Easy slug resistant plants please for shady clay

My fuchsias don't like being in clay, it's just too hot for them. I don't know why there's one very clay-y border here, but I'm taking the fuchsias out of it this year, they've struggled for 2 years, poor things can go with their mates in proper soil, lol!
Could buddleia cope in clay?

 

I've grown buddleias in every garden I've ever had - all wet clay soil.
They're fine, but again - the soil is best amended first. You wouldn't just stick them in teh sort of ground we have round here.
I think the bigger problem is likely to be the size of the site, but we don't know what exactly that is.

 

Thank you so much everyone, I’ll read through and reply properly tomorrow.

 

Continuing from my previous post… I’ll have a look for a photo, but the area is very small - approx five metres long by one metre (max) deep. There are some plants already which makes wholesale soil improvement too tricky, so we try to do so when planting. Any bare earth is used by cats. Gardening is low on the list of jobs for the family and I live the other side of the country so can only help rarely.
Ajuga is a great idea for ground cover as I have masses of it so can dig up lots, shucks should have done that instead of the vinca! The other shortish ideas sound good too. As for taller plants, I think buddleia wouldn’t work as it’s just too shady, and it makes me sneeze too much! Shrubby Fuchsia could be worth a try in the corner where the clay wouldn’t be hot.
Any other tallish, decorative ideas? I think I shouldn’t have said only up to one metre, as there is a bare north facing fence (I’m trying to remember) Thanks all

 

Is it the whole space that needs plants though - or just one bit of it? Is it all north facing - you mentioned a fence?
Potentillas would be fine and can be pruned, but aren't evergreen. They do come into growth quite early and they stay nicely covered until well into autumn. Philadelphus would also manage, and can be pruned - some are naturally smaller.
If the soil isn't too alkaline, Pieris will be fine. They can cope with drier soil too, but I'd also agree that it's not a good idea to plant anything small - even with easy, hardy shrubs. Grow them on a bit and plant out later in the year. A 1 to 2 litre sized pot is ideal.
Buddleias will take quite a bit of shade, but they're probably too big, and it would mean constantly cutting back.

You can still amend the soil - even if there's other planting. Bit at a time, and do it every couple of months so that plants aren't getting crowns covered.
You can also buy soil conditioners, or use pelletted manure, which will help with the structure over time.

 

I think I was thinking of Jack Frost. It isn’t growing in my current garden, so I can’t go out and check it.

 

What about some handsome grasses?

 

I had the exact opposite last year. Brunnera untouched but slugs all over the pulmonaria! Odd how different locations get different results isn't it.

 

I have three varieties of brunnera and three of pulmonaria, but none of them are eaten by slugs/snails. Maybe because they’ve found my hostas! They’re strangely eating daffodil flowers this year…

 

Daffodils? Little rascals!

 

Luzula nivea is quite nice and it grows everywhere in my garden. I keep dividing it and spreading it around. Mix it with heucheras/tiarellas and you get a frothy combination, looking particularly good in late spring.

 

Have we suggested geranium Nodosum? Comes in white or a mauvy pink. Epimediums (yellows and oranges) might provide good ground cover. The native hellebore does very well in my dry raised beds in shade, seeding itself gently around, though it can suffer from infestations of little whiteflies by late summer and the flowers aren't all that arresting (green with a slight purple edge, facing downwards).

 

Some more lovely suggestions, thank you! I might use some in my large sunny sandy free draining garden
Slugs don’t bother brunnera or pulmonaria here, so could be worth a try.

This photo from summer 2022 might help (took a lot of searching!) The far left corner had hostas, but they’ve mostly gone. The Holly by the shed is ok, with some ferns too. I think the climber probably vanished.

 

The border looks very narrow. That isn't a problem as such, but the soil would need to be in good condition to make it easier to choose suitable plants.
Is it all north facing, and which bit is the plant required for, or is the whole border that's being addressed?
If the soil is drier in summer, it could be worth trying one of the early alpina clematis for the fence. One would easily cover that space, and they start into growth around Feb/March with flowers at this time of year, and sometimes a second flush, but they also have lovely seedheads.
Very low maintenance and don't need feeding etc. If the soil doesn't have great drainage over winter, and it isn't going to be amended, you can plant right up against the fence. Better to plant in early to mid summer to get the roots right down and established for over winter. If the soil is likely to be too wet over winter, a very small raised bed will sort that. I grow an alpina in a very tiny raised bed against a fence- it's never been fed, or watered in the 9 or 10 years I've had it. It covers aroud 8 or 9 feet in width and about 6 in height, but it also spreads along and through the adjacent later clematis. There's a pic of it on one of the threads - perhaps the one for what's flowering just now [?]

Chaenomeles [ornamental quince] is a shrub that can be wall/fence trained and would probably be ok too in that site.
Many of the aforementioned ground covering plants would fill the gaps, and possibly even some sibirica Irises for the sunnier part. They'll take some shade, but they're quite adaptable and like moist soil, but will work in drier soil too.
It doesn't matter what plants are chosen - it's false economy to put them in without improving the soil, so it's always worth doing that.

 

Oh @fairygirl I'm going to look at that clematis, I know very little about them and that sounds right up my street!