Best plants for small, shady border

[LovingKent]

Have a newly created border 210cm long but width varies between 41 and 61cm. Apple tree partly overhangs it from left and there is a low wall with fence on top of this to the rear. It has dappled shade in the morning but then full shade all afternoon. Clay soil. What plants would do well there? Would like a mix so colour through the seasons. Am not a keen gardener so would prefer ones that require very little maintenance (I wouldn't want to put in annuals or bedding plants). Any suggestions?

This should help

www.hardysplants.co.uk/rosy-s-planting-plans/rosy-s-shady-border-plan

@MrsBertBibby

Oh god don't plant Japanese anemone. Bloody nightmare and you'll ever get rid of them

My dad has found Honorine Joubert very well behaved.

Dicentra! Lovely plant for shadier areas.

Unfortunately Mrs Joubert has been very badly behaved in my garden. It really depends on your soil. My garden is very well conditioned free draining chalk. Things spread with ease

Snakeshead fritillaries are lovely in my garden at the moment. I have some that were bought as plants last March and have come back this spring. I also put in a couple of bags of bulbs in a shady patch under an apple tree last autumn and they have mostly come up. Think 10 bulbs was about £2 from somewhere cheap (possibly Morrison’s or Wilko).

@Clymene

Oh god don't plant Japanese anemone. Bloody nightmare and you'll ever get rid of them.

Epimedium does well in shade, as does jacobs ladder.

@SockFluffInTheBath If conditions are right it will spread everywhere and it is relentless. My NDN has it in her front garden and I've found it pushing through the boundary wall and pavement outside. It is a nightmare if not contained.

Same with Vinca, very useful ground cover but unless you work hard it will take over and spread everywhere. It spreads like brambles, with arching stems that touch the ground and root at that point.

In my book, a good plant is one that spreads only gradually and is easily stopped. Some plants are lovely but just too much work to be worth the hassle...

Astrantias are great for shade, but the flowers smell like wee IMO. In my shady beds I have tricyrtum, dog's tooth violets, tiarella, epimediums, heucheras, astrantia, hellebores and cyclamen and snowdrops.

I also have a fabulous climbing rose, Madame Alfred Carriere. Flowers well even in a north facing aspect.

@TheNoodlesIncident mine are in heavy clay. I’ve not worked on the soil in that part and it’s really pretty solid so the little devils have their work cut out!

Some good ideas here but I would stay well away from vinca it's a total thug and will take over.

[quote SockFluffInTheBath]@TheNoodlesIncident mine are in heavy clay. I’ve not worked on the soil in that part and it’s really pretty solid so the little devils have their work cut out![/quote]
I have been ruthlessly eradicating them from the border for a year now, having to spray the shoots mercilessly pushing through the garden wall and up between the paving slabs suggested they weren't going to go down without a fight I can't see clay soil being an issue - we're on heavy clay, the ground saturates every winter and there is standing water for weeks... the Japanese Anemone just laughs.

I do have to admire the tenacity of thug plants, they're obviously survivors who have hit on a great method of achieving herbal supremacy. But there just isn't the room in average gardens to let them run riot, and who wants a monoculture of one plant anyway?!

I'd actually like to see more warnings on plants that have a tendency to seed everywhere/have spreading rhizomous root systems/sucker everywhere/toxic sap, etc so inexperienced people don't get caught out. Some sites do, lots don't. Every time someone says in a thread they have a problem with lack of privacy, some posters pop up to say Get Some Bamboo! Just NOOOOO

Vinca minor is pretty well behaved, it's vinca major that can really run amok, I thought?

[quote WearyLady]This should help

www.hardysplants.co.uk/rosy-s-planting-plans/rosy-s-shady-border-plan[/quote]
Thank you. That's really useful.

I'd love some warnings. The RHS site is quite good for those I've found.

Got enough plants trying to invade from next door so I'll stay away from Japanese anemone then 🤣

Yea you're right @TheNoodlesIncident! I love anemone and was so pleased when I saw it doing well in my neighbour's front garden. I had no idea it was such a bloody thug. See also Bear's Breeches (acanthus mollis) and golden hop (humulus lupulus). Both have proved almost impossible to eradicate when they've spread to other parts of the garden with the result that I hate them all and will destroy any minute particles

Aquilegia's can be a pain with self seeding too. The previous owners planted some in our garden, which we took out when we got rid of that border. I dig them out in all the main borders but have to admit I don't have the time to be as rigorous in the wooded corner. They still pop up everywhere. (I have the same issue with the oriental poppies they put in but those you are less likely to put in a shady corner)

Agree with better warnings. I have a pink geranium that seems to think its mission statement is global domination

I think anything I'd suggest (parents' garden is heavy clay, and have worked in a garden centre) has already been mentioned.

Happy plant shopping :)

(oh I love vicariously plant shopping via other people's hauls as I don't need to buy any right now!)

@TheNoodlesIncident

As a garden centre employee, I did try to warn people about things like that..... And still do as a gardener

@Harrysmummy246 That's kind of you, it can be very helpful as some people don't mind if something takes over rather, but others will view it with alarm as it represents a lot of future work just keeping it under control.

"Both have proved almost impossible to eradicate when they've spread to other parts of the garden with the result that I hate them all and will destroy any minute particles"

Lor' yes, I think we've all got some plant in the garden that just likes the conditions so much they've gone rogue, or seed so freely that your main weeding job is forget me not or Alchemilla mollis (which does do well in shade too tbf). At least these are relatively easy to weed out, getting something which sneaks around underground (looking at you Japanese Anemone) is a lot harder and of course they root through other plants' root balls as well, meaning you might have to dig those up at some point, just to get rid (couch grass is particularly awful for this as herbicides are not as effective on their narrow leaves and there's the risk of overspray to other plants).

@MrsBertBibby Both Vinca major and vinca minor can be problematic and are on the invasive species list. They do look very nice and are useful for areas where other plants would struggle to grow. I think if I were to have some I would pick a variegated type, as the smaller amount of chlorophyll per leaf area seems to make plants slightly less vigorous. I would be asking myself "Is this plant worth the extra work it creates?" If yes, then go ahead, but you've bought your ticket, you know what you're letting yourself in for...

I thought I'd come back and update. In the end I put in a couple of Pulmonaria 'trevi fountain' (blue in colour) and a Dryopteris affinis. They have so far thrived and survived the drought (although I have been watering fairly regularly and mulched well when I planted them). Thanks again for all the advice 😊.

That's a great update, thanks for coming back and apologies for taking over your thread with rants about invasive stuff!

I think mahonia is ok in dry, partial shade if you want a shrub. Also there's a low growing variety which might be good for ground cover.