Design a Full-Shade Zone 6 Native Pollinator Garden
Plan a full-shade pollinator garden by separating winter hardiness, local native range, shade, moisture, bloom, and host-plant needs.
Read guideA good planting plan starts with the site you have, the job you want the garden to do, and the care you can provide. Soil texture, drainage, sunlight, mature plant size, native range, and hardiness zone answer different questions; one label cannot stand in for the others.
Choose a first guide by the decision in front of you. If several conditions overlap, start with the site plan, then use the focused guide for the condition or project that matters most.
Find your starting point
| If you are starting with… | Read first | It helps you decide… |
|---|---|---|
| An unmapped yard or planting area | Make a site plan for a native garden | What is fixed, what changes by season, what needs verification, and where plants and access could fit. |
| Clay soil in Michigan | Plan a native planting on clay soil in Michigan | Whether texture, compaction, drainage, or soil-test questions are shaping the planting area. |
| Wet shade or spacing in Ontario | Plan plant spacing for an Ontario wet-shade garden | How changing moisture, light, mature spread, and maintenance access affect layout. |
| Full shade and a zone 6 pollinator goal | Design a full-shade zone 6 native pollinator garden | How to keep hardiness, local nativity, shade, moisture, bloom, and habitat roles separate. |
| A small Virginia lot and dry-soil privacy | Plan a native privacy screen for a small lot in Virginia | Which sightlines need screening and what mature space, utility checks, and establishment capacity allow. |
| Runoff or a sensitive water edge | Plan a native rain garden or plan near a wetland or shoreline | Whether the project and site need separate local checks before plants are selected or ground is changed. |
| A choice between seed and plugs | Choose between native seed and plugs | Which method fits the site scale, preparation time, layout, stock, and follow-up capacity. |
| Existing turf or weeds | Prepare a site for native plants | How to choose a vegetation-preparation approach for the existing ground and planting method. |
| Planting beneath a mature tree | Plan a native garden beneath an established tree | How canopy shade, roots, soil moisture, and tree health constrain the layout. |
| A shared garden with many users | Plan an accessible native community garden | How to plan routes, work areas, and rest places around the people using the garden. |
These guides cover practical decisions from shortlist through installation. They do not promise that one plant or layout will fit every property in a region. A planting still needs observation and care as it establishes; ongoing tasks depend on the plants, weather, and site.