North facing front garden

[WindFlower92]

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice on what to do with my front garden. I'm looking for typical 'cottage-y' type plants, and I love wildflowers.

In terms of planting space - there are two borders: one alongside the front of the house and completely in shade, and another alongside the path from the road which is by a hedge and again, mostly shaded. There is also a small bed which could probably hold some sort of bush or obelisk. In the first border I'd like to put some kind of climber to go up and around the door - would honeysuckle work here?

I also want some sort of basket under the window next to the door. They're about 70cm long and completely in shade.

I also have a patch of grass which I would like to put a mini wildflower meadow in. I'd like some sort of dwarf/mini tree in the middle, but not sure what to go for. We already have apple trees in the back garden, so something different would be nice.

Hopefully that's clear, can add pictures if it's not! What kind of plants would do well in this environment, and how can I add height and interest to the borders? The borders are about 1 and a half ft wide, so not much space but I don't want it to look boring! I'm planning to put all this in next year, so not too worried about plants that are immediately available.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Wow that's long, thanks to anyone who reads that!

North facing gardens can be tricky, it depends how much sun it gets from the East and West. Track it on a sunny day and note where and when.
There are quite a few plants that grow in shady spots. My first suggestion would be to look at hardy Crainsbill geraniums. Very cottage garden and there are loads of varieties. Google a specialist nursery to get some idea. Japanese anemones also grow in semi shade, as do Hydrangeas. Again different varieties are available. Hydrangeas have some very small varieties, they’re not all the big plants you tend to see.
As for climbers, most will climb towards the sun, often bare lower down, but there are some climbing roses that will work in shade.
The RHS web site will give you more ideas for shade garden plants.

Yes to hardy geraniums. In general the big blue, white or purple varieties do better in shade, the small neat pink and red-purple flowered are better in sun and well drained soil. Other shade plants which are native or have close relatives which are native are Thalictrum, Astrantia, wood forget-me-not, Brunnera, Ajuga.

Mini wild flower meadow - most wildflower mixes aren't meadow mixes (ie perennials that will grow in permanent grass), they're mixes of corn field plants which need the bare ground of a ploughed field to germinate. The flowers which grow in my shady lawn are quite boisterous - meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense), Meadow and Creeping buttercup, red campion. I keep a mown strip around the edge else it would look quite unkempt.

I think with that I would embrace a shady woodland feel. Lots of lovely small "wild" woodland plants and ferns underneath a small tree or hydrangea. Crocus has a great selection of shade loving plants.

Thanks all. I keep hearing about Crocus, so will definitely check them out!

We have a very shady spot in our garden and as well as the plants mentioned above, centranthus (you can get them in red or white, we have white) does really well alongside the astrantia. The spot they’re in barely gets any sun at all.

Heucheras would also be good ground cover for you. Many do well in shade and most flower. Lots of lovely colours in the foliage eg limey greens andpurples which would be lovely in a cottage garden.