Gardeners adding fruit to their landscapes tend to think first of familiar treats such as raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries, which are all great to grow in our region, or fruit trees like apples and peaches, which present some challenges but are possible. But if you’re the typical suburban homeowner, you look at your proposed fruit orchard, and then you look at your yard, and the two don’t match up. Maybe that’s a matter of sheer space available. But often, it’s a matter of sun.

Most fruiting plants really prefer a full-sun location, which is something that those of us with mature trees lack. If your landscape trees are still small–well, someday you’ll get to the point where you have more shade than sun. Trees are wonderful and we should all plant more of them, but then we do end up without much space left for that meadow of sun-loving native perennials, never mind the vegetable garden and the orchard.

But what if I told you that you can plant fruit in the shade?

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