North facing front garden:planting ideas

[Crosbybeach]

Hi

A man is coming to dig out our forest of a front garden on Monday. It's north facing and only really gets sun on summer mornings.

There's a hydrangea that we are going to keep and that does well. Any other ideas for shrubs that will earn their keep but be low maintenance as, while I like gardening, I also have an allotment and lovely back garden that takes up all my available gardening time!

A hardy fuchsia? Just needs a good prune each year. My neighbours have a lovely purple/crimson one which is completely neglected & every year it is spectacular (I took some cuttings a few months ago!)

I second the fuchsia, I also have a fantastic clematis that is suitable for North facing areas, I've got peonies that do well, and I have plenty if bulbs in fir the spring.

Great ideas ta. Fuchsias do really well where I am, maritime North west. And lots of bulbs is a great thought too.

My hebe and some periwinkles are doing OK. Hebe not flowering, but looking very green. Otherwise, place marking!

Hardy geraniums- choose from pink, purple, white- great for ground cover.
Bulbs- crocus, daffs and some tulips might work- they do in my north facing garden because they get a bit of east and west sun for some of the day.

Low plants- heuchera, Solomons Seal, lily of the valley, forget me knots,

Roses- there are some that work north facing- see David Austin.

Geraniums, fab idea, I didn't know how well they'd do in north facing, also I have some Solomon seal that needs dividing, great. Tulips I've tried and there's not quit enough sun..daffs manage though.

Monty Don did a piece on dry shade 2 weeks ago on Gardeners World- worth a watch on iPlayer.

Great, I'll take a look.

My back garden is N/NW facing too. I grow loads of things like primulas, roses, clematis up the fences and into shrubs, Jacob's Ladder (?polemium), polyanthus love shade, sarcococcus (smells divine), hostas, lupins.
Some tend to become a bit leggy so I Chelsea chop them.
Personally I think most things will grow but probably not as vigorously as they would in full sun. So long as it's reasonably light then you shouldn't have problems. I have areas that are dry, others which are much damper.

OP - I THINK 'pinkfrocks' by hardy geraniums, means cranesbill geraniums, and NOT Pelargoniums, which might be what you had in mind?

Japanese Anemone. Flowers this time of year and is prolific in all conditions.

Hi Ferguson, yep I know hardy geraniums. Not a big fan of the other ones, they smell a bit wrong to me somehow...

Japanese anyone sounds fab. And Chelsea chopping is a great idea. Looking forward to bare earth so I can get some manure and soil improver down to help things a bit.

Also, jasmine will grow like a weed once established. Easy to propagate from cuttings in wet compost if you find any.