MADE IN THE SHADE SHOWCASE GARDENS TRIUMPH OVER DARKNESS.

Byline: Karen Dardick Correspondent

EVERY SPRING, home and gardening enthusiasts eagerly experience the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, where talented interior and exterior designers show how to decorate space with flair. This year, the house is an impressive Italianate mansion in San Marino.

Outside, the 2-acre site has been transformed into a series of 12 landscape vignettes, each with a different theme. Because the site is studded with mature Coast Live Oak, Chinese Elm and numerous other trees, visitors have a great opportunity to see how to garden successfully beneath shady trees.

There are far fewer plants that thrive in shade than in sun. Gardening under oaks and other trees is further affected by the different water requirements of mature trees and annuals, perennials or shrubs.

Oak trees particularly can be damaged by oak root fungus; over-watering is one of the surest ways to inflict this fungus on mature trees. Yet with the proper selection of plants and careful cultivation, it is possible to have healthy trees and attractive landscapes.

The Wandering Path and Forest, designed by Ana Saavedra and constructed by Juan Hernandez and Lopez Landscaping, combines the beauty of the existing trees with a lush landscape planted mainly in shades of green and white.

The designers created meandering paths and curved garden beds. Some were elevated or given a berm for better drainage and visual drama. A mature Chinese Elm tree dominates the large space. Mature camellia and azalea shrubs that were already on the site have been incorporated into the new design.

A simple palette of white irises and calla lilies with tiny white-flowered bacopa is the ground cover, mixed in with foliage to create rich textures. The silky, silvery leaves of Silver Spear (Astelia chathamica), an unusual New Zealand plant that thrives here, too, offer striking contrasts.

``When we design gardens where there are trees, we first identify the types of trees and evaluate them to determine their assets and problems,'' Saavedra said. ``When you're planting, you have to select plants that are small enough to be inserted among the tree roots and then you have to be patient while they grow larger.''

Landscape designers can hurry the process by using large plants in containers set into a young garden or placed near mature trees. This is what Saavedra did in the Wandering Path and Forest and it is also a convenient way to use plants with different water requirements.

The Orchid Garden by Elsie Hetherington of Arcadia colorfully illustrates this principle. Exhibiting at Showcase House since 1980, Hetherington shows how to display flowering orchids like cymbidiums, phalaenopsis, oncidium and epidendrum in the shade. Orchid plants prefer half-shade and half-sun to promote flowering, but once in bloom, more shade keeps flowers in better condition. You can rotate containers once flowers have faded to maintain an attractive display longer.

The Front Formal Garden, designed by C&K Landscape Design of Tujunga, makes the shady space beneath a majestic 100-year-old Coast Live Oak tree a relaxing retreat. The designers transformed a dirt play space by creating stone paths leading past formal planting beds. Foliage plants provide texture and harmony.

``We're showing how people can create a traditional formal garden using drought-tolerant plants,'' said Cassie Aoyagi, one of the designers for the space. ``Using foliage plants with different shades of green, we show how one can have a simple garden with layers of different foliage colors.''

Although the Tennis Pavilion garden is in a sunny location, it contains some striking plants that can be used very effectively when gardening under trees. Designed by Jim Alexander, owner of Faux Rock Arte, the artful waterfall and pond culminate in a dry streambed, with banks planted in new shrubs and perennials from Monrovia Nursery. Be sure to see the tri-color sedum, which thrives in dry shade under oaks as much as it does in full sun. Alexander also recommended columbines and coral bells for planting near trees because they thrive in dappled shade and require light watering, making them ideal companions for trees.

41st ANNUAL PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE OF DESIGN

What: Interior and landscape designers transform a private San Marino estate. Marketplace and restaurant (accessible without ticket). Ages 12 and older. Proceeds benefit music programs throughout the community.

When: Opens Sunday. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Through May 15.

Tickets: $25 to $30. Call [phone] for recorded information. [phone] for tickets. www.pasadenashowcase.org.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) At the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, the Front Formal Garden, above, and Tennis Pavilion waterfall, top, offer creative landscaping solutions for both shady and sunny spots, respectively.

Walt Mancini/Staff Photography