7 shade-loving plants

Sheltered from the sun’s rays, shady gardens can be beautiful, cool, mysterious spaces – the perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of life. Plenty of plants will grow happily in these conditions, bringing light, colour and life into even the dimmest space. Please take a look at our top 7 plants for low light.

Top 7 plants for low light

1. Hostas love the shade, and their bold architectural foliage makes a significant impact in any garden. There’s a huge variety available, from tiny mouse-ear hostas with small rounded leaves to impressively large hostas like Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ that spreads over a metre wide. They also produce spires of pale lavender flowers in summer. Just watch out for slugs and snails – they love hostas too!

2. Heucheras often need sunshine to produce their best leaf colour. Still, shade-loving Heuchera ‘Lime Ricky’ and ‘Lime Marmalade’ have fabulous lime-green foliage that sings with colour in a shady garden.

3. Ferns are very tough and reliable and will grow even in dry shade. Their long, wavy-edged fronds make a beautiful backdrop for other flowering perennials.

4. Begonias are fantastic for adding colour to pots in shady spots. They flower for months from summer to autumn and come in a wide range of spectacular colours. Wax begonias (Begonia semperflorens) have smaller flowers than the big trailing begonias but are excellent for shade.

5. Impatiens (busy lizzies) are very easy to grow, and the New Guinea range (Impatiens hawkeri) are very resistant to the mildew problems that sometimes plague these popular plants. Their bright pink, red, purple and white flowers look great in pots and windowboxes.

6. Fuchsias are well-known for their elegant pendant flowers in various colours. They’re great for brightening up a shady spot and look lovely trailing from pots or hanging baskets.

7. Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box) is another evergreen shrub great for shady gardens, providing structure all year round. In the middle of winter, it produces sprays of tiny, almost invisible creamy-white flowers with the most incredibly sweet fragrance.

We love shady gardens, and you’ll find a massive range of shade-loving plants in our centres. Visit us today to find the plants that are just right for you!