When designing the Wyevale Garden Centres ‘Solutions Garden’ at Gardeners’ World Live 2018, which won a Platinum award, the aim was to show panicky planters stylish solutions to some of the UK’s most common gardening problems, including managing shade.
As gardeners we know that changing seasons welcome new problems in the garden, from frosts to heatwaves but one of the most common, trans-seasonal problems for gardeners in the UK ,as well as internationally, is how to manage the shade.
Some gardens experience part-shade at different points in the day, while others endure complete shade throughout the day, and gardeners often worry that their plants won’t respond well to a dark environment. However, contrary to popular belief, there are plants that thrive in the shade as long as they are looked after correctly.
There are lots of plants that are happy – and, in fact, do well – in the shade. You can feel confident planting hydrangeas, Choisya, Hypericum, Ribes and Tiarella, and grasses such as Miscanthus and Molinia.
And, if you are looking for plants that do well in dry shade, species such as Fatsia, Skimmia, Viburnum tinus, Sarcococca and Hypericum calycinum are all ideal; as well as perennials such as Anemone japonica, Euphorbia robbiae, many ferns, Alchemilla, hostas and hellebores.
Top tips for planting in the shade
Professor David Stevens in the Wyevale Garden Centres ‘Solutions Garden’. It received a Platinum award at Gardeners World Live 2018