Advice re. plants for newly cleared border, photo attached

[FollyFaunts]

Since lockdown I've been working hard in the garden and have cleared a load of rubbishy plants from this border. It is east facing, does get some sun but not loads - in fact the shrubs still there are leaning over trying to get some more light I think! The soil is decent quality and is alkaline/normal.

Can anyone suggest plants to add a bit of structure in between the remaining shrubs, and to provide some colour for the summer?

Any advice greatly appreciated! Annuals, perennials, I don't care!

Full frontal shot - to give better view of the gaps!

Perennial geraniums...all sorts of sizes, colours, and generally tolerant of most conditions including shade. Penstemons? Also good size, hard to get wrong, long flowering and pretty.

And maybe ferns at the back?

Not much help for the summer but Hellebore would do well there for spring.

Ah, I have blue geraniums (I think Johnson's blue)? and hellebore too, elsewhere in the garden. So I could divide and use! Thank you!

I have had penstemmons in the garden too, but I dont know what kind it was. Anyway, it was a total thug. Started taking over the lawn! I'm a bit hesitant about reintroducing it, unless I've made a mistake and it is actually something else?

Would love to do ferns but have always failed miserably with them. Any recommendations for idiot proof ferns?

P.S. Thank you for the replies!!

What about a hydrangea between the two shrubs, so in front of the trough? How much space do you have there? Little lime (lime colour) is a small hydrangea. My strong annabelle (white) is about four feet height and spread.

If you want easy, what about euphorbia and then planting bulbs and geraniums for spring and summer colour? Purples and whites look lovely against the lime of euphorbia, so snowdrops, narcissus, tulips, gladioli (towards the back), white nerines.

You could also plant purple and white campanula, and cosmos purity.

It would look really pretty.

Climbing hydrangea at the back?

Poached egg plants right at the front. And maybe Pot Marigolds. Bees love them. They grow easily from seed.

Fuscias do well in low light, add some nice colour all summer long x

Among many Google results, there’s a nice list here: www.gardenersworld.com/plants/best-summer-shade-plants/
I’ve always quite fancied Japanese anemones but my little garden gets full on hot sun in the summer. They might do well?

Lovely lovely ideas, thank you everyone!
Climbing hydrangea at the back, theres a thought.
Purple and white combo is right up my street.
I didnt know fuschia did well in low light, i have one from last year in a pot (a blue one), perhaps I should move it to a shadier spot. Likewise gladioli - I thought they were sun lovers. Poached egg plant at the front would work nicely with this colour combination. I've not had much success with marigolds though, they always seem to get eaten up by the slugs. I have a pond, and the frogs and toads are meant to eat the slugs but they never earn their keep!

Lizzy, thank you. I have white japanese anemones that have never bloomed well, and clearly it is because they're in too sunny a place. I should move them to my shady border and hope they do better. Why would I have planted them in the sun? I cant believe I would have ignored the instructions so blatantly. Do they sometimes put the wrong instructions on the plants i wonder.

Fuchsia hawkshead is a white variety and is hardy, that would be nice. I have one and I like it but it is taking absolutely ages to grow.

Fuchsia delta’s Sarah is also hardy and is a purple and white. I have this too and it grows quicker.

I have hardy gladioli in an east facing bed and they do fine. Maybe they would do better in full sun, I don’t know. But they seem happy where they are!

FollyFaunts I checked and Japanese anemones can do ok in sun but prefer it a bit cool and moist (and definitely not on the south side of our building in London when we seem to have a heatwave most summers now!)

I like Brunnera. This is lovely also & this little business have a lot of lovely plants - check them out!

Thanks Kizzy, more digging up and moving tomorrow for me!

I like those brunnera a lot. I do like white plants, I love how they glow in the twilight

I like @WellTidy s suggestions . Expect I’d move that white sink and put a shrub in there . Anything that will do well in a sink wants sun.

Shrubs will give you structure . And foliage colour too if you go for variegated or red leaves.

You need to prune the rose on the fence and put more climbers against it. Perhaps some clematis .

Astilbe and Persicaria love part shade. Persicaria is short and works really nicely at the front. Astilbe has interesting architecture - green defined leaves with foamy pink, red or white flowers above - I absolutely love them.

Hydrangeas are also great in shade especially the mac. type (mophead/lacecap)

Watching, as my border is gappy too.

I like persicaria and astilbe very much, but I find that they like damp shade. Mine are very thirsty indeed and I’ve planted them in dry shade, which doesn’t seem to suit them.

Astilbes would look good in the front and are very reliable.

Sitting writing a plan of my border! I think pp is right, I need to move that old Belfast sink, but that is going to be a mission for me on my own. Will prune the rose right down, and thinking of clematis durandii to a company it .

Once you empty the sink you might be able to lever one corner up with a space and drag it out a bit.

I’m a small middle aged woman and I spend a lot of time moving heavy stuff by myself in the garden ☹️