Gardening in shaded areas can be a challenge, but with the right plants, you can create a beautiful and thriving oasis. Shade-loving plants are perfect for those areas of your garden that don’t receive much direct sunlight, whether it’s under trees, near buildings, or in other shady spots. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best shade-loving plants that can thrive in your allotment garden.
Hostas – The Versatile Shade Lovers
Hostas are a classic choice for shady gardens, and for good reason. These hardy perennials are incredibly versatile and can thrive in a wide range of shaded environments, from dappled shade to deep shade under dense tree canopies.
One of the main draws of hostas is their lush, green foliage. The leaves come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and textures, ranging from thick and corrugated to thin and smooth. Some varieties have heart-shaped leaves, while others are more elongated or rounded. The foliage can be solid green or variegated with streaks of white, yellow, or blue.
Beyond their beautiful leaves, hostas also produce tall spikes of delicate lavender or white flowers in mid to late summer, adding an extra burst of interest to the shady garden. These flowers attract pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies.
When it comes to sizes, hostas range from tiny dwarf varieties just a few inches tall to massive specimen plants over 3 feet high and wide. This incredible variety allows gardeners to find the perfect hosta for nearly any shady space, whether it’s a large shade garden, containers on a shaded patio, or the underplantings of trees and shrubs.
Despite their striking foliage, hostas are remarkably low-maintenance. They don’t require frequent watering once established and only need occasional grooming to remove any tattered or damaged leaves. Hostas also have few pest problems and can out-compete many weeds when planted in a thick grouping.
With their elegant looks and easygoing nature, it’s no wonder hostas remain a staple of shade gardens everywhere. By selecting a variety of sizes, colours, and textures, you can craft a lush and beautiful oasis around even the most heavily-shaded areas of your allotment garden.
Ferns – Elegant Texture for Shaded Spaces
Ferns are an excellent option for bringing lush, prehistoric beauty to shady areas of the garden. As ancient plants dating back hundreds of millions of years, ferns have a unique and unmistakable look with their delicate, finely-divided fronds.
The fronds of ferns come in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and textures that create incredibly rich visual interest in shaded spaces. Some varieties like the Lady Fern have feathery, arching fronds while others like the Hart’s Tongue Fern have long, tongue-shaped undivided fronds. Texture ranges from coarse to almost lacy depending on the type.
Beyond their striking foliage, many ferns also produce interesting reproductive fronds called fertile fronds covered in spores. These upright fronds add a sculptural element and create a beautiful contrast against the sterile foliage fronds.
One of the key advantages of ferns is that many varieties absolutely thrive in shady, humid environments where other plants struggle. The fronds act almost like little umbrellas, helping retain precious moisture in the soil below. This makes ferns particularly well-suited for shady spots with moist, humus-rich soil, like areas near water features or under tall trees.
Hardy fern varieties like the Christmas Fern and Autumn Fern can even tolerate dry shade once established, though most perform best with consistent moisture. An ideal setup is to plant ferns alongside other moisture-loving shade plants like hostas, astilbes, and coral bells.
Ferns make excellent green ground cover and accents among shade-loving flowering plants. But they can also be grown en masse to create a lush, textured fern garden or underplanting beneath tall trees. No matter how you use them, ferns are guaranteed to add elegant, prehistoric flair to your allotment’s shady spaces.
Astilbes – Vibrant Colour for Shady Spaces
If you’re looking to add a burst of vibrant colour to those shady nooks and corners of your garden, astilbes are a stunning choice. These clump-forming perennials produce plume-like panicles covered in tiny feathery flowers in shades of pink, red, white, and even lavender or purple depending on the variety.
The feathery flower plumes of astilbes emerge in mid to late spring and can continue blooming through the summer months, providing long-lasting colour. Planted in clusters or drifts, they create vivid drifts of colour amidst the green of hostas, ferns, and other shade-loving plants.
Beyond their beautiful blooms, astilbes also have attractive fern-like foliage that is either green or bronze-tinged. This delicate foliage creates a rich texture in the garden even when not in bloom. The plants form tight, dense mounds from 1 to 4 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety.
