We all love our trees; they provide us with valuable shade giving a great place to be on a hot day. While this lack of sunlight might be great for us, it can really limit our choice of colourful plants to grow in shady spots.
Cliveas are probably one of the best choices for any shaded spot. They are amazingly tough, their dark strappy leaves always look lush and the bright clusters of bell shaped blooms always help to create a tropical feel. They look just great massed together or bordering a meandering path.
The waxy blooms of the Bergenia always add a splash of colour in spring. It is a low spreading perennial with its rosy pink blooms standing above the rosette leaves will create a brilliant flowering carpet under the tree canopy.
Violets are amazing for growing where nothing else seem to survive. They will completely blanket a shaded spot covering it with thick foliage and adding a splash of purple as their blooms pop up above the canopy. Violets can be very invasive though so be sure to keep a regular check on their spread during the year.
No shaded spot would be complete without Impatiens. These plants are amazing and just love the shade and also look simply brilliant in pots
The Winter Rose or Helleborus (Helleborus argutifolius) really thrive in semi-shaded moist conditions. They add great winter & spring colour with blooms of lime green, mauve and purple.
If you have dappled light filtering through the trees then why not have a go at growing Japanese Windflowers (Anenome hupehensis). The star like, bright white blooms really lift a dull garden nodding and bobbing in the breeze. These flower mainly during summer and autumn, but you can always plant out either from seed or out of a pot to enjoy them later.
Have a go and choose one of these to give your dull spots a real lift by planting your own little ray of sunshine!
