Shady characters - a permanent home for shade garden suggestions!

[shovetheholly]

Because we get the question about what will grow in the shade so often, posts about it sometimes don't get many answers. So I thought I'd make a permanent thread that we can point people to when this comes up. I know some of you have written the same thing 10 or 20 times before, so hopefully this will save the repetition!

I'm hoping we can post some pictures of shade plants here so that people can see what they look like. A lot of them aren't all that familiar. Plus, I love pictures!!

This is my latest purchase - Mazus reptans. It's a tiny mat forming perennial and has these gorgeous little purple flowers. I'm giving it a try as ground cover for a damp spot, but I'm thinking of replacing my lawn with it if it does well!

Oh my SeaRabbit! Still I gotta try them out and see. Are they otherwise thriving, do they maybe take a while to get going? I was looking at a packet of nerines (not for shady bit though) and it did say on the back that it might be a few years before they produce flowers. It was nice to be forewarned, so I think I'll get some liriope and put them in, but not expect too much to start with.

I've got a strip by the fence always in shade for most of the year. It's all bare and empty so I'm working on soil improvement, and planning where it's all going to go...

I'm also liking that Mazus reptans above - it looks similar effect to the creeping campanulas, but for shade - marvellous!

How exciting - a new shade bed!!

On the subject of campanula, I have great success with Campanula poscharskyana in shade - including the dryest, most 'orrible shade under privet (not a fan of privet, but I'm lumbered with quite a bit of it). It scrambles up and through the hedge, and it flowers quite idiosyncratically - one plant or another will be in flower almost 12 months a year.

Ooh, I love the mazus reptans, shove. I've discovered a part of the lawn where the turf has died due to lack of sun so that might be the perfect plant to put in instead.

I never heard of it before I saw it in the shop kiwi, but I'm quite taken with it. I got it from Secret Gardening Club - 3 plants for about £6 I think! Dunno if they still have them, but well worth a look in case...

I had a lovely shady bed in my last garden. Fairly rich dampish soil. I'll share some of the plants that thrived in it.

Mahonia x charity
Cornus (dogwood) - nice variegated one with red stems
Variegated hostas
Ferns in very shady bit were a nice contrast with the hostas
Astilbe
Hellebores
White dicentra spectabilis
Very pale yellow primroses

It was all green and white which looked great.

Also had a small drier bit between the boundary and the path which I filled with hostas, ferns, white daffodils, a white edged euonymus, more pale primroses

Oooh, Campanula poscherskyana I like all campanulas and they do seem to thrive survive with me

I have had a lot of those already LikeASoul, I will be adding some more

There are actually so many plants I like they're all swirling in a giant maelstrom in my brain, and i don't think my garden is big enough for them all

Hahahaha! Fogs I know exactly what you mean!! I have the same problem - I want everything!! In my case, it's exacerbated by the fact that my garden is relatively new, and I've grown a lot of things from seed so quite a few of the shrubs are still rather small. This gives me the illusion that I have more space than I actually will have in a couple of years! Also, I have actually had occasions when I've been close to tears because I just cannot fit a ginormous but wonderful tree into my rather standard sized suburban garden.

likeasoul I do love a white dicentra. Though I think we're all supposed to call them Lamprocapnos nowadays (I still can't get used to it). They seem to be very out of fashion at the moment - Dieramas have been stealing their thunder I reckon. But they are too lovely not to have one.

Yes, I'm going to have to get very tough with my selections. My garden isn't very deep but it's wide, so I'm going to have to plan where I put everything so carefully, otherwise it's going to be open and boring -see-it-all-at-once

I've been prowling the net searching for more suppliers and more plants, and came across Phlox stolonifera "Blue Ridge". It's been suggested for shady areas in a few websites, I'm rather taken with it.

Another one (I'd never heard of it at all) was Peucedanum ostruthium "Daphnis" which is variegated foliage, nice creamy white frothy flowers, not fussy about soil and likes shade...

Also found this one, Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum', apparently will do just fine in the dry shade of a tree. It is evergreen with white spring flowers.

Mind, they did also issue a thug warning with it - "A bulldozer of a fast growing ground cover plant - nothing can stand in his way, nothing can stop him" Sounds a bit alarming tbh...

Aegopodium podagraria... hang on, isn't that bishops' weed/ground elder?!

Ooops, I posted too soon in my alarm!!

The phlox is a lovely little thing! That Peucedanum ostruthium is a stunner, though - I need that in my life!! It would clearly be wrong of me to leave my Ravenswing cowparsley without another umbellifer to keep it company, wouldn't it. I mean, it would be like plant cruelty. It's only right that I get my credit card and start searching for it...

Is it REALLY?? Oh no!

Glad the Peucedanum pleases! It's very attractive but I can't do pictures...

I can't believe there are places actually selling Ground Elder (which is ruining my in-laws garden) - it's like inviting the Boston Strangler round for tea...

I was looking at the Latin word thinking 'That looks vaguely familiar'. But Latin names aren't my strong suit. Like you I am that they are flogging it! It's clearly a variegated variety, so will probably not be as rampant, but bloody hell I wouldn't risk it! I honestly, honestly think we all need much clearer warnings on plants like that (I'd include leylandii and the rhizomatous spreading bamboos in that too). Just calling it a 'bulldozer' isn't enough!!

