Thompson & Morgan Gardening Blog

Brighten up dark corners with shade-loving plants
Image: Elena Elisseeva

Does your garden have a Cinderella spot? A part that doesn’t get the same love and attention as the rest? Chances are, says Mandy Bradshaw of The Chatty Gardener, it’s a shady area.

Sunny borders might seem more interesting and easy to fill, but Mandy’s tips for the best shade-loving plants will give your neglected corners a fairytale ending of their own. Here’s her pick of show-stopping specimens that positively thrive in the shade.

Shady types

Know your type of shade before you plant
Image: Hannamariah

Before you start tackling a shady area, there are a few things to consider.

Firstly, work out what sort of shade you have. Is it unrelenting gloom or the type of dappled shade that’s found under deciduous trees and shrubs? Is the shade caused by buildings or walls that will lend themselves to climbers? Or is it cast by evergreen shrubs that take the light and compete for water?

The type of soil you’ll be planting into is also important. Some shady spots suffer from dark, damp conditions, while others have quite dry soil. Different plants will suit each scenario.

Ask yourself what you want to achieve. Is the patch of shade at the end of your drive where neat and tidy will do, or alongside a seating area that needs a bit more drama?

Finally, think about colour. Lighter colours, particularly white flowers, and variegated leaves stand out better in shade than those with dark or muted tones.

Preparation is key

Cyclamen is a woodland flower that grows well in shady areas under trees
Image: Cyclamen hederifolium from Thompson & Morgan

Look carefully at the area before you start. Sometimes, raising ‘the skirts’ of trees or shrubs dramatically increases light levels beneath. In my garden I’ve removed the low-growing branches on my Parrotia persicaria, allowing cyclamen and snowdrops to naturalise underneath. Similarly, clearing the lower trunk of a holly bush has not only given it a better shape; I now also have an easier area to plant.

Preparing the soil thoroughly is never wasted work, particularly when it’s in shade. Add plenty of humus and fork it in. Well-rotted leaf mould is good as it mimics the sort of natural conditions many shade-loving woodland plants love.

After you’ve planted, mulch the ground thickly. This will help to conserve moisture and, if repeated regularly, will gradually improve dry soil.

Plants for damp shade

Pretty yellow Epimedium lifts otherwise gloomy areas of the garden
Image: Alamy Stock Photo

There are many plants that will revel in damp shade. Lamprocapnos spectabilis (bleeding heart) is lovely in gloomy spots, particularly the white form. Geranium phaeum is another good choice – the white flowers of ‘Album’ are particularly effective. Other possibilities include epimedium, with its dainty flowers held high over the leaves, Lily of the valley, and hostas – as long as you can guard against slugs and snails. For something a little different, try Podophyllum versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’ for its beautiful marbled foliage.

Plants for dry shade

Sweet Woodruff and hostas planted together in a shady spot
Image: Nature Within – Cherish The Moment

Dry shade is the hardest to deal with, as I know well from gardening on my own thin, sandy soil. Euphorbia amygdaloides var robbiae has lovely limey green bracts and growing it in poorer conditions keeps it in check. Iris foetidissima copes with deep shade and its orange seed pods are a welcome splash of winter colour, while a pretty ivy or Galium odoratum (sweet woodruff) are great for ground cover. Several ferns, including dryopteris and polystichum, also thrive in shade.

Plants for partial shade

Attract wildlife to your garden with foxgloves
Image: Foxglove ‘Excelsior Hybrids’ from Thompson & Morgan

The term ‘partial shade’ describes the way the sun moves across your garden, leaving it in shade for part of the day. But it can also refer to the sort of seasonal shade that deciduous trees and shrubs provide when in full leaf.

Alchemilla mollis, hardy geraniums and the elegant Polygonatum x hybridum (Solomon’s Seal) are all good for spots that are shady for part of the day. Under trees, choose woodlanders such as Anemone nemorosa, primroses, and foxgloves.

