One of the most helpful tools I discovered early on in my gardening madness was what I call the 'Light Map'. This is basically a view of a garden space that shows the pattern and intensity of light it recieves over the course of a day. (I've included a small example below). May and July are the best times of year to make a light map, as you are getting what amounts to the average amount of sun exposure for the growing season during that time. Its really quite easy to make one: First, you need a camera, preferrably digital. Next you need a tripod or base for the camera to hold it stationary. Then choose a clear day and begin taking photos early in the morning. I take 360 degree panoramas by taking one photo, then rotating the camera a bit and taking another, then repeating that process until I've come full circle. I start taking pictures at 8AM and continue til 5 or 6PM, taking a series of photos every hour. Once the photos are taken, I match up all the images for a given camera position over the course of the whole day, starting with the 8AM shot and ending with the 5PM shot. This gives me a "time lapse" view of that part of the garden over the day. With the Light Map, its easy to see exactly how much sun or shade a spot is getting, and the quality of that light. I have found this process to be invaluable when planning garden spaces or deciding where to locate a particular plant that has specific light requirements. Try making a Light Map of your garden. Its informative, easy and fun to do!
Thats a very interesting idea! so much space to work with! what are you planning with the area photographed?
rwink, I probably have TOO MUCH space, to be quite realistic! The more beds I create, the more maintenance to keep it all up. I'm nearing the limits of what is practical to do. Anyway, in this case I'm looking to expand the bed at the far end of the picture and install a new bed near the spot where the camera was positioned to take these shots. This series helps me plot the shadow of a dogwood tree on the left (and out of the frame on all but one of the pictures). It looks like this tree's shadow will have minimal impact on that bed. I can also tell from the shadows on the right that the woodland border there will cast shade on the new bed by about 4PM.
It's nice to know I'm not the only 'crazy' one out there!! I did that shortly after we moved in to our current place, and plan to do so again once we've moved (soon hopefully) to our new place. As you indicated, it is very helpful when planning out a garden or where to place certain trees, etc. One addendum I would add though - and this may be more pertinent in some areas than others - is to do the 'light mapping', as you call it, at least once or twice a season before you plant if possible. As the sun's arc through the sky changes, so do the areas that receive more or less sun. A part of my garden that I thought would still remain decently shaded in the afternoon and evening has turned out to receive fairly direct sun through the late afternoon; not necessarily a big deal, but when you live in Kansas, that afternoon summer sun is extremely intense and my hydrangea - poor thing - is definitely NOT a happy camper where he's currently residing.
