Butler sinks in a shady area

Hi, I have a couple of butler sinks which will go beside my north facing front door which doesn't get any direct sun. Any suggestions for plants which could work well? Ideally I'd like perennials or plants that won't take a lot of work after they've been planted - we have so much to do already in our neglected garden of our new house! I know that ferns and hostas are good for shady areas but any ideas about anything else? Thanks

 

I have a lovely white vinca which has survived well in a pot which never sees the sun. It doesn't produce masses of flowers, but is a nice trailing green. I trim the stems each late spring, and very, very occasionally give it a little plant food.

 

Thanks, nice idea. We have some purple vinca in the garden which I really like and a white one would look good.

 

Mint would grow, but would want to take over the whole sink, unless you put a "pot" of mint into the soil in the sink.

Currently in pots, in my shady part of the garden, I have a hydrangea, a euonymus silver queen, an ornamental white flowering quince (chaenomeles), hosta, a white flowering Bleeding Heart shrub; primroses, forget-me-nots, salad leaves, begonia (not frost hardy but very colourful), snowdrops, wallflowers (flower later than those in sun, but still put on a performance) a variegated Christmas box, a hebe and ... erm ... Fatsia Japonica (which could grow large, but would look lovely while still small), hellebore. Do not underestimate ivy, especially the smaller leaved ones with a yellow splash.

 

M, your suggestions sound lovely. Could you tell me a bit more about your hydrangea in a pot? I have been thinking about that but didn't think one would do well in a pot. What size of pot? Any particular strain of hydrangea etc? Any special feeding arrangemeats? Any advice very gratefully received

 

If your butler sinks in a shady part of your garden I would suggest a warning notice, fencing it off and getting a life belt.

 

How about Hardy Fuchsias ?

In a butler sink you could try a few of the smaller hybrids such as Tom Thumb, Lady Thumb, Son of Thumb , Alice Hoffman or the seven dwarfs series , Happy, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy.

You could even have F. Procumbens trailing over the edge.

 

Thanks, some great suggestions, will definitely look at these. My query would be about larger shrubs like hydrangea and euonymus, will these cope in a butler sink which isn't that deep?

 

Hello Nessa, I`m afraid I don`t think Hydrangea and larger plants would appreciate being in a shallow sink, although they would manage in the shade.
I reckon I would plant some smallish spring bulbs - like snowdrops and similar, and overplant with Ajugas (there are several varieties) pachysandra might do well, and I would choose Vinca minor purpureis, as it is well behaved and a lovely deep purple colour. Primroses and Violets grow naturally in the shade, and as already suggested, a carefully chosen small leaf Hedera (Ivy) might pull the whole picture together.
When you have decided, and put your sinks together, please can we have a picture of the result

 

Thanks Tetters, that was my concern about large shrubs too, but I have other shady areas in the garden where I can use them. Thanks for the suggestions, I've not heard of Ajugas before and they look lovely. Hadn't thought about putting bulbs in as well, so they will be nice for intertest at different times of the year. Will definitely post a photo when done.

 

I have a corner at the far end of my garden which has roughly similar conditions - it's a raised bed rather than a sink, but the plants only have a shallow bed of soil, over rubble, and also have to contend with heavy shade year-round from a holly tree. I too would recommend the small white and purple vincas, also a very nice, slow-growing, small-leaved ivy called Spetchly (minima) Spetchly (Minima) – Fibrex Nurseries Ltd

Some succulents may also be able to cope with the shade, provided the sink is well-drained. I tried putting in some Aloe aristata (lace aloe) this year and that is is establishing well. And spider plants (chlorophytum), surprisingly enough - they look very good with the babies arching over the edge, though whether they will survive winter there I can't yet tell you. I have some growing in a big pot on the patio and that usually dies back but sprouts again come the spring.

 

I`m sure you have already thought of it, but was thinking about your sinks in the shade and wondered if it would be a good idea to raise them on some kind of stubby legs (jokes about stubby legs welcome) as well as the usual drainage stuff inside. We don`t want your plants to rot do we

 

Shrubs will be a big no no in those sinks....as Tetters said. Yellow heucheras....evergreen and colourful all year round....would look good there.
However, hackonechloa would thrive in those sinks......I have several in the ground and in pots and these are two of the smaller ones. They move in the wind, have wonderful yellow variegated foliage that turns slightly orange in autumn and they have a graceful rising then cascading habit. Certainly my choice for a shady spot.
Not the greatest photo in the world but the heavens have opened and it is raining heavily.....Cant complain as it has been a lovely warm sunny day until now

 

Cor, Verdun, that is a useful eye opener. I wanted to plant suitable grasses in pots for a lean to roof/pot store which is in the shade. I thought hackonechloa needed some sun .........

 

I have four butler sinks so I know the depth you mean

With the utmost respect to the wisdom and experience of you both , I beg to differ
In my experience (albeit limited in comparison to your good selves ) I have the shrubs I have suggested above in pots, no deeper than the depth of a Butler Sink, which have survived, quite nicely actually, for a minimum of three years. Hence why I state it can be done because ... I'm doing it
Here is my shady corner of pots earlier this year:



Behind the hosta (the pot is no deeper than my butler sinks), but in the same size pot, is a hydrangea called Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' Endless Summer (together with some poke in the soil and see what happens Euonymous Gold Queen cuttings). To the left of that is Euonymous "Silver Queen" which is growing up (and over) its pot - put into a slightly deeper pot, admittedly, but in a Butler sink would still survive and look good year round.
In the pot to the right of the Hosta is a hebe, variegated Christmas Box and the remains of some wallflowers. At the back, growing up the wall, is a Chaenomeles, which is adorned in beautiful white flowers at the beginning of the year.

I have Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' Endless Summer (flowers on new and old wood), as for size, please read above. Feeding, I use a granular feed sprinkled on the top of the soil in Spring and keep it moist year round. It works for me This year, in the hanging basket above my cluster of pots, I have a Tumbling Tom tomato which is being fed weekly. Naturally, any "overspill" has dripped down onto those pots but I can't say it has made any particular difference.