Shady boarder - what to plant.

[Pipbin]

My garden is about 90ft long and South facing. However I have a large willow (have had it checked, no danger to the house) and the garden backs onto woodland. The boarder is in the shade of the trees but does get sun in the morning.
The garden is in 4 terraces and the boarder is along the edge of the 3rd terrace and has the willow tree in one end. It cuts across the Middle of the garden.
In an ideal world I would like a cottage garden type boarder but could that work in shade?

There are plenty of cottagey plants that will be happy in shade. As the border runs across the end of a terrace, do you want height in it or do you want to be able to see past it?

Lots of flowers - Pulmonaria, hardy geranium, heucheras, Japanese anemones are the first ones to come to mind - should do well there. Foxgloves and lily of the valley like dry shade (but both are toxic so possibly unsuitable if you have toddlers who might eat the plants).

No children and no chance of any. Just a cat, so no lilies.
I'd like some height. The house is much higher than the garden as the house is built into a hillside. From the living room window we are a story above the garden which slopes down.
Beyond the boarder is a bit of a mess at the moment as is so much of a woodland that only ferns seem to grow!
There is a pear tree in the boarder also.

Maybe some shrubs then? There are various viburnums which are happy in shade. As there is some sun, clematis (which like their roots in shade and their heads in the sun) might do well, grown up wigwams.

I know that clematis grow at the top of the garden. They might do well at the bottom.
I love delphiniums, any idea if they would grow?

I love hostas and they seem to do well in both shade and sun.

I'm not sure about delphiniums. I used to grow aconitum, which is related to it, in my shadiest border and it did very well there. (It's lovely but very toxic - my friend's pet died after nibbling it).

The Royal Horticultural Society have just rejigged their website, but it used to have (and probably still does) a lot of information on suitable plants for shade.

I think delphs like plenty of sun so might struggle. Have a look at Christmas Box though. www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/11217.shtml They're tough as old boots and will like shade, especially if it's damp. They have shiny green leaves all year round and all through the winter they produce white flowers with the strongest smell... gorgeous! Pop in to your local B&Q for a sniff. They're selling little ones for £4 each at the mo. We've just planted a hedge of them. They look tiny, but grow quite fast and will get up to about 4/5 feet tall and wide if you let them. Alternatively, a quick trim will keep them smaller. I think they make a nice backdrop for other more dazzling summer stars, and really come in to their own at this time of year when everything thing else is looking so drab.

Other plants we seem to have grown ok in shade are hollies, hydrangeas, foxgloves, periwinkles, and St John's Wort.

Apparently giant primulas and Himalayan poppies like shade. I found dahlias would grow anywhere last year. Also verbena boneriasis or something like that, very cottage gardeny.

And wallflowers I think

Is the ground fairly moist shade?

My garden is north-facing and I have lots of damp shade! Things that do really well: fatsia, bamboo, viburnum tinus, variegated holly, primulas of all kinds (I like candelabra, denticulata), ferns, hellebores, box, acanthus, and all manner of spring bulbs.

More exotic options: erythronium (dogs tooth violent, so beautiful), tricyrtis formosana (toad lily), arums, brunnera, lamium, persicaria, ligularia, tiarella.

If it's really, really wet, you might even get some bog plants to work - lovely huge leaves!

Thank you for all your suggestions. It's not too damp, beyond the end of the garden there is stream much further downhill, I think the willow takes whatever water there is!

Spring bulbs tend to do well all over the garden. Beyond the boarder is what I refer to as 'the orchard' but in reality it's two apple trees and a pear tree. All that seems to grow there are spring bulbs and ferns.

One unusual shade any that I had in my last garden is arisaema. Crazy looking flowers (think cuckoo pint on acid) come up in the spring, followed by big, almost tropical looking leaves. Grows naturally in light woodland in china and Japan. Lost mine in my last move and I'm still sad about it.

*shade plant

Now I do have what I know as lords and ladies growing all over the show so I think arisaema might grow well.

Arisaema looks incredible