Shady Garden Inspiration

I’ve often heard ‘‘I’d love to have a beautiful garden filled with colour but it’s shady most of the time’’ and it surprises me each time, as I find some of the most interesting gardens I come across are shady.

First up, let’s gets the facts out of the way - what makes your garden class in the shady category? If a garden or border has more than 6 hours of sun in midsummer, it’s ‘full sun’, if it’s between 3-6 hours then it’s part shade and if it’s less than 2 hours it’s classed as full shade. That’s what you need to determine first before you start thinking of which plants that will suit your conditions. Always lead with ‘right plant, right place’ to make your life a hell of a lot easier as, once established, you’ll have to intervene much less with any plants that are living in the right spot.

Now, once you’ve observed the amount of hours of sun your garden, border or outdoor space has (there are many other elements, of course, such as soil type to identify but that’s for another post), you can start considering the kind of plants you might want to feature. If it’s classed as ‘shady’ I personally feel you’re in luck - the plants that fall into this category are exceptional.

When designing a shady border, I like to brighten up darker areas by using light colours, such as whites, silvers, light blues etc. These colours don’t just come from flowers, though, you can look at foliage colours to brighten your shady spot too.

For vibrant foliage, I’d look to Brunnera ‘Alexanders Great’ to bring some silvery beauty. It’s classed in many places as semi-evergreen however I personally don’t think it’s ‘semi’ enough to rely on it for winter interest, but that’s not to say it doesn’t deserve a prime spot. With its silver licked foliage and bright blue dainty flowers during Apr/May, it’s a highlight in any border.

For an evergreen choice, Sarcococca Confusa is a great pick as during the winter months it creates small white flowers which on their own are lovely, but it’s the sweet scent that they produce that is the true glory. I have one in a large planter next to the front door so that when it’s in bloom, during dark wintery days, its scent fills the air and brightens my mood every time I enter or leave my home.

If you’re going for quite a woodland theme, I think that Geranium Phaem Album makes a lovely addition with it’s white flowers popping up here and there bringing that brightness to the shady border. To accompany these, I find ferns never go unappreciated, with some fantastic evergreen options (too many to list!) to continue the woodland vibes throughout the year. Often evergreen ferns just need a little tidying up in the spring before they put out new foliage so will look good for 10/11 months of the year which is pretty great value.

If you’re looking for a little more ‘pizazz’ (yes, I really did just use that word), then you may want to look to a Heuchera. I’ve planted Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ in the previously mentioned planter and I’m loving the tall slender flower spikes it’s been putting out. There are many heucheras with amazing foliage colours to add a little something different if you’re looking for contrasting colours to offset your planting scheme.

There’s so many great planting schemes you can bring in to a shady border with the above only skimming the surface. I’m currently experimenting with some shady planting trials to test out new options to add to my already long list. I feel it’s really important to get real hands on experience with planting to understand their habits and learn how to grow them to get the best out of each plant.

I hope I’ve convinced you not to despair if your garden doesn’t get oodles of sunshine. With some consideration, planning and a little creative imagination you can have a glorious outdoor space filled with interest all year round. And coming from a person who’s previously been described as an ‘English rose’ (read ‘pale’), I can tell you that sunshine is often overrated.

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Laura Kendallsmith Garden Design