Climbers

A climbing clematis is a great way to cover walls and fences
Image: Clematis ‘Guernsey Cream’ from Thompson & Morgan

Ivy is the obvious choice for covering a shady fence or wall, but you can also brighten these areas with flowers. One of my favourites is Clematis ‘Guernsey Cream’, which I grew for many years in a sun-free courtyard. Its beautiful limey flowers gradually fade to white as they age. There are even climbing roses that will tolerate some shade, including ‘Graham Thomas’ and ‘The Generous Gardener’.

So, with a little thought and some careful soil preparation, even the most overlooked area of your garden can enjoy the spotlight. If you’ve enjoyed this post, head over to our plants for shade hub page to find plenty more resources to help you transform the shady areas of your garden, or if you’re looking for green and leafy solutions to other problems, visit our plants for a purpose gardening advice page.

Mandy Bradshaw

Cotswold-based, Garden Media Guild member, Mandy Bradshaw is also known as the Chatty Gardener. Passionate about gardening and writing, her beginnings are in football reporting for her primary school, and Mesembryanthemum planting with her mother. Winner of the ‘Garden Journalist of the Year’ in the 2018 Property Press Awards, she writes for not only her own blog but also newspapers, magazines and other sites.

Finalist in Garden Media Guild Awards for 2022 – Category ‘Blog or Vlog of the Year’

thechattygardener.com/

Grow herbs to add to your garden and kitchen.
Image: DarwelShots

Anyone can start a herb garden, no matter how little space they have available. Some people create bespoke culinary herb gardens, while others tuck these flavour-packed plants into any empty space they can find. See all the ways you can grow delicious herbs at our herb hub page now.

We asked The Sunday Gardener, Carol Bartlett, for her top tips on growing herbs at home. Here’s her sage advice…

What is a herb?

Grow hardy herbs in shady spots.
Image: Shutterstock

‘Herb’ is a generic term. It covers a wide group of plants that don’t necessarily share the same preferences for growing conditions. It’s true to say that, as a group, herbs mostly prefer sun – especially those of Mediterranean origin. But for those of us who don’t have sunny, south-facing gardens, there are enough herbs that tolerate semi-shade to keep a keen cook happy.

Should you grow herbs from seeds or plants?

Start with plug plants for faster results.
Image: Christine Bird

Many herbs germinate readily from seed – an easy and inexpensive way to get started. Early in the year (before May), it’s best to sow on a windowsill or under glass. Simply place several seeds in a small plant pot, and cover with a light sprinkling of soil. Keep the soil warm and ensure you keep it moist.

From May onwards you can sow herb seeds directly outdoors into containers or your veg plot. It’s best to sow crops like parsley and coriander fortnightly, to ensure a regular supply. If you want to grow from seed, I suggest parsley, coriander, chives and basil – you’ll need a regular succession of these plants to keep your kitchen in business.

If you don’t have time to grow from seed, there’s a wide variety of herbs available to buy as plants for an instant, ready-made herb garden. It makes more sense to buy herb plants if you only need a few of each. I suggest buying mint, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme and lemon balm this way to get started.

Where to plant Mediterranean herbs

Fully-hardy sage thrives outside
Image: Sage from Thompson & Morgan

Sun-loving Mediterranean herbs include thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage. They need to be planted in dry, well-drained soil and get plenty of sun to grow well. Some of them, like thyme and oregano are particularly attractive to bees and pollinators – ideal if you’re trying to attract more wildlife into your garden.

Thyme:

Different varieties of thyme are available with small, pretty flowers in white, mauve and pink. These plants look attractive in containers, and they also like to grow in small crevices in walls and paving. Because of its compact size, thyme is ideal for growing on a windowsill. It’s easy to grow and requires little maintenance except for a light trim after flowering. For culinary use, I consider Thymus Vulgaris (common Thyme) best. It has a lovely aromatic sweet flavour and easy to pick leaves.

