Small flower bed, mostly shaded, need some ideas for flowers please

I've just created a small flower bed in a corner of the garden that only gets a little sun in the Summer, morning and evening.

Any recommendations for flowers please? Something that's available now in multiple colours or different plant types of different colours. The bed is a crescent shape that's only about 7 feet long and 2 feet deep at its widest point.

The soil is a moderate clay.

I don't want flowers that are too tall though as the area often gets a strong westerly wind, so some that are reasonably low to the ground would be ideal.

Thanks.

 

I’ll be interested to see the responses here as I’m contemplating a similar new bed.

 

Have a look at Heuchera, they come in many different colours these days and so do their flower spires from white to pink and bronzy. I like them because they clump up well but don't 'run' so not invasive and the leaves retain their lovely colours throughout the year. They will cope with the location of your new bed.

 

Begonias would do well in that situation as long as drainage is decent enough and you have quite wide variety of forms and colours to pick from. Got some great ones from a nearby nursery a couple of weeks ago

 

I'm wondering about the aspect of the bed. Do you mean one end gets morning sun [ie roughly east facing] and the other end gets the evening sun [roughly west facing] ?
It would be difficult for the whole bed to get both unless the whole bed was quite exposed in every direction.
Heucheras will certainly cope though. They're fine in all aspects if the soil/climate is suitable. They grow everywhere in my garden.
Hardy geraniums too, and they always work well with spring bulbs added to give extra seasonal interest. Hellebores will also work for the same reasons as heucheras.

 

Yes, a better understanding of the aspect would help.

Looking at plants listed as good for coastal areas might be useful as they are usually wind tolerant. How big is the bed? If a reasonable size/depth you could get some wind tolerant plants established which will then help protect other plants.

I’ve had Rosemary do very well with only some morning sun, needs to be well drained though.
Some grasses would give lovely movement in the wind, lowers ones like Heliotrichon and Stipa wouldn’t be damaged by strong gusts. Although saying that my Molinia Transparent copes fine with wind but your spot may not be sunny enough? I’ve grown Heliotrichon in a spot which has sounds like yours sun wise.

Alchemilla mollis and A. Erythpoda (smaller, doesn’t self seed) should be fine. Hebes are wind tolerant, might flower slightly less if not enough sun but should be fine otherwise.

 

I grow plenty of plants which aren't particularly low growing, and it's pretty windy here, despite trees, and fences/planting/screening at around 7 feet or more in the path of the prevailing wind. Clay soil too.
I'd need 20 foot hedging right round the garden to prevent wind affecting the plants.

 

Thanks all.

The crescent shaped bed is just a foot or so south of a wall that runs east to west so in the Summer it gets a bit of sun in the morning and a bit in the evening.

 

If your moderate clay soil drains well and doesn't get waterlogged, you could try Erigeron karvinskianus and Nepeta.They prefer full sun but will also grow happily in shady areas. They are both low growing and flower throughout the summer with little attention needed. You could interplant them with a hardy geranium or a shade loving grass like Hakonechloa aureola for extra interest. I've done this in an east facing bed which gets morning and evening sun.

 

Thank you all, you've given me some good ideas.

 

I'd reckon your bed is sunnier than you're suggesting, unless something large or solid is blocking the sun during the morning/afternoon. In summer conditions, it would take large trees or buildings, or similar, in close proximity to the bed to block the sun tracking through the day.
The beds/planting I have in that sort of aspect get sun all day in summer, but not spring and autumn because of the trees.
A photo of the area would help more though

 

My east facing border would be sunnier if it wasn’t for my neighbour’s lovely 10 foot laurel hedge running along the entire south side of my garden!

 

I have a giant laurel to contend with as well! Mine's not so bad though, running down the east border of a north-facing garden. I get all the lovely evening sunshine whilst their garden is cast into gloom.

 

Brunnera Jack Frost grows in shady places and is fairly drought resistant too. It has pretty forget-me-not like flowers in spring and it's variegated leaves look frosty until winter. Hostas have good leaves too and many have pretty flowers as well, though not very bright colours. Liriope grows in shade, long, thin leaves and purple spikes in late summer and autumn.

If you want something bright just for now until the frosts then you could try annuals like Busy-Lizzies (Impatiens) and begonias.

 

Tiarellas although early flowering have some lovely leaf colours