Perennials for shade
Everyone loves a sunny flower garden but those beds and borders cast into shade need some love too! There are a wide range of perennials well-suited to growing in the shade, whether that’s full shade through all or almost all of the day, partial shade (just a few hours of sun) or dappled shade, perhaps in the shadow of canopies of large trees. Beds and borders shaded by buildings, trees or large shrubs are increasingly common as gardens get smaller. Thankfully, there are plenty of shade loving perennials with a high tolerant for low light levels that will thrive even in the shadiest of spots. The perennials below are particularly well suited to north and east facing gardens, which can be shady and cool for much of the year.
Some great choices for deep shade are Alchemilla mollis with its round pale green leaves and dainty yellow-green early summer flowers; Campanula persicifolia, the popular peach-leaved bellflower found in many old cottage gardens; or Tellima grandiflora with its tall, wiry spikes of white flowers above rosettes of hairy, deep green leaves in summer. For lighter or dappled consider Anemone Honorine Jobert with its symmetrical, single pure white flowers with attractive, buttery-yellow centres from August to October; Astilbe Fanal with elegant, self-supporting spikes of feathery, deep red flower heads in early summer; and Hosta Sum and Substance which boasts massive, heart-shaped, leathery bright yellow-green leaves and towering spikes of bell-shaped lilac-blue flowers from July.