Need plants for partial shade under taller shrubs/wall

usignuolo

I have a concrete wall surrounding my small garden. Mostly it is laid to lawn but there are flower beds around the edges. At the far end bed, viewed across the lawn from the kitchen window, (around 25 feet) I have three spready type shrubs, (one at each side and one in middle) all six-seven feet, to screen view of neighbours' gardens.

The problem is what to grow under these shrubs, as the area there only gets partial sun due to the way the garden is aligned with the surrounding houses.

I want something perennial that looks attractive when viewed from my kitchen window, slow growing so will not go rampant as soon as I plant it, and has some colour. Alternatively can any recommend some hardy annuals for the bed.

sobie

Whats the soil type?

RAS

Suggestion


This year go for hardy annuals - even now some marigolds and other bedding plants (dahlias if you can get them) would give you a few months joy.

Add hardy perennials this autumn but plant over bulbs so you get spring colour.

And when you say partial sun, do you mean an hour a day in summer? Or six hours a day in summer and say 2 in winter?

usignuolo

soil is sandy. area is in shade during spring and summer for around 4 hours in morning, gets sun in the afternoon for 2-3 hours.

jap200

I would recommend the low growing herbaceous perennial Astrantia major. I have the Ruby Wedding variety:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/90309/Astrantia-major-Ruby-Wedding/Details



This was bought as a single plant that I put in a fairly dry shady area and it has self-seeded and is thriving. The seedlings I transplanted to sunnier areas don't do so well.

The flowers are lovely and delicate (almost papery) in deep pink and look lovely in a large clump.

Just editing to say that although it self-seeds, it certainly isn't rampant and is easy to keep under control. Just pull up any self-seeded plants that you don't want and give them away or add them to the compost heap.

I_have_spoken

'Usual suspects' for dry shade - bergenia, some of the Geranium macrorrhizum, vinca, Liriope muscari, lamium then the bulbs like Cyclamen and Anemone. The bulbs will do better if the shrubs are deciduous.