Shady flower bed

[Springspring8]

Bonus flower bed. Really looking forward to planting it up. It is shaded/under trees. Some holes that should be filled in and grassed. Now they are shallow I just realised they are not in an area where anyone walks and would make great bonus flower beds

I want lots of colour as it is not the brightest part of the garden.

What would work well? I am thinking a layer of spring bulbs that work under trees. Would pansies look good among them? Then bizzie lizzies in the summer. Have tried growing large plants in the area and they just don’t do well.

I’d move this to the gardening board, OP. V knowledgeable people on there.

I’m a novice, but I have a long border which has an elevated hedge of laurels, so is shaded and quite dry. What has worked well for me is ferns, fatsia japonica, brunneras, sweet woodruff, cyclamen, and spring bulbs.

Agree with asking for a move to Gardening, but steer away from Busy Lizzies as they need full sun and lots of moisture which they wont get under the tree canopy. Hope this is helpful.

Cyclamen may do well.
Think about things that cope in forests- potentially rhododendrons, winter and spring bulbs, hellebore- there are lots of lovely ones that cope with shade, though I’m not sure about competition. Ferns.

Id put some hellebores in there., they come in wonderful bright colours and flower for over 6 months of the year. Also some lovely ferns for texture and leaf interest. Foxgloves look lovely amongst the ferns too.
I used to have a 100 foot woodland shade garden and these were some of my staples.

Hellebores, bulbs, foxgloves (if no kids / pets), heucheras, ferns, brunnera, polemoniums, hardy geraniums (I grow purple Rozanne, white album and blue brookside), pulmonaria. Hostas if you don't have issues with slugs!

Bright colours may be a tough ask as most bright plants need full sun, but lots of good options for pastels or whites, and you can brighten it further with bright green foliage plants.

I have a shady garden so this is my niche! 😊

How did I forget heucheras?

IME busy lizzies are one of the few summer bedding type plants which do well in partial shade but you’re right they need moisture. My shady border isn’t dry so they do well there. I believe they originate from forest flora?

Most spring bulbs need some sun. Camassia (if it's damp), cyclamen (corms really), snowdrops, bluebells and aconites will cope with shade. Tulips won't at all, and lots of daffodils will not be happy.

I like @ArtichokeAardvark's suggestions, though geraniums may struggle under trees, especially if it's very rooty soil. I can't see pansies coping well - wild violets would, though.

Hardy geraniums (Cranesbill) and ferns are in my dry shady sandy bed.
Clematis climb for the light but like cool roots. My climbing Rose does well.
Bluebells like it too.

I opened this thread thinking it will be about a neighbour's flower bed that sprung up overnight and his wife is missing. "Shady" flowerbed indeed.

Sorely disappointed 😳

I love hydrangeas and mine love the shade - I have lovely blue and pink ones which is a good amount of colour! I also picked some hostas in different shades (white to dark green) which gave some good depth. Astilbe as well - mine thrived in the shade and the colours really do pop!

Recently planted a load of anemone blanda bulbs under some trees.
Picture from Sunday, so good at this time of year. When I weeded after seeing this one I could see loads more coming up.
Blue, white & pink.

Improve the soil as much as you can - the dryness under trees may be more of an issue than the shade. Water and mulch in the first year to establish things. If they are evergreen trees you'll have more of an issue. If decidous and the area gets sun in winter then you have a lot more options.

But spring bulbs like snowdrops (plant in the green if you can - so if you have friends with snow drops who'll let you have some clumps that would be great. )

Colour will be difficult but heuchara, dicentra (bleeding heart) and some of the ferns could give colour.

Japanese anemones
Hydrangeas
Foxgloves
Grape Hyacinths
London's Pride
Dicentra
Brunnera
Forget me nots
Bergenia (Elephants ears) - flowering beautifully in my shady garden right now.

If I were you I'd get into perennials. If you plant annuals like buzy Lizzie you'll have to do it every year. Perennials will come back year after year and, if you plant them amongst evergreen ferns and helebores you will have something to look at all winter.

Sarcococca is a great shrub for shade. Not much flower but a superb scent in winter.

Thank you so much. I will ask to move it to the gardening section.

Some of the shops have bowls pots of bulbs ready to flower. I am going to try to chest by getting some of these and planting now. The flower bed is south facing, but with plants to the south and small trees over. So really shady.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions.

If they’ve got ‘gone over’ snowdrops you might want to get some of those too - planting them ‘in the green’ is meant to be better than dry bulbs on autumn.