Shade loving plants.

Hi all.
I need to get some shade loving plants for an area of "full shade". Ideally I would like something that will grow to about waist height and some smaller plants to go around it. The area can be made bigger or smaller as required.
Any ideas?

 

Full Shade you say. And you want Waist high. There are the face shaped Hostas that come up to your waste. and you can plant the flatter type hostas around them. Explore the many types of hostas before you decide. The thicker the leaf the more resistant to slugs. Really look at a web site for hostas you'd be surprised about the types of leafs out there. I would go with a yellow hosta at least to throw light in your shade area.

 

fatsia is a great one for shade, but it'll need pruning to keep at waist heigh and is evergreen. ferns are ideal for shade too. a bed of phormium, fatsia, ferns and heuchera woukd be lovely, and only the ferns will die down so you'll get all year interest almost.

 

this bed by the garage is in full shade all the time. the crocosmia lucifer and salvia red add some real zing.

 

Ferns
Smyrnium perfoliatum
Epimediums
Iris foetidissima
Box
Ivy

Don't get excited, nothing very colourful grows in shade usually, although the smyrnium is very yellow and pretty in spring. Neat and sober evergreen groundcover is a more achievable look.

There are lots more options. If the soil is damp or has partial shade you will have more options. Can you tell us if this area is at the foot of a fence, high wall, under trees etc? The type of shade may make a difference to what will succeed.

If it's under trees you can plant spring bulbs that flower before the leaves come out, for example.

 

Thank you for your ideas so far.
The space has both a wall and trees shading it. It really is quite deep shade. It gets little or no sun so I would need something pretty tough I think.

 

That's a brilliant result for a shady border, Al n. That's what I would call open shade, with lots of space and ambient light being reflected from the white walls. You wouldn't get the same result in a border under shrubs or tree branches, I don't think.

 

You could go for Rhododendrons, but they still need quite a lot of light to produce buds so may not be the best choice.

Sarcococca Confusa (delicate white strong smelling flowers in late winter) likes shade, as does Mahonia Aquifolium (sweet smelling yellow flowers in spring) and I've found that Skimmia Japonica Rubella does well in deep shade

 

posted this in the other thread, but more relevant to discuss / debate here:

www.plantsforshade.co.uk

 

Well you can fine my shade gardens under redstar's gardens here. Or google Estherredstar channel.

 

Not fitting the height requirements, but definitely worth considering is Tricyrtis ishiana.................






It absolute;y needs shade.

 

This site came as quite a surprise Kristen. I had no idea that all those plants would flourish in shade.

 

Hmmm, I can't seem to find it redstar.
I am leaning toward Hostas but I will need to learn a lot more about them first.
I will also put loads of bulbs in the nearby areas I think. I would also like a decent shrub in there somewhere though

 

When I set my sights on Hostas, I got several books from the library and spend the winter reading about them, how to design with them. So my many many hostas I have now, also bloom at different times of the year. I color coordinate them to play off each other, or to inhance or compliment another plant near them as one would decorate a room. I never put one type of strip next to another type of strip, but a plain leaf next to a stripe leave. There are heart shaped leaves, spear shaped leaves, wavy leaves, . And of coure the size, I have a blue that its flower is bigger than my hand, and its leaves as large as a chair seat. Down to one of the smallest, called baby bunting, the leaves are thumb size and the little purple flower a treasure (but he is a hardy little one) So gather your books and enjoy. By the way---as far as bulbs, I have over 60,000 bulbs on my property.

 

I did find your videos in the end, Redstar. You have some lovely gardens there.
I will buckle down and get some Hosta study started tonight. They really are very diverse aren't they? Lovely things.