Flowering shrubs for shady places

[Dancergirl]

I'm looking for some flowering shrubs to put in side beds in my garden. The beds are near a tall hedge so don't get much sunlight. However I do have a watering system so they will get enough water.

Can anyone recommend some please? I love a lot of colour and want to increase it in my garden. I don't have much gardening experience though unfortunately!

Just don't get lamium, dreadful stuff.

Only plants I know of add nothing to the look so best to leave as a neat hedge. Not helpful and don't know the names as they were given to us and even dh who isn't interested in gardens said he doesn't like them.

I like Annabelle hydrangea, but they do need staking when young

Heuchera (sp) pronounced Hookera. Do well in shade and come in the most pretty shades of leaf. Will flower too. Delicate flowers on long stems.

Hydrangea are excellent for this. There are lots of different types too so have a good Google. They flower for a long period in summer and the blooms look swanky in a big vase.

I did think about Hydrangea but I'm not keen on them!

Seriously have another look. I don't like most mop heads but white oak leaved hydrangeas and lovely lace caps are a different beast. They're also ver easy and I don't let mine get blue

Thanks, I did actually have a quick google just now! I don't like white but some of the other colours are nice.

I wouldn't ever have given them a second glance until we moved into a house with a tricky shady garden which had been left to its own devices for 20 years. The mop head hydrangea was the only thing that flowered except weeds an Spanish bluebells. I didn't have the heart to rip it out and I'm glad that I've seen how good it is. I've got quite a little collection now and planning a big bed of different varieties under a big oak tree. More colourful than scraggly lawn that needs mowing.

Clematis do well in our garden. They like their roots cool and clamber to the light.

Photinia 'Red Robin' has small white flower heads but is grown for its striking red leaves.

Any plant with big broad leaves will do well. Hostas. Elephant Ears (flowering now) Sedum a succulent, keep the flower heads on over winter.

Azaleas
Camelias
Hydrangeas
Heuchera (ones with bright foliage will brighten the area)
Fake Solomon's Seal (the one I have is variegated)
Astilbe
Lady's Mantle
Hostas
Lily of the Valley (if its dry)
Jasminum Nudiflorum
Sweet Woodruff for a ground cover.
Hellibores

If there is something that is normally quite invasive in your area it will probably grow in the shade, but more controllably. I have trumpet vine and Carolina Jessamine in the shade where we are (not in the UK) normally they are overgrown pests but are quite small in our yard.

Skimmia?

Fuchsia?