Shade mossy bit- what to do (not grass)

[LuxuryTrifle]

Hi garden experts

A bit of our garden lawn - nearest the house by garden window - is in permanent shade and as a result the grass is a permanent moss fest. It's pointless trying to grow grass in permanent shade so I need to find an alternative.

Unfortunately hard landscaping would be tricky because the lawn slopes downwards to the house, so it needs to be absorbent I think... It's a really awkward situation.

What can I do? Would a cunning flower bed avoid moss - prob not. Just hard landscape an option?

And - since we can't afford hard landscaping right now, meanwhile is there anything we can use like anti weed fabric that we at least stop moss worsening?

[echt]

Could you purposely grow moss?

[shovetheholly]

You could definitely, definitely do a shady bed. There are some GORGEOUS damp and shade loving plants that you could fill it with, too.

[LuxuryTrifle]

Echt - we cd probably farm moss it is so shaded - hadn't occurred to me that would be an appealing option - especially the ghastly black moulding versions!

[LuxuryTrifle]

Shovetheholly - that sounds lovely! I am clueless about plants - I think bluebells like shade? (Flails a bit). Any ideas v welcome! It is right by be floor to ceiling window too so a shady bed could be a real boon -

[shovetheholly]

Ooooh, it'll be lovely. And yes, bluebells like shade and if you buy proper British ones instead of Spanish ones, they smell great too!

I have a north-facing garden, so I am a bit of a shade fanatic! There are loads of lovely plants that you can use, from the common stalwarts (foxgloves, fatsia, astilbe, shade-loving geraniums, persicaria bistorta, hellebores, Japanese anemones, pulmonaria, cowslips and primroses of all kinds) to more unusual things (if it's really damp, you might get away with bog-lovers like rodgersia, ligularia, darmera, ornamental rheum - I grow all of them in shadier parts of my garden). Have a look at Long Acre plants - they specialise in shade varieties and all the plants I've had from them have been brilliant!

[AnythingNotEverything]

Make a shady feature of it. We have ferns and hardy geraniums in our shady bit, and a beautiful clematis (Madame de Bouchard iirc) as well as a shade loving evergreen honeysuckle.

Embrace it as a bed and ditch the mossy lawn.

[HaveYouSeenHerLately]

Agree - do a shade bed! I have two or three skimmia and lovely purple heuchera in mine to lend structure; nandina, bergenia, hydrangea, fatsia, foxgloves etc. Try and get a few golden-foliage plants amidst to lighten and brighten. I love the contrast between the different greens and purples

The shrubs I've chosen are mostly evergreen (at least they are in the SE!) so I get year-round interest.
This might be a factor if the area faces the house and you don't want to look at a brown patch for four months of the year

I also have a crazy amount of pale yellow primroses (self seeded) which really brighten the bed. They flower for ages in the spring and you can lift and divide after they finish to increase the number of plants.

I planted a few cyclamen (Morrisons) last autumn and they gave fantastic colour right through until mid-spring. I don't know if I was just lucky as we had a mild winter in the SE but together with the primroses they gave just enough colour at the front of the bed.

This year I aim to plant a few more cyclamen and also some snowdrops as I have none. Definitely get some hellebores too

Can anyone recommend any shade-loving bulbs for the autumn? Am I right in thinking tulips and daffs only like sun? I might do some British bluebells further along under the trees

Sorry to crash the thread!