It is generally recognised there are four types of shade:

• Dense Shade – typically under buildings away from any indirect light sources. There may even be natural situations under dense foliage tree where dense shade occurs. Range of plants that survive in this condition is minimal. To overcome the lack of light, designers will need to instal appropriate lighting to achieve plant growth.
• Full Shade – Under the eaves on the south side of house is a good example of full shade (southern hemisphere) – it rarely if ever gets any direct sunlight but does have access to indirect light (i.e. reflected light of the blue sky and clouds). Some references have indicated that ‘Full Shade’ also includes situations that get three hours of sunlight but filtered shade for rest of day. There are a wide range of understory forest plants that are adapted to this ‘Full Shade’ situation although they are primarily foliage plants, not flowering plants.
• Light Shade – This best describes the dappled soft light areas under trees or thin woven shadecloth. The filtered light is ideal for a range of plants and this is where flowering shade plants start to appear. We often see ‘delicate’ plants designated in this Light Shade zone.
• Part Shade/Part Sun – A blend of direct sun and shade is typical of this zone. Sun may be 3-6 hour duration each day. Plants for this zone grow best when they are located where they get morning and/or afternoon sunlight but are protected from the harsh mid-day sun when solar intensity is at its peak.