Updated on August 2nd, 2025 Posted In: Gardening Know How
Author: Alexandra Campbell

Shade gardening – how to choose perfect shady garden plants

Before you plant anything in a shady garden, you need to know what kind of shade you have.

There are potentially six types of areas where shade-loving or shade-tolerant plants will thrive. Each area suits a different type of shady garden plant.

The right plants for the right kind of shade in this shady garden designed for the NGS by Tom Stuart Smith at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Plant expert Stephen Ryan is one half of The Horti-Culturalists YouTube channel, with Matthew Lucas. He also has a nursery called Dicksonia Rare Plants. He says that people often come in asking for plants that will do well in shade.

‘And when you question them, you realise they have no idea what sort of shady garden they have,’ he says.

(The Horti-Culturalists produce weekly videos showcasing individual plants and gardens, and you can find their video 8 Plants That Flower In Shade here)

What kind of shade do you have?

Not all shade is the same. Indeed, sometimes a border may be sunnier than you realise.

So it’s important to think about what kind of shade you want to plant up.

‘Look at where the light falls and when,’ advises Stephen. For example, don’t assume that planting under a tree will always be in shade because if the tree is in a sunny spot, then sunlight will often fall under the canopy of the tree.’

You can have dense shade – where there is hardly any sunlight or less than 3 hours of sun a day.  It’s sometimes called heavy shade or full shade. It may be in the shadow of tall buildings or underneath evergreen trees.

Or you may have partial shade or light shade, which is 3-6 hours of direct sunlight a day.

There’s also dappled shade, where a light tree canopy allows a certain amount of light through. This could also be referred to as light shade.

And then you have seasonal shade. This is when deciduous trees shade a border in summer, but in winter they lose their leaves. That’s why many spring bulbs do so well planted near deciduous trees – they get the sunlight they need while the leaves are off the trees ( See where to plant spring bulbs here. Also where and how to grow snowdrops.)

And for more ideas, see this wonderful example of  winter garden planting in seasonal shade at Kew Gardens.

There are potentially six types of shade in your garden.

Don’t forget morning or afternoon shade!

What time of day is your shade? This makes all the difference to how well your plants will grow.

A border which has morning sun and afternoon shade will be happy with any plants that like partial shade. The morning sun is always relatively cool and gentle. By the time the day heats up, your plants will be in shade. Hydrangeas would be a perfect choice.

But a border with morning shade and afternoon sun can be tricky, because the morning will be cool and shady. Then there’ll be a sudden transition to bright, hot sun in the afternoon, because the day will be hotter by then. You’ll need more resilient plants – there are some good suggestions for partial shade in 10 beautiful but tough perennials here.

‘If your border has morning shade and afternoon sun, look for sun-loving plants that don’t mind some shade,’ advises Stephen. That includes flowering shrubs, such as lilac, deutzia and spirea.

Flowering shrubs do well with afternoon sun.. Try lilac, deutzia or spirea.

And do you have dry or damp shade?

As well as the six main types of shade, you also need to consider whether you have dry or damp shade.

Dry shade is one of the most difficult areas to plant, but there are still options. Think about what grows well in a woodland garden. Try bergenias, epidmediums, pulmonaria and some ferns.

Bergenia is a good flowering plant for dry shade. Most plants which do well in dry shade need a certain amount of watering to get established. There are more plants for dry shade here.

And if you have damp shade, then astilbes, persicarias, lobelia cardinalis and some varieties of fern or iris can be good. In terms of shrubs, hydrangeas love shade and are often happiest in more damp conditions.

Astilbe – a good plant for damp shade, although this woodland garden doesn’t always have lots of rain.

The advantages of shade!

You don’t have to weed a shady border as often as a sunny one because many weeds prefer full sun.

Nor do you have to water as much, because the water sinks into the soil and is less likely to evaporate.

Flowers fade more slowly, so they last longer with less dead-heading.

Plants grow more slowly in the shade so they need less fertilizer.

So a shady backyard or border could be the key to truly low maintenance gardening! I always call my shady border ‘the easiest part of the garden.’

Planting and aftercare are important for dry shade

When you buy a plant from a nursery, it’s lived in a pot, explains Stephen. It will have been watered and fertilised. The plant won’t be accustomed to the relatively harsh conditions of dry shade, even if it is a dry shade plant.

So you’ll need to look after newly planted plants. Water them in the first summer, and if they’re planted around tree roots, Stephen would even suggest fertilising them.

Once their roots are well established, you should be able to leave them to grow without too much fuss.

Should you cut trees down to reduce the shade?

Trees have a value in any garden. They provide vertical interest, improve air quality, help prevent water run off and offer a habitat for wildlife.

And, as some summers get hotter, the shade of trees can be valuable in itself.

But if you’d like a little more light for your plants, then you can often create this by removing the lower branches and lifting the canopy. Or you can ‘thin’ the canopy out to create dappled light.

