IN THE GARDEN SHADED COURTYARD A GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS.

Byline: JOSHUA SISKIN

Although two-thirds of our sizzling Valley summer may already be over, and autumn is less than a month away, I would still rather spend my outdoor moments in the shade than in the sun.

Just the other day, I was given an opportunity to do so, thanks to the enchanting garden of Sherman Oaks residents Mikie and Tad Maloney.

The Maloneys have lived in the same house for 30 years and, during that time, the Siberian elm overhead has become increasingly dominant in their front yard, which faces north.

``For a long time, we struggled with a lawn but finally decided to make the area into a courtyard,'' Mikie said.

Aided by a Modesto ash and a Chinese elm that grow in the parkway between yard and street, the impression you get sitting in the Maloneys' yard is that you are in a private and protected space, even as dog walkers and cars pass by. If you do happen to be strolling in the vicinity, the comfortable chairs beckon you to stop by for a while.

``Since transforming our yard into a living space, we have gotten to know our neighbors much better,'' Mikie happily informed me.

In older neighborhoods, shade gardens often become the norm. Trees grow huge and steal most of the day's sun. Alternatives to lawns, roses and sun-loving annuals are sought.

In their shade garden, the Maloneys have wisely chosen to make foliage, rather than flowers, the primary source of color, texture and special effects. ``I thought purple and crimson leaves contrasted well with the green foliage of the ferns,'' Mikie explained. The Maloneys have selected a crimson, scallop-leafed Heuchera, commonly known as ``Coral Bells,'' along with a purple Alternanthera to mingle with a ground-hugging fern that I had never seen before. In a container, they also had a prized Alternanthera 'Calico' variety with red and yellow streaks in the foliage.

It occurs to me that a collection of nothing but ferns would be an intriguing alternative to the impatiens, begonias, azaleas and camellias that hold sway in most shade gardens. Ferns provide a cooling ambience unmatched by any other plant. There are tree ferns that grow up to 10 feet in height and other tree- and shrub-type ferns that grow to progressively lower heights until you reach ground covers such as the delicate - but durable when it gets just the right amount of light and moisture - maiden hair fern (Adianthus).

There is tremendous variation among the foliage of ferns. On the Maloneys' silver bracken fern (Pteris argyraea), for example, each deeply lobed leaf has a large, symmetrical white blotch in the center.

One of the easiest plants to grow and propagate for the shade or semi-shade garden is sweet potato vine. The Maloneys have three growing out of pots on their front steps: 'Blackie,' with dark purple foliage; 'Marguerite,' a lime green cultivar; and 'Tri-color,' with white, pink and green variegation. Sweet potato vines need good soil and, for this reason, excel as container specimens. To grow them in the garden, you will have to give them perfect drainage to a depth of 1 foot, which means adding lots of organic matter and mixing it far down into the soil.

The Maloneys have quite a few plants that I had never seen before. To procure the rare and exotic, they had patronized the Descanso Garden plant sale in La Canada Flintridge and the Los Angeles County Arboretum plant sale in Arcadia. Add to these the Huntington Garden plant sale in San Marino, and you have the three venues for purchasing plants that you have never seen and probably will never see again.

I was stunned by the glory of a pure white fuchsia and the charm of a miniature coral-salmon fuchsia, as well as the nonconformity of a curly-leafed Ficus, all of which came from these sales. The Maloneys have also found a number of unusual plants on the shelves of their local Target nursery, including the red Lobelia cardinalis and the blue and white Lobelia valida.

TIP OF THE WEEK: The Maloneys have had fantastic success growing the polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) in containers that receive morning sun. I had never seen such healthy specimens of the white, pink and red polka dot varieties. Like fuchsias, polka dot plants prefer a bright exposure but cannot endure hot sun. They get leggy with age, so don't be afraid to cut them back hard. Polka dot plants are easily propagated from shoot tip cuttings.