Consider the shade in your garden before you buy plants.
Wherever you live, at least half of your garden is shaded. You may find that a large part of your garden is shaded if you live in a city or town with tall buildings surrounding it. There are many plants that thrive in these conditions.
Stephen Ryan and Matthew Lucas, who run the Horticulturalists YouTube channel in Melbourne, Australia, have shared their expert advice on how to choose plants for shade.
Melbourne’s winter climate is very similar to the UK, but it gets hotter in the summer. Melbourne is similar to the UK in terms of climate, although UK summers tend to be cooler. We all grow the same plants, whether we’re in Southern Australia, the US, or the UK.
Their autumn is our winter. So The Horticulturalists’s Video will select some good shade-loving late summer/autumn plant while Middlesized Gardens’s Video talks about shade loving plants in spring and early summer.
What type of shade have you got?
Stephen has identified four types of shady borders. All four are in my garden. You most likely do too.
And shady border can be low maintenance as well as pretty.
First, there’s the obvious “shady edge”. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will face north and in the Southern Hemisphere, south. The fence or hedge that is behind the house will shade it for most of the day. It will receive direct sunlight for up to three hours in the midday if it is fairly open. If there are trees or buildings nearby, even this time may be reduced.
Be aware of the amount of direct sunlight that this border receives when choosing plants. The shady corners I have has high walls so it only gets three hours of direct sunlight a day.
If a border faces north (or south if you are in the Southern Hemisphere), and there is a wall or fence behind it, the plants can only receive sunlight for 3 hours per day when the sun shines overhead.
This post on North facing garden tips was one of our most popular in the past year, especially since the garden was very narrow. It shows that you don’t have to have lots of space or sun in order to create a beautiful garden.
There’s also dappled, semi-shade, and light shade
All of these terms mean the same thing. Your border gets between three and six hours of direct sunlight each day. It could be that the border faces East, West or because there are buildings or trees that block the sun at certain times.
In a sunny corner in my garden, I have a lovely tree. The tree casts dappled shadow over the border but still allows some sunlight through. The Robinia Frisia tree is a beautiful addition to the garden. It’s protected by law.
It is not my right to cut it down. By removing some of the lower branches, I have increased the amount sunlight available to the plants below. The canopy of the tree is quite light and it has a perfect proportion.
Partial shade is any area that receives 3-6 hours of sun per day. This corner is now more sunny because I removed the lower branches from the tree.
You have more choices when choosing plants to grow in light shade. You can experiment with plants that need ‘full sunlight’ and see how they respond to you. If they become leggy or don’t seem to grow properly, then you will have to move them.
Smyrnium Perfoliatum is my favorite plant for partial shade. It flowers in the late spring and early summer then disappears afterward. The biennial doesn’t bloom in its first year but self-seeds prolifically so it’s easy to grow.
Or seasonal shade
You will see deciduous trees losing their leaves as autumn approaches. It is not uncommon for them to be completely ‘clothed again’ until the late spring or early season. This will be a shaded border in the summer, but sunny in the spring.
You can now choose sun-loving bulbs, like daffodils, tulips and others. By the time your border becomes fully shaded again, the plants will have stored all the nutrients needed for next year’s flowers.
In spring, my favourite area of the garden is between an ornamental plum and a silver birch. This area becomes a riot in colour when the bulbs bloom in spring.
In spring, this area is a great place to find bulbs. In summer when there are leaves on the trees, they go underground.
You may wonder why I didn’t chop down these trees so that I could use this sunny border year-round?
First, the largest silver birch is protected under law. They also add architectural interest, height and proportion to a garden. Amelanchier, ornamental plum and acacia have beautiful spring blossoms. All four trees also have a stunning autumn colour. Silver birch’s white bark is an important winter feature in the garden.
Amelanchier Lamarkii (Juneberry or Serviceberry) in spring bloom, with bulbs below that thrive in this location even though the summers are shady.
The four trees in the garden will give you a little taste of their autumn colours at the end.
As trees, they add more drama and colour to your garden than a flower bed.
If you have a border facing north with a fence or hedge of 2 metres, the best way to add color and structure is to plant a deciduous shrub with autumn colour and spring flowers. The tree will receive all-round sun once it is raised above the fence or hedge.
Finally, borders in deep shade
This is the only part of your garden that you will have to work hard on if you are buying plants for shade. This border is north-facing. It will have either evergreen trees or buildings nearby. It will receive little direct sunlight.
You will have small patches of land where little will grow if you have evergreen trees and a shady edge. These evergreen trees provide structure for the entire year, shelter wildlife and protect us from an unsightly lamp. I’m happy to live with some bare patches under them.
Stephen says that there are very few plants which can tolerate deep shade. Butcher’s room ( Ruscus alcateus ) is among the few. It has spiky foliage, pale green flowers that bloom in the spring, and red berries that appear in the autumn. (On female plants, only.
You can use planting tips from woodland gardens. Lucy Adams, the head gardener of Doddington Place Gardens, recently gave me some tips on creating a woodland garden.
In my garden, plants grow very well under the canopy of trees. It’s still up to you to select plants that will grow in the shade.
You can use this to check if there are weeds growing in the area that is deep shade. I have two evergreen trees and a north-facing fence. It is shaded by the building next door. Under the conifer tree, not even weeds can grow, but at the edges of the canopy, I have snowdrops and ferns.