It is important to have this done by an expert. Just hacking back branches can spoil the tree’s shape and may even shock it into growing thicker and faster. See Top Tips for Trees – What You Need to Know Before Engaging a Tree Surgeon.

Obviously if the shade comes from buildings, then you won’t be able to make it lighter.

It’s worth consulting a tree surgeon rather than just hacking off the branches, but removing a few lower branches can let in more light. See this post for what you need to know before you contact a tree surgeon.

What can you plant under a dense evergreen tree?

‘The harder the conditions, the smaller the palette of plants you’ll have to work with,’ says Stephen.

Directly under a conifer tree is not only dark and dry, but the root system of the conifer will compete with anything you plant.

However, you can often plant on the edge of the canopy – just below where the branches end. Quite a lot of sun will reach this spot and it’s further away from the tree.

Try Bergenia cordifolia, epimediums and pulmonaria. Some varieties of fern are also good for dry shade,

Stephen says that in mild climates, Clivias (part of the Amaryllis family) are good, with brilliant orange flowers and strappy leaves. However, they won’t tolerate frost so won’t survive in many UK or US gardens.

What about raised beds under a big tree?

If the soil under and near a tree is full of tree roots, can you overcome this by building a raised bed?

Stephen says that you have to be careful. If you completely cover the area over the tree roots with big beds of soil, you could deprive the tree of essential air.

However, a raised bed slightly away from the tree, in front of it or to one side could give you extra planting options and an area of better soil to plant in.

What are the best foliage plants for a shady garden?

If you’re planting in the shade, then always think about how much a different shape, size or colour of leaf has to offer.

‘There are hundreds of good choices for foliage plants for shade,’ says Stephen. ‘Plants that evolved to thrive in shade often have large, interesting leaves in order to catch as much sun as possible.’

Rodgersia (right) and Hosta with dramatically contrasting leaves. They are both good shade foliage plants for fairly moist conditions – they won’t like really dry soil.

Mahonia and ‘polystichum’ or ‘dryopteris’ ferns do well in dry shade.

And see Tim Ingram of Copton Ash’s 23 brilliant ground cover plants, many of which rely on foliage contrast to brighten up shady or woodland gardens. They include lamium (dead nettle), Jack Frost brunnera, periwinkles and violas.

Tim Ingram’s ground cover plants for dry shade include ferns and euphorbia. Purple honesty is also growing under this tree, although it is not an evergreen tree.

Can you experiment with plants for a shady garden?

So much about gardening is trial and error. And so often plants don’t do what you expect them to.

So can we take some risks and try planting a plant that’s labelled for ‘partial shade’ in ‘deep shade’ or vice versa? Or even try a sun-lover in a dingy spot?

Stephen says that you can, but you shouldn’t spend much money on it! And first read this post on choosing plants for shade.

However, he does recommend planting self-seeders in a shady garden. ‘Often they will spread into quite difficult spots,’ he says. ‘And if the plant has chosen to grow there, as opposed to being planted there in a pot, then it can be very successful.

Good shade-loving self-seeders include honesty, forget-me-nots, foxgloves and Smyrnium. (See my top 25 self-seeded plants for more suggestions).

I have had success adding Smyrnium and foxgloves to a dry shady spot near a wall. However, Smyrnium can spread very quickly so be prepared to rip it out if it strays too far. It is one of my most commented-on plants, though.

Oddly enough, Angelica also self-seeded itself in this grouping, too, for many years, although it’s supposed to prefer moist conditions.

So  little experimenting can be very satisfying.

My self-seeded shade grouping – foxgloves and Smynium perfoliatum both self-seed well in this dry shady spot. Angelica, too, has self-seeded although I didn’t expect it to thrive here.

Shade garden ideas

There are some wonderful themes for shady gardens. For example, what about a stunning stumpery? You can use logs, tree stumps and pieces of wood and treat them like sculpture. The wood will slowly break down and create a wonderful habitat for wildlife. King Charles revived the interest in stumperies in UK gardens, and he has one at Highgrove.

I have a corner of the garden which has always been ‘difficult.’ When we moved in, it had a pergola, but somehow we never used it. When the pergola collapsed, I research 10 shady garden corners to love – and two to avoid!

Richard and Jacqui Drew have a north-facing (so shady) sloping garden. And it’s narrow! Many people would find this combination very challenging, but they have created the most delightful and wildlife-friendly north facing garden.

Another perfect option for a shady garden, especially a small one is to have a jungle theme. A jungle is very shady place because only the tallest trees get the sun. See Philip Oostenbrink’s shady jungle courtyard garden. 

And if you’re new to gardening, then here are the basic tips that made gardening much easier for me when I started out: 5 top gardening tips for guaranteed gardening success.

See the interview and more of the plants on video

The video on how to plant a shady garden is here.

Pin to remember what to plant in a shady garden

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