Topic: Shade tolerant, low maintenance border plants - suggestions please!

[hellohelenhere]

Hi all. I'm helping a lady to sort her garden out a bit, and it's something of a challenge, as the garden only has one sunny border. The other three sides are pretty shady, thanks to a very high fence along the southern side.

She and her husband both have poor health/disabilities - in her case, vertebra problems which make bending difficult. She also doesn't want to encourage bees in the garden - as I mentioned in a previous post some time ago, her son is both anaphylactically allergic to the stings, and blind - but he only visits from time to time, being grown up. In practice, this just means that any plants attractive to bees need to be in the back half of the garden.

She's keen on the idea of mounds of heather, but I don't think it will like any position except the south-facing border. So what I need is recommendations for mound-forming alpines that *can* tolerate shade. Saxifrage, for example? Having little experience of alpines, and never in shade, I'm a bit stumped.

She doesn't seem particularly interested in grasses, though I said I'd look into colourful varieties. She does want colour, and she does want green, lots of it.

There's a corner which gets morning sun but is shady all afternoon - east-facing - which we'd like to fill with shrubs, I'm thinking of euonymous but are there any other strong contenders? Preferably green and bright.

Fire away, chaps! :)

[banshee]

What about different hostas and ferns. These don't seem particularly attrative to bees, and do well in shady areas and you can get them in varying shades and colours.

Just a thought.

[norfolklass]

some varieties of Heuchera are happier in the shade than sun, and the flowers are so tiny I think bees would struggle to land on them. I've got a few, including Lime Rickey and Peach Flambe - the leaves are really vibrant and stand out in the shade, especially when planted next to purple foliage.

[saddad]

All the dead nettles, (Lammium?) some have variegated foliage.  :)

[rbull]

There are a great number of different hebes to choose from, including smallish moundy ones for basic architectural structure and year round interest.  

Dicentra Spectabilis/Primroses/Cowslips/Hardy cyclamen/various bulbs for Spring colour.

Polygonum/Gillenia trifoliata/Astrantia Roma for slightly later.

Foxgloves.

[hopalong]

Lamium maculatum album (dead nettle with white flowers) is good ground cover for shady places, as others have said. Alchemilla mollis also does well in shade, as do some of the Geraniums - e.g. macrorrhizum, sanguineum and odoratum. Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart) is good too.

[daileg]

this would be my suggestion   http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=category.standard&category_id=581

[lewic]

I've just seen these advertised on the guardian website
http://www.guardianoffers.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/GuardianOffers/_61114V/-/Japanese-Toad-Lily-Empress

[hopalong]

Lamium maculatum album (dead nettle with white flowers) is good ground cover for shady places, as others have said. Alchemilla mollis also does well in shade, as do some of the Geraniums - e.g. macrorrhizum, sanguineum and odoratum. Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart) is good too.

I meant to say that Campanula also seems to work pretty well in shade too. Hostas are great but don't tend to flower in shade - although the flowers aren't that great anyway. Rheum, Rodgersia and Gunnera do well in semi shade if you have a boggy area.

[Kepouros]

Don`t forget the Hellebores, and the humble periwinkles.   But beware the  Lamiums - one of my neighbours planted some several years ago, and we`re now all frantically trying to get rid of it out of our own gardens - so far neither Roundup nor SBK have had any effect on it and it continues to spread.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hellebores will thrive, and they flower when there are few if any bees about. Hardy geraniums might do well.

[daxzen]

I use strawberries for ground cover

maybe its just a flowerdew phase i am going thru

[Kea]

In addition to all the really good suggestions don't forget Heuchara, pulmonaria and euphorbia.

[daileg]

Fatsia japinica is a good shad loving plant and once established has amazing white flowers

[Pesky Wabbit]

How high is the fence ?

Perhaps some small trees?

Acer (various)
Magnolia stelatta
Crab apple (Malus 'Red Jade', 'Red Siberian', 'Golden Hornet' )
Gleditsia triacanthos
Amelanchier lamarckii
Sorbus (Rowan)

[tonybloke]

I use strawberries for ground cover

maybe its just a flowerdew phase i am going thru

maybe bob is going thru a 'Tony'n'Tracie' phase, we use strawbs as ground cover in our front garden. ;)

[shirlton]

 I would go for hosta's . There are so many different shades that you can get. And so what if they don't flower. If the lady likes green then give her green

[saddad]

Hostas have all sorts of variegation as well...  :)

[Hector]

Hostas and Lily of the Valley for some scent ( think their flowers are too small for bees?????)

[shirlton]

Lily of the valley will take over. I don't know wether or not the hosta's will tolerate them