Small Shade Loving Shrubs

[Itsunlovelyinthegarden]

I'm looking for small shade loving shrubs to grow close to the house in a direct north facing very small front garden, more of a boundary strip to the pavement. If they stop the neighbouring cats and dogs from using the space as a toilet, even better.

I don't want anything too big or deep rooted that would cause issues with the house.

Any suggestions?

Brunnera, heuchera, some types of campanula - I have them all at the front of my house, north facing, all do well.

I'm amazed how well fuschia are doing in the north facing bit of my garden.

A stumpery with ferns and hostas?

Hydrangea, dwarf rhododendron or a clump of arum lily?

Brunnera's a great choice. It's leaves are hairy and slight uncomfortable to touch meaning cats don't like it. They also are prety big so prodide effective ground cover. It's pretty robust and doesn't require much care. It comes in varigated forms that have bright silver on the leaves to lighten up a dark spot. The flowers are blue and held above the leaves so look lovely.

It's not evergreen but it's halfway there, so you spend almost all the year with foliage.

Hellebore?

Thanks all, plenty to consider.

Hebes

Of all the thing suggested, only Hebe, Fuchsia, dwarf rhododendron and Hydrangea are actually shrubs.