Plants for north facing balcony troughs

[RainCloude]

Hello, I have two new troughs for my north facing Juliette balcony. I'm on the second floor so I think it's quite exposed! I've missed the summer season obviously (moved here last month and only just got the troughs). So I'm looking for recommendations for autumn/winter colour. It does get some morning sunshine but light shade the rest of day.

I love cyclamen but actually something with more height would look better. Not keen on ferns because I've always failed miserably with them. And I just don't like begonias (all the recommendations online are for begonias for this aspect) although they're probably more for the summer anyway.

Any suggestions please? Thank you!

do you get any sun af all?
is it very shady or quite bright?
reflections of light from other buildings?

As per my op - I did say it's light shade with some morning sun.

Overlooking a canal.

I bought a pre-chosen selection from Muddy Trowel for a shady space.

I've got some ferns, ivy, horsea and a glorious cheese plant thing that has really taken off.

No real colour it's all shades of green but it is nice to have plants that are alive rather than dead!

Hellebores? Sound about the right height, give colour at the right times and are not ferns

Perhaps also planted with some snowdrops which we have in the shade and flower pretty reliably. They need to be planted 'in the green' though so you'd have to add them a bit later in the year.

(I love ferns, though)

herbs?
bay
rosemary
oregano

Hellebores and herbs both sound hopeful - I thought herbs needed full sun though?

Lots of lovely ideas here www.gardenersworld.com/plants/container-plants-for-shade/
Hostas would be good as two floors up I shouldn't think slugs and snails would be too much of an issue.

Bay is a tree I thought. Most herbs need full sun.

Heuchera can be very pretty, hostas also. On a balcony you probably don’t need to worry about snails.

Euphorbia is also pretty.

For spring, daffodil W P Milner, iris reticulata and anemone Blanda flower against my north facing wall. Should do even better with some sun.

Excellent point that slug and snails may not be a problem now! Always put me off hostas....

I have to disagree on slugs/snails.
they ate my cucumber plants on our 3rd floor balcony...
they come in via the potting mix.

Trailing ivy leaf pelargoniums (often sold as ivy leaf geraniums) can cope with partial shade. They'll keep blooming all summer and through October. You could add some autumn/winter flowering pansies or hellebores. Forget me nots would be good in shade too. These ones allegedly flower through the winter:
www.jparkers.co.uk/myosotis-mon-amie-mixed-0011761c

I would lasagne plant (plant in layers in order of blooming) spring bulbs that come up at different times below. Crocus, hyacinths, muscari and tulips should be okay too, as well as the bulbs already mentioned. I would stick to shorter varieties if the balcony is exposed. Taller varieties may snap in the wind.

Hostas would be good as two floors up I shouldn't think slugs and snails would be too much of an issue. Ha Ha I wish.

You might be okay for a few years but eventually one will sneak in in a pot or potting compost and then it's game over...

How about an evergreen backdrop of Viburnum Tinus, Sarcocca and Skimmias (all of which will flower at some point in the year). Then you could add interest with spring bulbs, such as snowdrops, narcissi, crocus, wood anemones etc. Later on in the year woodland plants like Solomon’s Seal could prolong the season of interest. There’s a great online supplier called Plants for Shade which has lots of great ideas for this sort of aspect.