Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations appreciated.....Thanks

On 10 Jan, 11:03, rabc wrote:
Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

One more question, or two before the onslaught of fantastic
suggestions:- is your bed against a wall/fence and which way is it
facing.

The message
from rabc contains these words:

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

Winter aconites, most bulbs, wood anemones, various hellebores including
Christmas rose, wood spurge - to go on with.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

In message ,
Rusty_Hinge writes
The message
from rabc contains these words:

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

Winter aconites, most bulbs, wood anemones, various hellebores including
Christmas rose, wood spurge - to go on with.


More stuff that grows on woodland floors - bluebells, lesser celandine,
ramsoms (if you don't mind the smell), creeping dogwood
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On 10/1/09 11:03, in article , "rabc"
wrote:


Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks




True geraniums are pretty good in shade, (look for Geranium Jolly Bee and G.
Ann Folkard) as are Hostas, Fuchsias, Heuchera, Tiarella, Hellebores and of
course, bulbs like snowdrops and Erythroniums.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

"rabc" wrote..

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks


Depends on what depth of shade we are talking about, is it directly under a
conifer hedge (i.e deep shade) or just doesn't get any sun but is open
aspect (i.e open to the sky). Most of my garden in the back is almost the
latter, only gets very early morning sun in the summer and a band of sun
moving across it later in the day, and I have yet to find anything that
doesn't grow there. Some plants seem to prefer it.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message ,
Rusty_Hinge writes
The message
from rabc contains these words:

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

Winter aconites, most bulbs, wood anemones, various hellebores including
Christmas rose, wood spurge - to go on with.

More stuff that grows on woodland floors - bluebells, lesser celandine,
ramsoms (if you don't mind the smell), creeping dogwood

And, for very dry shade (where little will grow), Cyclamen coum
and hederifolium. C. europaeum is worth trying for slightly
damper shade.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

This is a massive ask, which is probably why you've had no replies so far. For Spring, pulmonarias and hellebores, for Summer geraniums (e.g. Johnson's Blue and Ann Foulkard), ajugas, Alchemilla Mollis. BUT are you sure you only want perennials and only low-growing? There are so many bulbs, shrubs and taller perennials that would make it into an interesting border rather than something kind of dumpy. With only perennials the bed will look rubbish in the late Autumn and Winter. You also need to consider your soil type.

On 10/1/09 18:17, in article , "Janet
Conroy" wrote:


rabc;827117 Wrote:
Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

This is a massive ask, which is probably why you've had no replies so
far. For Spring, pulmonarias and hellebores, for Summer geraniums
(e.g. Johnson's Blue and Ann Foulkard), ajugas, Alchemilla Mollis. BUT
are you sure you only want perennials and only low-growing? There are
so many bulbs, shrubs and taller perennials that would make it into an
interesting border rather than something kind of dumpy. With only
perennials the bed will look rubbish in the late Autumn and Winter. You
also need to consider your soil type.



He's had no replies? Really?

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message ,
Rusty_Hinge writes
The message
from rabc contains these words:

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

Winter aconites, most bulbs, wood anemones, various hellebores including
Christmas rose, wood spurge - to go on with.


More stuff that grows on woodland floors - bluebells, lesser celandine,
ramsoms (if you don't mind the smell), creeping dogwood

I thought that most plants which come up early on deciduous woodland floors
are actually rather shade-intolerant. They appear early before the trees
get their leaves and shade those plants out. I would guess that although
the OP might have success in the first year or so as the plants would be
living off stored food in their bulbs, corms, etc, they would slowly fail
without at least some sunlight. Depends on the severity of the shading the
OP has, I guess.

--
Jeff

On 11 Jan, 11:38, "Jeff Layman" wrote:
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message ,
Rusty_Hinge writes
The message
from rabc contains these words:

Shade loving low growing perennials required.......after paying pounds
out every year for bedding plants i have decided to take the plunge and
fill one border with perennials , the border in question is right
outside my window which gets very little sunshine any recommendations
appreciated.....Thanks

Winter aconites, most bulbs, wood anemones, various hellebores including
Christmas rose, wood spurge - to go on with.

More stuff that grows on woodland floors - bluebells, lesser celandine,
ramsoms (if you don't mind the smell), creeping dogwood

I thought that most plants which come up early on deciduous woodland floors
are actually rather shade-intolerant. *They appear early before the trees
get their leaves and shade those plants out. *I would guess that although
the OP might have success in the first year or so as the plants would be
living off stored food in their bulbs, corms, etc, they would slowly fail
without at least some sunlight. *Depends on the severity of the shading the
OP has, I guess.

You are right - these plants seek moisture and highly fertile soil,
not shade only. My thoughts entirely, hence asking about walls/fences
and situation. When it comes to a question like this I always think of
edibility and scent, then visual and height - bulbs and spring flowers
are additions to perennial beds, not the principal plants, and a bed
must be able to provide all year round interest too.

When I posted he hadn't, honest!

In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:

I thought that most plants which come up early on deciduous woodland floors
are actually rather shade-intolerant. They appear early before the trees
get their leaves and shade those plants out. I would guess that although
the OP might have success in the first year or so as the plants would be
living off stored food in their bulbs, corms, etc, they would slowly fail
without at least some sunlight. Depends on the severity of the shading the
OP has, I guess.

In northern Europe, the insolation before April is pretty low. Those
plants are necessary shade-tolerant, when one is considering summer
conditions.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The bed is about two foot from front of building facing north....Thanks

I have a similar bed in front of my house, facing directly north. I have ferns, both perennial and evergreen, scabious, primulas, heucheras, some ornamental grasses, crocosmia, snowdrops, narcissi and a verbena boriensis (tall but see-through). They would all probably be more floriferous with more sunlight, but they do O.K.
Geranium pheum survives well in a very shady position.