semi shade under laurels

hi all,

i have a few problems on this one!

one of my borders has laurels for around 20 ft along the border. they are 10ft high and foliage starts at about 3 ft. beneath them there is a lot of space. the border faces NW so doesn;t get a hugh emount of light and laurels are quite thirsty.

1. any good ideas on plants that can go here? perennials or shrubs would be preferred.

2. digging this ground is very hard due to the root system of the laurels. any advice on how i can keep this area a productuve as possible?

many thanks
talbot

 

I have Japanese anemone and garden loosesdrife growing next the laurel and holly hedge. Hardy Geranium is also tolerant to day shade area. The ground was hard and impossible to dig but I give them good mulch once every a few years and they seem trouble free.

See my pictures here hope this is helpful.

 

great. the anemone looks especially nice!