I think this is happening more and more though. You see reports from people saying they've seen nettles and dandelions for sale (under the Latin names) as 'wildlife' plants!!

Picture of the lovely peucedanum attached! Oh, I just want to stroke it.

Well, that is lovely. The one I saw wasn't in flower.

Just as an aside, I was a florist and we used to get aconite/monkshood in as a cut flower. We knew it was poisonous, but would happily strip off lower leaves by hand, cut the ends and chuck them in a vase without too much ceremony, and move onto the next lot. I'm sure we did wash our hands before eating lunch. Well, some of us maybe did. Might have just wiped them on our jeans But we all survived... of course it would be safest and more sensible to wash after handling (disclaimer)

I think I've been far too cautious about aconite and I am just being silly. I have lots of other stuff in my garden that's really toxic so there is no rhyme or reason to my sudden sensitivity where that is concerned (except for alarmist press stories following the death of that poor guy who had been working with it, which I guess shows that I'm as susceptible to media hysteria as the next woman!).

There seems to be a vogue for being intensely worried about poisonous things in the garden - including plants that we grew up playing around without anyone batting an eyelid (foxgloves, lily-of-the-valley, autumn crocuses, rhododendrons, jasmine, yew). It's a bit over-cautious really, since kids encounter these things in parks or even on verges all the time. Of course, I'm not suggesting we plant water hemlock all over the place, though.

I am of your flower-arranging skills!

I know what you mean - we moved to a house with a laburnum tree in the garden when I was five. We knew it was poisonous and not to eat it, because DM said so.

Same went for the rhubarb leaves - we ate the stalks, but knew to leave the leaves alone. I suppose it depends on the child; I knew that what my mum said was absolute law.

A lot of plants and flowers I know from being cut flowers; I had Alstroemeria in my front garden for the first time this year and I am delighted with it, the flowers lasted for ages on the plant and they went on and on. Dunno about the flower arranging skills - just shove some silver birch twigs in with everything, always looks nice

Yes, exactly! I was quite scared of poisonous things when I was little - it was something that held quite a lot of horror for me. I remember watching my Dad bite into an unidentified fruit to figure out if it was a plum or not (it was very small), and having a total tantrum where I threw myself at him while screaming 'Nooooo - what if it's deadly nightshade, Dad?'

(I was about 6, too young to realise my Dad is a very good botanist, and too young to understand why he wasn't about to induct me into the skill of telling one thing from another, and had instead blanket banned me from eating any unidentified berry whatsoever ).

I've never grown Alstroemeria. I'm always impressed by how long it lasts in the vase, though. And I'm pretty sure that no amount of silver birch twigs could save one of my - ahem - 'flower arrangements'.

Found another blue carpet shade tolerant plant I'd never heard of (like most of them tbf) - Pratia pedunculata, and, just for you, Primula maximowiczii, which I really, really like!

I AM SO HAPPY YOU ARE ON THIS THREAD FOG!!

I have never heard of that Pratia penduculata, but it's so pretty! Like little blue stars on a green mat. I like the long stems, lifting the flowers upward - it sort of reminds me of a cross between a campanula and wood anemone...

... WANT! WANT!! WANT!!!

That primula is a really zingy coral, too. It's good to find some plants that are brighter. Because my garden is very much white/pink/purple/mauve I don't know enough of the really bold things - but they can look amazing. Years and years ago I saw a Himalayan-style garden at Harewood house and there was a blaze of rhodos underplanted with candelabra and maximowiczii primulas. Stunning.

Aww well, this thread is giving me plenty inspiration for the shady side of my garden. I've had a look at the Himalayan Garden at Harewood - it's simply beautiful. I want a 100 acre garden...

AND I am doubly thrilled because my favouritest ever shrub is Garrya Elliptica. I've wanted one since I saw one growing in a garden on the sea front and was captivated forever by those dangling tassels.

I don't know where exactly I should site one in my garden, I had read to shelter them from cold winds, but the one on the sea front didn't seem to mind? I'm only a few miles inland anyway and my garden backs onto fields so it can get very windy.

Well, I hadn't grown alstro either. I had seen a nice variegated variety at my local garden centre, but the price put me off. And of course I've never seen it since, now I've seen the light and really want it. I can't remember the variety name either, typically. But the bronze leaved fiery coloured alstro I did have just went on and on, all summer and into November. Along with the Penstemon, which was also wonderful. It was very mild weather, of course that does help.

These are more sun lovers though -checks self- not the right thread really

What about Epimedium x rubrum, bishop's mitre? Likes shade and is easy to manage, once it's established it looks after itself. Katsite mentioned it upthread but not this variety

I do love an epimedium noodles! One of those plants that has a lovely movement to it as the air stirs, despite being quite low growing. Those flowers are particularly lovely. I did have one in my garden, but it didn't thrive at all. I got it in the rotten section at the garden centre, so it's possible that it had some kind of issue - or maybe it just didn't like my very wet soil?

Fogs - yay for a Garrya! Especially this time of year - I love how elegantly vertical it it! I think the problem with it is ambient cold more than wind - so it can withstand the seaside. You might well be OK - I'd definitely be tempted to give it a go! Sadly, I've seen very few growing in my part of the world (Sheffield) - I think it's too cold in the winter. However, this may be changing now with the climate altering...