Sheltered from the sun’s rays, shady gardens can be beautiful, cool, mysterious spaces – the perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of life. Plenty of plants will grow happily in these conditions, bringing light, colour and life into even the dimmest space. Please take a look at our top 10 plants for low light.
Top 10 plants for low light
-
Hostas love the shade, and their bold architectural foliage makes a significant impact in any garden. There’s a huge variety available, from tiny mouse-ear hostas with small rounded leaves to impressively large hostas like Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ that spreads over a metre wide. They also produce spires of pale lavender flowers in summer. Just watch out for slugs and snails – they love hostas too!
-
Heucheras often need sunshine to produce their best leaf colour. Still, shade-loving Heuchera ‘Lime Ricky’ and ‘Lime Marmalade’ have fabulous lime-green foliage that sings with colour in a shady garden.
-
Hellebores are a must for any shady spot. Their big palmate leaves add interest and texture to planting all year round, and their beautiful bell-like flowers appear in winter just when the garden is desperate for some colour.
-
Ferns are known to thrive in shady, damp spots. Some, such as Asplenium scolopendrium, will grow even in dry shade where its long, wavy-edged fronds make a beautiful backdrop for other flowering perennials
-
Brunnera boast bold, often variegated, leaves that look good right through to late Autumn. During Spring, they develop sprays of small flowers.
-
Dicentra are now known as Lamprocapnos but are best known as 'Bleeding Heart' due to their distinctive pretty heart shaped flowers which are held on graceful, arching stems.
-
Epimedium flower in Spring with pretty small, pretty blooms held on dainty stems above their heart-shaped foliage. They provide excellent ground cover as they are naturally low-growing.
-
Astilbe are clump-forming perennials available with plumes of flowers during Summer. They do best in moist but not waterlogged soil. There are many varieties of Astilbe with flowers in a range of colours to add some contrast to your shady area.
-
Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ (Japanese laurel) is a large evergreen shrub that will cope with practically any condition, even full shade, and its glossy yellow-spotted green leaves will bring light and colour into the darkest spots.
-
Sarcococca (Christmas box) is another evergreen shrub great for shady gardens, providing structure all year round. In the middle of winter, it produces sprays of tiny, almost invisible creamy-white flowers with the most incredibly sweet fragrance.
We love shady gardens, and you’ll find a massive range of shade-loving plants in our centre. Visit us today to find the plants that are just right for you!
