Tips for shady border - I'm a complete beginner

[benne81]

Hi folks

We bought a flat with a lovely 20m garden that was absolutely full of rubbish last year. We have chopped down trees, filled multiple skips amd sown grass seed and we now have a lovely lawn with a gorgeous cherry and apple tree.

I'm keen to get planting some Borders. The problem is the section of the garden I can see most clearly from our flat is pretty much full shade. What plants would look great and can tolerate shade (can't do foxglove as have cat & small baby)

No idea but will watch so someone can tell me as have same problem!

I'm obsessed with the idea of this at the moment:

www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/mahonia-%C3%97-media-winter-sun/classid.4161/

Flowers smell so nice in winter.

Ooops.

Mahonia winter sun

My Hellebore does really well in the shade and its fab at this time of year. Also ladies mantle looks lovely in summer and nice when it rains. Those are the first two that came to mind.

If you don't want foxglove maybe you don't want hellebores - they're also poisonous.

Anemones are good. We also do well with heucheras, pulmonaria, bergenia, brunnera macrophylla, pachysandra, cyclamen, ferns (some like it damp but others like it dry), liriope muscari. Hostas are nice but slugs and snails like them so I've given up.

i have recently planted in mine-Dicentra,violets,snowdrops.anemone blanda,primroses,pulmonaria and bluebells and loads of foxgloves and hellebores.We have always had foxgloves in the garden and my dc's have never eaten them [have 4 dc's].Could you put them in an inaccessible place?.Euphorbia is totally invasive in my woodland area.Mahonia seems to mainly grow in the sunny spots in my garden and is an absolute pest -must have about 100 self-seeded tiny shrublets and not-so tiny shrubs.I also have hostas,ferns,bergenia,geraniums and aquilegias.

I have a very shady north facing garden where very little thrives - but - (excuse my spelling as I can say these, but don't know how to spell them!) aquilagia, poppies and bleeding heart grows well - I'm about to put in some lily of the valley too to see how that goes. I've also got some lovely ferns.

Gosh I had no idea Hellebores are poisonous!

You can get woodland wildflower seeds too. Saw a packet today and might get some for my shady border. Our Hellebores are doing brilliantly in the shade.