Thriving Greenery for Shady Spaces: 12 Vibrant Plants Ideal for North-Faced Gardens
In the quest to create a vibrant and colourful garden, it's essential to consider plants that thrive in shady areas. Here are some recommendations from gardening experts that will help you transform your garden's shadows into a spectacle of blooms.
Jane Dobbs, a seasoned gardener, suggests the stinking iris as an excellent choice for full shade, particularly under trees. Its architectural evergreen foliage and dull purple-green flowers shine in autumn, especially when its large seedpods split open to reveal rows of orange-red seeds. Another plant Dobbs recommends is Euphorbia amygdaloides, a beauty that blooms in late spring with lime-green flowers above dark green leaves, perfect for dry shade under trees and woodland borders.
For much-needed flowers in shady corners, Harriet Worsley recommends Japanese anemones. However, she warns that they can be vigorous and take over space. To prevent this, she suggests combining them with the white annual plant Cosmos in sunny areas. Worsley also recommends the slender, colorful plants like certain varieties of ferns, hostas, and heucheras (coral bells), which are well-suited for shady conditions.
Ian Limmer suggests the rose 'Stanwell Perpetual' as a prickly, arching shrub that blooms all summer with blush pink to white, double, fragrant flowers. It's tolerant of poorer soils and shade, making it an ideal choice for containers or as a hedge.
Sarcococca, an evergreen that can survive in dry shade, is another excellent recommendation from Worsley. She suggests using Sarcococca confusa and Sarcococca hookeriana in garden designs. Its tiny flowers emit a sweet honey scent in winter, adding a delightful fragrance to your garden. The Sarcococca hookeriana Winter Gem is a fragrant evergreen plant that will survive in almost any garden location, sun or shade.
Jane Dobbs also recommends the spotted laurel, or Japanese laurel, as a plant with glossy leaves with delicate yellow and green accents that can be enjoyed all year long. It can be planted in partial shade or full shade depending on the variety.
Lastly, Harriet Worsley recommends Camellias as slow-growing shade-loving beauties that provide fabulous blooms in every shade of pink and white. She suggests using bright pink autumn-flowering Camellia sasanqua, and then the loose single or double whites for flowers in February.
Dryopteris filix-mas is a deciduous fern that can cope with quite deep shade. Lilyturf is another option for deep, dry shade; unlike most shade-loving flowers, its spires are not white but a vibrant violet that will bloom from August to November.
These recommendations will undoubtedly bring life and colour to your shady garden corners, transforming them into beautiful, thriving areas that you can enjoy all year round.
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