Flowers and plants that can live in pots and like the shade. Is there such a thing?

[YellowFeathers]

We have a huge outbuilding but a small yard. Atm we have put dd's wooden playhouse to the back of the outbuilding but it looks very bare and since I have loads of empty pots I thought some nice flowers and plants would look good lined up either side going towards the house.

What plants like the shade and what can survive in a pot?

bizzie lizzies and cyclamen both do well in shade

ferns
and busy lizzies are quite good in the shade

we have a fuschia in our fairly shady garden (well, yard!) and it does fine (well, it does better now we have chopped the giant tree down and it gets sun, but before that it was fine too, and had a REALLY long flowering period)

hydrangea (sp)

All in pots here...

Impatients (not the tropical ones!) would do well in the shade and pots and would add a lot of color

My garden is quite shady and at the moment my containers have mostly impatiens (busy lizzies) and trailing lobelia, all doing nicely (apart from when I forget to water them!). For foliage plants Fatsia Japonica is good, also have a Cordyline and lots of Hebes. Ivy is fairly foolproof if you want a climber

Ooooh great. Thanks

Would I be silly to get them now?

I had a Japonica last year but for some reason it hasn't come back.
Shame because it was lovely.

I love ferns in pots. Skimmia is an evergreen shrub that does well in pots as it is so slow growing. Bamboo is ok in pots too, but needs a lot of water in weather like today! Both like shade. I would (and do!) grow anything in pots that I fancy. You just have to remember to water them - I had to water my bamboo one winter a couple of years ago as it was such a dry winter!
Top tip - if you are thinking of using terracotta pots, soak them for a few hours in water before planting and then line it in wet newspaper, otherwise the terracotta will suck all the moisture out of the soil. Plants in terracotta also dry out far faster, so if you can, find a plastic plantpot that just fits inside and plant inside that. Use water gel crystals in the compost too. They help conserve water.

Thanks Squarer.
I love Bamboo. Was eyeing some up at the garden centre at the weekend.

I haven't got terracotta pots atm just plastic but eventually I want them in "proper" pots.

I'm off to the Market in bit so I'll have a look.

It's a shame you don't live near me - I have bamboo coming out of my ears! (Suppose I should wash behind them every once in a while )

I thought you were near me? Or am I getting confused?

I could be getting confused, but didn't you live in Barnsley and then move much further north?

i have two hostas in a pot at the back door which love the shade and are doing well after 3 years also rosemary, lavender and salvia.