Tall perennials with limited foliage for shade?

[Itslookinggood]

So I know it’s a tall order but googling is not throwing up anything.

I have a narrow strip, north facing, and decided to plant low-growing grasses and alliums globemaster (like an architectural look, not cottage garden). The grasses look nice, allium stems are coming along nicely, but had not anticipated the foliage, which is massive, floppy & far from what I had in mind….

are there any tall plants which produce flowers on stems with limited foliage at the bottom - and would cope in shade? I thought alliums were then answer, but it’s really narrow, & the massive foliage has taken over & looks so messy.

thank all

How about tall grasses like miscanthus. Japanese anemone is also good, but might be too much foliage for you, although i don't find it looks messy usually. I can't really think of anything that fits the bill exactly.

We have thalictrum black stockings which are very pretty and grow straight up. They do have foliage but it’s delicate.

Shade perennials generally have quite a bit of foliage - they need a greater surface area of leaf because of the relative lack of light. Thalictrums are excellent but definitely cottage garden style.

Verbena Bonariensis has grown for me in a north facing bed. Do you get any light east/west?

In my very shady border the only things that I can think of are Eurybia divaricata (late in the season) and Purple Toadflax/Ligularia przewalskii The Dragon(which both prefer sun but are surviving for me).

Would a liriope work for you? I’ve never grown it but think they can be ok in shade and would fit with the other grasses perhaps?

Globemaster are really huge, so need lots of foliage to support that gigantic flower.

Other smaller alliums have much daintier foliage, but won't be tall like you want.

The only thing I can think of which might fit the bill are lilies. There are some which are fine for shade, and the foliage is not at all dominant.

What about euphorbia? They are mainly foliage, but more structural looking and quite straight up.

Thank you all so much. Some great ideas here, I’ll get googling.

hadn’t thought of lilies or liriope, and verbena definitely a contender. Thanks!

Aconitum, or monkshood, beautiful tall blue flowers

I second Thalictrum (or meadow rue).

Thanks all. Just googled thalictrum and there are loads of varieties. Will search out the most architectural.

I wish websites would show the foliage as well as the flowers. Seems hard sometimes to get the full picture of what a plant looks like.