Dry shaded border plant ideas

[Heyha]

Here's a puzzler for you keen gardeners. At the bottom of our garden there is an area which has a 6 foot holly hedge that runs under an extremely large beech tree and an equally large oak tree (park/common along the bottom of the garden).

Grass grows happy enough up to about 10 feet away from the hedge so I'm happy to leave that doing and want to turn that last bit into a flower border. For context I have no flowers in the garden yet apart from in pots as my first gardening priority is my veg patch 🙂 so we haven't touched flowers yet.

The border is shaded to west by the Holly, above by the tree canopy (although this is very high so it's not completely gloomy) and the house, to a small extent, to the east. The leaf fall and beech mast can go on the border for humus and I have a never-ending supply of well rotted manure to set it up and then mulch if ever required.

Looking for fairly easy plants that won't hate the dry shade that are pet and child friendly as far as possible (although I've no real objection to foxgloves and the like, I'm thinking more about avoiding spikey things, euphorbia etc).

Ideas? Colours and foliage open to suggestion, just want a nice soft edge between the grass and the holly hedge really.

Dry shade is the most difficult set of conditions and you may well struggle - grass not growing there is a big clue - although there are some old favourites.

Where the trees are deciduous spring bulbs will probably do ok, and bluebells always look fantastic under a beech tree in my opinion. Also some of the cyclamen, crocus, grape hyacinth, the smaller stuff. Bigger bulbs might object to the dryness.

For flowers, well, it does depend on how dry and shady: if it's really bad then vinca and ivy growing on the ground will work; less shady then geranium macrorhizzum and some of the phaems may do OK. Acanthus for something dramatic.

Having racked my brains here is the professional recommendation: RHS advice for dry shady plants

Ooh thank you hadn't even thought of looking there, forgot they did lists.
It's bulb central in the grass at the moment up to about two feet from the hedge so I think that might be what we encourage for colour. Some nice shrubs on the RHS list to fill the back as well, I suppose it will just be a case of plant and see (can always lift and move into the front garden if need be as that's going to be much easier to work with). I like a vinca so that will definitely go on the list, I won't be allowed Alchemilla after dealing with an invasion of it in the last garden 😂

There are lots of ferns that like dry shade. Plus, Helibores, Lily of the Valley, Thalictrum, epimediun, Dryopsis, Berberis, polysticium

Beetroot and globe carrot grew nicely in our shaded border and the leaves were pretty. I did water them a fair bit.

I have similar conditions. I created a fern garden. I do water it though (collected rainwater).

I like ferns but they aren’t the most exciting of plants.

www.gardenersworld.com/plants/20-plants-for-dry-shade/

Previous residents planted oxalis/wood sorrel which does quite well

Lamium, Dead nettle grows well in shade. Particularly the yellow flowered, silver leaf variety. It’s doesn’t sting and spreads by runners which are easily controlled.

I have a shady patch under a bay tree, and the real problem for planting is the tree roots. There just isn't space to make planting holes without chopping roots away. Perhaps beech roots are different. I could only plant tiny little things, but I did manage to put in cyclamen, very young euonymous, pyracantha, and coronilla.

In the end I made a partially raised bed over some of the area. You can't cover the whole area because it suffocates the tree roots, but it did allow me to put a few bigger things in, and the tree roots will grow up into it.

We're going to have to put quite a bit of my best composty muck down to plant into and then topsoil as well I think, I known it'll be a never ending mulch job!

I might do a corner tomorrow especially as I love helllebores and it's their time at the moment isn't it. I've also just picked up a book i forgot I had and it suggests aquilegia and bleeding hearts as being suitable, which if it ends up being true made my day as they are two of my favourites as well! There's a bit that's less shaded so I think they might be better there as I'm sure I'd got both those as preferring a bit of sun. Thanks to all for your suggestions, off to see what the garden centre has to offer?