I want to look out my kitchen window and see green, green, green

[popularinthe80s]

...at the moment, I look out and see a fence (it's one of those houses where the kitchen is an extension, so creates a dark alley)
At the moment I have 2 holly bushes in pots. They create year-around green, but are of course slow-growing.
Can anyone recommend a green shrub that is:
Evergreen
Happy in a pot
Genuinely happy in a dark place.
Tried Aucuba. It was so unhappy. Became increasingly pale and sad. Had to move it out of pity.

You can grow ferns in pots

You need a Swiss cheese plant. I have two growing in my yard and they survive the frozen climes of even NE England. They're green and lush and evergreen. Mine are positioned by a wall though which probably protects them. They were also a good size when I bought them. Garden centres grow them outside so buy one from there and you'll know it's been acclimatised

I do like a fern, @whatisthisinhere

Swiss cheese - my mum used to have one indoors - I had no idea these can work outside! Thank you

Hydrangeas grow well in pots and in the shade. Hostas are another alternative. Fuschias also tolerate a lot of shade.

Fatsia Japonica? Can get quite big, but we had them in a North facing garden and they did great in the shade, with lovely white flowers in the winter followed by berries which the blackbirds used to eat.

Fatsia is great in shady areas and has big lush leaves. Not sure how happy it will be in a pot - perhaps a really large one?

I never realised you could grow Swiss cheese plants outside. I'm going to give it a go with one of mine

See what you've started, Swiss Cheese Lady.
Fatsia Japonica - forgive my ignorance - isn't that Aucuba? I've googled to check but not sure

Climbing hydrangea? Mine is on a shady noth wall and is rampant. I have just cut it back. Lacy white flowers in early summer.

Aucuba is spotted laurel so a different plant.

This is Fatsia Japonica, it says partial shade, but ours were in deep shade and seemed to thrive.

www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/fatsia-japonica/classid.2000030879/

All great ideas, thank you. Love Crocus - their plants tend to live!

Another vote for Fatsia (I have both the plain green one and the variegated 'Spider's Web', which I absolutely love).

I would also recommend Choisya Ternata 'Sundance' - the colour really brightens up a dark corner or north-facing wall.

If you want height - I'd go with bamboo.

Herebores are gorgeous year round and survive in little sun

Whoops, I means hellebore

Another vote for ferns, mine are so lush and green right now. I just grow mine in pots. My oldest fern has sat happily in the dark for 12 years now.

Honeysuckle is a woodland plant so that should work too.

Climbing hydrangea is lovely, but slow.

Ivy will grow in shade. It’s evergreen and great for wildlife.

Great ideas.
Sorry, should have explained - it's a concrete alley, so will have to be a pot.
Could anyone recommend a particular fern?

Sounds silly, but paint the fence green? Did ours a few years ago. Hated it initially but now it’s wearing off it’s just a lovely faded greeny brown - things grow up it and in front of it and it disappears into them instead of standing out.

I have a clematis in a shady spot. Very very slow to start but after 2 years it’s suddenly taken off and is rambling everywhere. Also an acer and a honeysuckle.

And to plant up around them in the pots, bluebells, wild garlic, wood violets maybe?

Ferns, hostas and hydrangeas don’t tend to be evergreen?

Do you get any sun at all? I've got an evergreen lonicera Henryi Copper Beauty that gets about an hour of sun a day. I think it could be grown in a pot although I'd be more inclined to use a small trough if there was sufficient space. Not completely evergreen, depending on the winter, but faster growing than a Holly.

I've got a very heavily shaded border and planted lots of evergreens in the soil. The fastest growing (2ft since last summer) in the deepest shade is the Cherry Laurel but I have no idea how well they would grow in a pot. I have also been impressed by a Yew growing with no direct sunlight and it's grown about 8 inches since the beginning of the year. We're coming up to bare root time so you could get taller plants for much less than potted ones currently.