Topic: window box suggestions for shady position

[Svea]

hello

i need suggestions as to what to plant in a box/trough that is by my door. it's in a north facing position, i.e. gets direct sunlight in the summer only late in the afternoon, otherwise no sun. i want a mixture of year-long plants (long flowering/lkooking pretty - foliage?) and shorter flowering seasonal flowers.

at the moment, the box contains a tulip bulb, some flox (i think?) and a whole lot of weeds  :-[

every time i go to the flower market here i don't buy anything because i dont really know what i want/is suitable.

the box is about 3 foot long and about 5 inches deep (or more)

apart from the usual summer flowers (lobelia, marigold etc) i have no ideas.

can you help? if it's in any way colour coordinated, that would also be swell. our front door, while white at the moment, will hopefully be painted soon in a greyish green or something like that...

thanks
svea

[wardy]

Looking in my handy windowbox book for shade plants I see primulas, azaleas, saxifraga, rosa and vinca, camellia, cyclamen, fatsia japonica, galanthus, hosta, impatiens, lilium, mimulus, buxus, hedera.  I have some very deep shade against a north facing wall and thriving in a pot at its base is a pieris japonica.  It's in the right compost but I neglect it terribly and it seems to thrive.  Another favourite of mine in a pot is ajuga.  Mine have been flowering for months in an old toilet cistern and look great.  They have some ivy growing with them which I pinch out if it gets too vigourous.  I also have success in shade with variegated hebe, euphorbia, euonymous, lily of the valley, hellebores are great and the white and cream ones show up in my dark garden.  jasmine is another one.  Annuals can always be added to a permanent arrangement for seasonal interest and I find nicotiana, cineraria, mimulus, pansy, impatients don't mind shade.  Hope that helps a bit  :)  I can take a pic of the ajuga to show you.  It's very low growing so you could add height to it.  Eg tiarella cordifolia and heuchera Plum Pudding  :)

[Piglottie]

Hi Svea - I planned a shady garden a couple of years ago, and used mainly white (to light the darkness of the shade) and lilac/purple colours.  There are quite a lot of things to choose from as Wardy says, here are some I used:

Hostas (beware ye slugs!)
Periwickle (can get blue or white flowered ones, dwarf also)
Ferns
Lady's mantle (has yellow flowers but lovely after rain)
Astillbe
Lily of the valley
Honeysuckle (might not have large enough tub, not sure, I had an evergreen one which was nice)
Sweet Box (lovely fragrant white flowers in winter but not sure if you would have enough room)
Hellebores (lovely!)
Crocus (mine came fine in shade)
Euphorbia
Foxglove (might be a bit big?)
Bedding plants - I used pansies and petunias (blue and white)

Or you could try a herb box herbs that will tolerate shade - mint, chives, parsley.

Good luck - I loved my shady garden (have moved now  :'(). 

[Svea]

thank you for the suggestions - will have to spend some work time tomorrow ;) to look all those plants up to see if they tickle my fancy :)

[wardy]

I have a foxglove in a container - with other cottagey perennials and it's not too big  (must be a lower growing variety)

Another one I forgot to mention which is happy in deep shade is a lovely perennial hesperis (sweet rocket)  The foliage looks not very promising but the flowers usually white or lilac really show up in my dark, shady garden and the smell is heaven  :)

[beejay]

Hi.I have a window box & hanging basket in shade. Lots of things will grow in them, even sun lovers. What I would recommend for summer flowering are Busy Lizzies - they never let me down. How about a permanent feature like a small box ball or pyramid? I have also seen ivy grown like a swag which looks good if you keep it trimmed. Hope these might be helpful.

[Svea]

ok, i think i have narrowed it down to the likes of
primula, saxifraga, vinca, cyclamen, impatiens, ivy, pieris japonica, ajuga, nicotinia, tiarella cordifolia, heuchera and astilbe.

i guess this points towards the kind of flowers i like? small flowers, kind of woodland plant types.

what about grasses? are there any varieties that would tolerate shade and be compact, say 1ft high max ?

thanks
svea

[philcooper]

Svea,

For big and blowsy flowers - trailing begonias like shade I usually have a large hanging basket of them by the front door (on the N side of the house)

Phil

[wardy]

Svea   Me too with the woodland plants but it has been trial and error as I have lots of big trees which cast lots of shade and take up all the moisture so loads of plants have failed, eg fuchsias and roses (I selected some which I thought looked at home in that setting and would show up in shade but they all keeled over.

I'm still planting stuff can let you know what is doing well and what isn't if you want me to pm you

[westsussexlottie]

mimulas - grow amazingly well on north aspect in a window box

[Svea]

ok, i have planted up the box on the northside of the house. if anyone needs tips on how to rehydrate bone dry soil in a box i have a perfect receipe.....

now, i cannot remember what i got because i am rubbish at remembering names, but i think there was some trailing begonias in there - beautiful shade of pale blue :) and some Euphorbia. i am afraid the other plants are a small trailing white one and a bushy one which kind of looks like small carnations. but like i said, i havent really got a clue about flowers (and helpfully have thrown the labels away)

*sigh*
svea

thanks for all the suggestions though, they certainly made looking around the flower market much easier :)

[wardy]

Svea    Just another idea for your shady window box.  Bacopa which is an annual I think and it's white and is quite at home in shade and it has the advantage of being small

[Svea]

yah that is the small white one i did get :)
thanks for supplying the name