Garden plants for shade

As a follow-on from my last post “Hanging baskets for shaded areas“, I though it would be a good idea to compile a wider list of all shade loving plants that can be grown in the dimmer spots in our gardens.

It always seems a shame to me to waste any area of a garden and simply label it as ‘unproductive’. With the right selection of shade-tolerant plants, we can add colour and vibrant growth to all part of our precious back yard.

Shady Annuals & Biennials

• Impatiens (Busy Lizzie) – Very colourful flowers, fine in partial shade.
• Begonias – Waxy leaves, colourful flowers, perfect for partial shade.
• Violas - Will tolerate partial shade.

Dark-spot Perennials

• Liriope muscari – Will tolerate full shade.
• Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese Spurge) – Good in full shade.
• Tricyrtis (Toad lily) – An exotic flowering plant.
• Cyclamen – A good woodland flower, will thrive in shade.
• Epimedium – Will grow in partial shade.
• Dicksonia antartica – A shade lovely tree-fern.
• Luzula nivea – Grass-like flowering plant.
• Erythronium (Dog’s tooth voilet) – A colourful woodland flower for a shady spot.
• Lamium maculatum – Will full shade.
• Pulmonaria (Lungwort) – A robust plant for shade.
• Periwinkle – Good in shade.
• Geranium Phaeum – Find in part shade.
• Trillium erectum (Birthroot) – Will cope quite well in deep shade.
• Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite) – A woodland, winter, shade loving flower.
• Bergenia - Prefer sun, but will happily grow in shade.
• Heuchera - Good in most aspects.
• Ferns - A classic woodland plant. Will tolerate deep shade.
• Tiarella (Foam flower) - Part of the Saxafrage family.
• Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal) – Will thrive in partial shade.
• Hosta - a classic shade loving plant, prized for it’s foliage.
• Convallaria majalis (Lily of the valley) – Highly scented, good in full shade.

Sun-shy climbers

• Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper) – Fine in full shade. Leaves turn bright red in Autumn.
• Jasmine - a lovely scent and will do well in partial shade.
• Hydrangea anomala – Fine in part shade.
• Hedera (Ivy) – Will grow in dark places, where other plant fear to spread!

Shade-loving Shrubs

• Mahonia - Happy in full shade.
• Skimmia - Will grow in full shade.
• Sarcococca hookeriana - Vanilla scented,  good for deep shade.
• Acer - Beautiful in any part of the garden.
• Bamboo - Will thrive in full shade.
• Camellia - Will tolerate partial shade.
• Fatsia - Will grow fast in any location.
• Rhododendron – Fine beneath trees and in partially shaded areas.