Dog-friendly plants for dense shade?

[GuppytheCat]

Would love some help here! My new neighbour has replaced the tatty chainlink-plus-shrubs between our gardens with a solid six-foot fence. My border is now in deepest darkest shade for most of the day. Any ideas for something non-toxic that I could plant to lighten the gloom?

The dog is currently a little horror for chewing things, so I've ruled out foxgloves, daffodils and tobacco plants to avoid excessive vet bills. Primroses are doing ok but they look so pathetically titchy against six foot of darkness.

Climbers such as star Jasmine and climbing roses at the back. Fuchsia, Echinacea, Asters, Heuchera, and Buddleia have lots of varieties to give you all year round colour. Some annuals such as cornflowers, calendula and sunflowers wouls also brighten up the bed. We have a small (30 cms) picket fence in front of our main flower bed. The dog can jump over, but he has been trained by a simple ‘no’ not to.

Climbing roses don't like deep shade. I tried growing roses that say they will tolerate shade...they don't. There's helpful lists online regarding plants poisonous to dogs.

Buddleia seem to thrive well in the most inhospitable surroundings .....well the wild ones by the railways that can grow in the gap in a wall where the mortor comes loose do anyway. I have one in a pot bought to hide a gap where neighbours put in a lower fence and my side is paving there.

It said it was a Black Knight - it is in fact a nasty magenta shade

Fuchsias are a good shout if I can get a shade tolerant one. Wouldn't most of those flowering annuals prefer sun? It really is pretty dark along there now!

I have no illusions left about my dog training ability. Thought I was quite on top of it with the previous dog, but this one has Second Child Syndrome.

I share your pain and sadly I have no answers. I had a lovely hosta in a shady spot until we got a second dog. Who ate it. Luckily no ill effects.
I’ve even caught the little git biting the heads off roses.

I do have a similar border though and we planted a couple of small apple trees. They’ve done well though I’ve never really found anything dog friendly that thrives underneath them except daffs in the spring.

Unfortunately daffodils are very poisonous,we have a nosy year old border collie. We have actually got 3 large bamboo in pots, they're not the thuggish ones that spread they're in pots because I can move them. For mostly privacy, but they make nice dappled shade on our patio.

Ferns? We have a very shady border (literally only gets sun early in the morning then the rest of the day in darkness) and the ferns have grown well there. Quick google suggests most ferns are non-toxic to dogs too.

Yes, you're correct,all the annuals mentioned need sun.

Fatsias like shade and laurels seem pretty tolerant too. Agree with pp that ferns would look beautiful.

I need to read the post more carefully 😂

Ferns -- of course! Those would add a bit of height, and maybe a potted bamboo behind them. If it dies, I'll make a dog fence out of the bits.

I'm taking note of the sunny suggestions for the other side of the garden too, so no suggestions wasted here.

I have a Portuguese laurel growing in darkest shade, underneath a cordyline and it is thriving.

Fatsias, ferns, pulmonaria, bergenia all do well in the shaded part of my border, and my dog isn’t interested in them at all. Also persicaria and Vinca minor as ground cover. I wouldn’t bother with hostas unless you love slugs and snails. Heucheras somehow never survive my garden so I’ve given up on them too.

I think impatiens and begonias are the best annuals for shade. If you are placing pots in your border I would also recommend creeping Jenny, the chartreuse foliage really glows and illuminates a dark spot.

Brilliant, thank you for all of those! Weirdly, we have a patch of creeping Jenny in full sun on a path, so I hadn't thought of it for the shade. Persicaria might be good for a bit of height too.

Vinca minor is a complete thug round here, but maybe it would be better than looking at the fence.

Hostas were originally grown as vegetables although the ornamental varieties aren't so tasty. Explains why the slugs love them though. They are toxic to dogs though apparently. Some ferns are toxic as well. Basically dogs seem to be very delicate!

Shade tolerant plants that are safe for dogs: heucheras, sarcococca confusa, astilbe, hardy geranium, astrantia, brunneria, camellia, viburnum.

Camellias hate us because we're on about half an inch of mud over two miles of chalk. Astrantias, though -- I've just googled them, and they look like something from the sunbaked rolling prairie, but I see they really are shade-friendly! Going on the list, along with astilbe.

Ooh, liriope -- any opinions? For a bit of spiky contrast?

Basically dogs seem to be very delicate!

Tell me about it... No onions, grapes, raisins, chocolate, alcohol, chewing gum, sweeteners, cigarette ends or is that just mine... it's a wonder there are any dogs left past puppyhood, really.

are laurels and cordylines not highly toxins to dogs?

Looks like it, yes (I loathe laurels anyway, so the pup is safe from that one).

Maybe I'll plant the border with lettuce and carrots. She likes those nearly as much as the slugs do.

I’m a total novice, but I planted a couple of liriope in my shaded, north-facing border last month, and it seems happy. I planted a hydrangea petiolaris to climb that same north-facing wall last year, and while I don’t think it grew at all last year, it seems to be coming on this spring. It certainly looks happy.

Hydrangea petiolaris loves shade (takes a while to get going though) but doesn't love dogs.

Cranesbill Geraniums, the perennial ones not the annuals which are poisonous to dogs. Like shade and come in many sizes and varieties, they could give colour and flowers for most of the year.

Had to read that twice to check that my cranesbills weren't toxic (though I didn't know that pelargoniums were, so thanks for the warning).

Don't worry, I'll double check all suggestions before I go mad and plant the Death Border.

Oops, sorry it made sense in my head!