Shady raised bed - what to plant?

[WhiteDenim]

I'd love thoughts from people who are more green-fingered than me (i.e. pretty much everyone!).

I need to replant our raised beds in our garden as the things we had put in there haven't thrived/just don't work where they are. The things I will keep are the rosemary, bay, lavender (well, the one plant my husband didn't completely butcher) and the ferns.

It's very shady although can get some sun in summer. I'm hoping to get plants that are perrenial, hardy, bushy, and also things that don't drop a lot of leaves etc. It's a very tiny city garden.

Thank you for any wisdom!

BUMP

We have a similar situation with our garden and would appreciate some wisdom. 🌷🌱

I have a raised bed that had a lot of shade, I planned the garden when I didn't really know much about growing vegetables! The things that worked well were herbs and courgette. That's about it! I planted loads of other plants but they never really did very well even when I put in my own compost and bought compost.

Hi, I’ve just planted up a shady raised border and I’m a complete novice, but from what I’ve read, I’m hoping the following will do well: Solomon’s Seal, Fatsia Japonica, various hostas, japanese anemones (honorine jobert), hokanechola japanese grass (spelling is wrong I’m sure); aquilegia; pulmonaria sissinghurt... then some ferns as well.

Foxgloves like dappled shade. In pink or white, they add colour and height, and they self seed so once you have them, they keep coming back.

They thrive with damp compost or leaf mold mixed in with the soil.

Lots of suggestions above, I’d add crainsbill hardy geraniums. Lots of varieties.

And bumblebees love them

Dahlias are pretty fool proof and sweet pea like shade.

Lots of nice ideas above - I'd add hellebores to the list. A very easy but beautiful fern - asplenium or the harts tongue fern. I've just been dividing a patch that has really taken off in my garden.

I'm intrigued though - a couple of the plants you mention that you'll keep are real sun lovers eg lavender - did they do ok last year? I'd have thought they'd have struggled enormously without getting a lot of sunshine. If it is as shady as you mention I'd probably move them somewhere else.

Heucheras can do well in shade, and I have found persicaria and pulmonaria (lungwort I think).... All planted by my knowledgeable mum in our north facing border and still alive to tell the tale 7 years later. Many other things didn't survive 🤣.

PS Re the suggestions of dahlias & sweet peas, I'd humbly suggest they are not going to thrive in the amount of shade you've described.

I have a fatsia japonica growing in a big container in the shade. It's very happy, growing steadily and fuss free so perfect for a novice gardener like me. It's underplanted by ferns, cyclamen, hostas and hellebore.

Christmas box also likes shade - it gets quite big but grows v slowly so should be manageable in a raised bed. And it has lovely fragrant flowers in the winter when nothing else is blooming.

Foxglove is poisonous- not recommended where there are small children

Thank you all!

Some plants I already love here so I will definitely try some of these.

Yes the lavender did ok... Perhaps they get more sun than I think they do. It's walled on three sides so any direct sunlight tends to be short lived.