Flowers will not thrive if weeds aren’t allowed to grow. It’s possible to grow pots in another place and move them into deep shade once they are in bloom, but it is a hassle. You could use this space to create a bench or seating area in the shade.
On my border, I have an evergreen magnolia. Plants do grow on the canopy edge and under it. We removed lower branches to raise the canopy. This allows more light in.
The Osmanthus delavyi is there, along with some saxifrage “London Pride”, lily-of-the valley, two hydrangeas, and an unattractive, wild strawberry.
In my most shady borders, Hydrangea arborescens “Annabelle” grows right next to the conifer. Nothing grows directly underneath the conifer.
Consider seasonal interest
After you have identified the shade type you are planting, consider seasonal interest. You’ll want to choose plants that will look great in the spring, summer and autumn. There are many online plant retailers who have an option for ‘plants that grow in shade’ on their website. This makes it easy to find the right plants.
For inspiration, let me start with the shade-loving plant varieties that I have found most successful in the first half season. Stephen and Matthew suggest some plants for late summer/autumn on The Horticulturalists.
Shade plants for late winter/early Spring
Snowdrops do very well in deciduous trees. As they are woodland bulbs, they grow well under deciduous trees that lose their leaves during winter. They also work well at the canopy edge of evergreens.
Winter hazel, also known as Corylopsis Pauciflora, has yellow-tipped flowers.
Mahonia is an evergreen large shrub with bright yellow flowers and a sculptural outline. It can take quite deep shade. Mahonia is no longer popular in town car parks where people use chainsaws to cut it down. It has beautiful dark glossy leaves, and it produces a stunning display of flowers when properly pruned. It’s long overdue for revival.
Mahonia with its striking leaves and yellow flowers. Seen here in the woodland gardens at Doddington Place Gardens. This is a very striking, easy shrub to grow for shady border plantings.
Bergenia is one of the easiest plants I’ve ever grown. It is a plant I rarely give any attention to. It flowers reliably every year, for several weeks. You can find it in clumps along walls, under deciduous tree branches, and in forgotten corners.
What would spring be like without hellebores, then? Hellebores are easy to care for, even though they can be a popular plant. I have some in my partial shade bed and some at the canopy edge of the deep shade border. These plants are surprisingly hardy for their delicate appearance.
Hellebores can be grown in shade with little care.
Shade plants in the late spring and early Summer
There are many options! Mediterranean spurge ( Euphorbia Characias “Wulfenii”) is a favorite in my garden’s shadier areas. It is easy to care for, as it spreads but doesn’t become invasive.
Euphorbia ‘Wulfenii’ is a perennial that grows well in my shady border. The plant flowers a lot and is featured in 6 perennials that bloom throughout the summer.
Saxifrage “London Pride” is a beautiful ground cover perennial that I would choose to grow in my shaded border. It grows under my evergreen Magnolia Grandiflora canopy, at the ‘woodland edges’. One thing to keep in mind is that Magnolia Grandiflora produces large, leathery leaves. They fall one by two all year long. They will eventually smother groundcover plants such as Saxifrage “London Pride” if they stay on them for too long.
Saxifrage “London Pride” is a delicately beautiful ground cover plant. Geranium Macrorrhizum is also a good shade plant.
Yellow Lamium is another good perennial ground cover, though some people consider it an invasive weed. Yellow Archangel and Yellow Weasel Face are also names for it. Primroses will also thrive in a lot of gloomy areas.
Yelllow Lamium can grow in places where nothing else can – but it is invasive. Can you have too much of a good or bad thing?
Shade shrubs, annuals and biennials
Euphorbia or spurge, which is a bright green flowering plant, self-seeds in my border. It has fresh, vibrant foliage and flowers throughout the early spring and summer.
Perfoliate Alexanders Smyrniumperfoliatumis quite similar, but more distinct. Every time I post it on Instagram I receive questions about what it is. Smyrnium Perfoliatum is biennial, and self-seeds wildly. It is in both the dappled border and the seasonal border.
Violas make a good ground cover for shade loving annuals. They self-seed and grow quickly.
Viburnum opulus, or Snowball bush, is one of my favorite shrubs for shade. It blooms with white pom-poms in the spring, and some varieties have red berries. Check the label to make sure. Mine is sterile. It does however have a beautiful autumn leaf color.
Viburnum opulus is a beautiful spring flowering shrub with white pom-poms and a gorgeous autumn colour.
Osmanthus delavyi is another evergreen dark shrub that is blooming like crazy directly under the evergreen Magnolia Grandiflora. It is a slow-growing shrub that has taken ten years to reach this size.
Osmanthus delavayi has beautiful white flowers and a slow-growing dark green bush. Mine has thrived in deep shade.
Shade flowers with colourful flowers
Begonias is a fascinating species. They are often overlooked, as they can be seen in car parks at supermarkets and municipal arrangements. You can choose from a variety of colours and flower types. Some also have beautiful leaf structures.
Begonias thrive in filtered or diffused light. They prefer at least partial shade. If there is 3-4 hours of sun per day, then they will be happy.
Depending on the type, begonias can start to flower as early as mid-summer. They continue to bloom.