Rosemary:

Rosemary is a larger plant that grows to somewhere between 60 cms and 1m, but it’s relatively slow growing. It’s reasonably hardy, but less so in poorly drained soils and it dislikes cold, chilling winds. If conditions aren’t ideal, there’s a tendency for the needles to brown.

The other common variety of rosemary, from the prostrate group, is not fully hardy and requires winter protection. As the name suggests, this is a trailing plant which is best grown in a container so that you can move it under glass for winter protection.

Sage:

Sage is fully hardy and happily grows outside all year round. It can look a bit battered at the beginning of the growing season but quickly picks up. Both sage and oregano do get quite large as they mature, up to around 60cms tall with an equal spread.

Oregano:

Oregano is a fully hardy perennial that benefits from being cut back in the spring.

One oregano shrub usually provides enough pickings for a family, but I always grow more to feed the wildlife. Origanum vulgare is an attractive shrub which has pretty mauve flowers that bees and butterflies just love. Mine are covered all summer with busy pollinators. Many herbs are attractive to bees and butterflies, but oregano is one of the best.

Which herbs grow in semi-shade?

Grow basil on window sills if you have limited outdoor space.
Image: Basil ‘Siam Queen’ from Thompson & Morgan

Don’t have a south-facing garden? A number of culinary herbs tolerate semi-shade – particularly chives, parsley, mint, lemon balm and coriander. As long as they’re in the sun for at least half a day (preferably morning), these herbs don’t mind living without full sun.

Chives:

Chives are very hardy – they die back over winter and regrow in the spring. They’re also another bee magnet if you want to attract wildlife into your garden.

Parsley:

This herb can be slow to germinate, but once it gets going it’s pretty tough. Planted outside, parsley produces good pickings well into the winter and tolerates frosts, and although biennial, it should be treated as an annual.

Of the various herbs discussed here, parsley is the only one which can be difficult to germinate from seed. Patience and more than one sowing may be necessary, but once established, it’s robust and hardy.

Mint:

There’s a gardening ‘health warning’ attached to mint because it’s so invasive. If you want to plant mint in a border, it must be contained to prevent it from taking over, (and the same is true of tansy should you have an urge to plant it.) It’s much better to grow mint in a container to restrict its spread. A perennial plant, it’s often treated as an annual because the leaves become coarse with age.

Coriander:

Coriander grows as an annual in our climate. Because it resents transplanting, sow the seeds where you want them to grow and take care that the plants don’t dry out. Fortnightly sowing is best to provide a regular supply for your favourite recipes – and it’s best to pick the leaves before flowering.

Basil:

One of the more tricky herbs to grow in our climate is basil, despite the fact that it always looks so tempting in supermarket pots! Basil is easy to grow from seed and germinates quickly. The drawback is that it’s very temperature sensitive. It should never be placed outside until the summer is in full swing and then only in a warm sheltered spot. If it’s too cool, the plant leaves tend to yellow, and develop unappealing beige patches. Conversely, basil is ideal to grow indoors and perfect for your windowsills.

Even more tempting, and requiring the same growing conditions, Thai basil is a fantastic addition to authentic curries. Thai basil germinates easily from seed when placed in a warm spot with good drainage. It will do well all summer, but later in the year both Thai and Italian basil should be brought indoors to extend the growing season.

Growing your own herbs makes an aromatic garden display, attracts lots of bees and butterflies to your garden and gives you a wonderful fresh supply of herbs for the kitchen all the year round. What’s more, you can pick them at their best and freeze any excess if you find you have too much. Plant up the shaded areas of garden with ornamental plants too, head over to our plants for shade hub page to see our recommendations. Happy growing!

Carol Bartlett

Carol Bartlett, The Sunday Gardener, lives in the north of England where she has created a diverse garden including wildflowers, natural areas, herbaceous borders, a wildlife pond, trees and wetland plants, along with a vegetable plot. She has been gardening, reading, researching and photographing plants for over twenty years and her website is a popular resource for gardeners young and old.

www.sundaygardener.co.uk/