant you want to keep close by: cooking is a joy when you can snip fresh herbs right in your kitchen. Hard-leafed herbs, like lavender and rosemary, really need a lot of light to grow. Soft-leafed herbs, however, thrive with just a few hours of light per day. These include:
Chives Oregano Parsley Tarragon Cilantro Lemon balm Mint
Mint, in particular, will grow very well even in low light and should be kept in a separate pot from your other herbs, so it doesn’t muscle them out.
More Plants for Low Light Gardens
If you have very little light, you’re going to have a hard time growing flowers. A few exceptions, though, include:
Impatiens Begonias Astilbe
As far as vegetables go, basically any leafy green can be grown in low light. Stick to varieties with many branched leaves, however, opting for loose-leaf lettuce over head lettuce. Radishes work well too, though it’s there that low light root vegetables stop. Other varieties will yield strange, leggy, sickly-looking roots.