One of the best features of astilbes is their ability to tolerate anything from partial to full shade. They can be planted under tall trees, along the shady north sides of buildings, or in any area that receives dappled sun throughout the day. The only requirement is consistently moist, humus-rich soil that drains well. This makes astilbes perfect companions for other moisture-loving shade plants.
For a long season of vibrant plumes, plant an assortment of early, mid, and late-blooming astilbe varieties. Or go for a bold look with a mass planting of a single colourful cultivar. With so many sizes and tones to choose from, you can find astilbes to suit any semi-shaded to fully shaded areas of your garden spaces.
Bleeding Hearts – Whimsical Charm for the Shade Garden
Few plants can match the whimsical charm of bleeding hearts when in full bloom. As their name suggests, these spring bloomers produce strings of delicate, heart-shaped flowers that dangle gracefully from arching stems. The dangling hearts are typically shades of pink or white, though some varieties have crimson-red hearts.
Seeing the first bleeding heart blooms emerge in late spring is always a delight. The arching stems lined with pendant heart flowers add an air of romance and old-fashioned nostalgia to shadier areas of the garden. Though the blooms are short-lived, typically only lasting a few weeks, they are certainly memorable.
In addition to the unique blooms, bleeding hearts also have attractive foliage. The stems are lined with bluish-green, deeply lobed compound leaves that create a delicate, ferny texture among other shade plants even once the flowers have faded.
Bleeding hearts thrive in partial to full shade, making them perfectly suited for growing beneath tall trees, along the north sides of buildings and fences, or anywhere sunlight is limited. They do best in humus-rich, well-draining soil, as their fleshy roots can rot in overly wet conditions.
For a bold statement, plant a cluster or drift of bleeding hearts amid other shade lovers like hostas, ferns, astilbes, and hellebores. The delicate blooms and fine foliage create a beautiful contrast with the larger leaves and textures of companion plants. Bleeding hearts also make ideal underplantings for deciduous trees and shrubs, where they can take advantage of filtered spring sun before the trees fully leaf out.
Whether used to highlight a shady border, accent a garden path, or allowed to naturalize in woodland areas, bleeding hearts are sure to inject enchanting, old-fashioned charm into your allotment’s shaded spaces each spring.
Hellebores – Early Spring Elegance for the Shade Garden
If you’re looking to add some early colour to those shady nooks and corners, hellebores are a wonderful choice. Also known as Lenten roses, these hardy perennials burst into bloom in late winter or earliest spring, providing a much-needed dose of vibrancy just as the garden is waking up.
The blossoms of hellebores emerge in an array of beautiful shades including crisp whites, soft pinks and peaches, rich purples and plums, sunny yellows, and even sultry slates and greens. The flowers are cup or saucer-shaped, with thick, leathery petals surrounding a dense cluster of stamens.
As the flowers mature, they take on a nodding, outward-facing orientation that allows you to admire their intricate details and pretty patterns up close. The blooms last for weeks, providing long-lasting colour when little else is in bloom in the shade garden.
But hellebores offer more than just early spring flowers. The large, evergreen leaves create a lush ground cover of leathery, palmate-lobed foliage. This foliage provides texture and interest even after the blooms have faded for the season.
One of the best features of hellebores is their ability to thrive in dry shade once established. While they prefer humus-rich, well-draining soil, these resilient plants can get by with just natural rainfall in shady areas underneath trees and shrubs. Just be sure to provide adequate moisture during establishment.
For a stunning spring display, try planting a drift of contrasting hellebore colours along a shaded path or border. Or let them naturalize beneath deciduous trees, where they can take advantage of filtered light before the trees fully leaf out. However you use them, hellebores are sure to become a beloved harbinger of spring in your allotment’s shady spaces.
Closing thoughts
These are just a few examples of the many shade-loving plants that can thrive in your allotment garden. By incorporating a variety of these plants, you can create a lush and vibrant oasis, even in areas with limited sunlight. Remember to consider factors such as soil type, moisture levels, and the amount of shadow when selecting and caring for your shade-loving plants.
Here are a number of others articles on the topic of growing garden plants in shade:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/for-places/shade-planting-annuals-bulbs-perennials
