How can I direct or reflect sunlight into a shaded part of my garden?

May 6, 2009 8:16 AM

How can I direct or reflect sunlight into a shaded part of my garden?

Hi. I've just recently moved into a new house and just noticed that our back garden gets a lot of light in the back half of the garden but not the front half. I'd like to be able to sit in the front half of the garden and enjoy the sun but at the moment it's just too dark. The shade is created by the house and fence, so there isn't much I can do to remove the shade.

I was thinking of using some reflective material like foil to direct sunlight into the front half of the garden. But I'm not sure if this will even provide sufficient light for it to be worth my while.

What are your thoughts?

posted by Sevenupcan to home & garden (2 comments total)

Heliostats!

Pricey, but they seem to work.
posted by R. Mutt at 8:21 AM on May 6

The Square Foot Gardening site has a few suggestions for reflecting sunlight using Mylar foil on the ground and aluminum foil boards against a fence.
posted by Chrishartley at 9:32 AM on May 6