The Shady Garden: No.2 Plants That Shine in the Shadows
No mollycoddling, no endless watering — just my favourite shade-loving stalwarts that survive slug attacks, greedy tree roots, and a gardener with no time to faff.
In this second part of the series, I’m sharing some of my favourite shade-tolerant plants (hopefully not too many), grouped by the kind of shade they thrive in. Rather than dive into every subtle variation, I’ve kept it simple: Dry shade or Damp shade.
These are tried-and-tested choices from my own garden: a temperate, moisture-starved plot, roughly USDA zone 8b, with alkaline soil. Whether you’re dealing with dry, rooty corners, cool damp glades, or something gently in-between, there’s plenty here to help your shady patch feel lush and loved.
As with any plant recommendations (especially in shade) it’s often a case of trial and error. What works for me may not work for you. But I’ve kept this list concise, focusing on the real stalwarts: the easy-going garden doers. Plants that want to grow in shade.
Dry Shade Champions
Ah yes, dry shade. The gardening equivalent of being asked to bake a soufflé in a power cut. Little light, low moisture, and greedy tree roots all vying for the same scrap of soil. It’s where enthusiasm goes to wilt… unless you know what to plant.
Plant fairs and garden shows are a brilliant opportunity to speak to the growers themselves. Dry shade is a surprisingly common challenge, but still a bit of a niche in nursery terms. Specialist knowledge is pure gold when it comes to finding plants that thrive.
Dry shade has forced me to rethink a lot of the usual advice on plant labels and in books. As long as you can help these plants establish, they’re surprisingly tolerant of drier conditions. Water them well at planting time, give them a few more good soakings over the first month, then leave them to it.
Here are a few of my tried-and-tested favourites that not only survive but genuinely perform in dry shade. Each has earned its keep in my Cottage Garden, where conditions can be tough, particularly under hornbeam, ash, and birch.
🌿 Epimedium x rubrum
A true groundcover hero. It might look delicate, with its heart-shaped leaves and wiry stems, but this is one tough customer. In spring, it throws out dainty flowers, followed by a flush of fresh foliage that ages beautifully through the seasons. One of several European species well suited to dry shade. I’ve had great success with it under the hornbeams.
Others worth seeking out include Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’, E. pinnatum, E. pubigerum, E. alpinum, and the ever-reliable E. x perralchicum ‘Frohnleiten’ with cheerful yellow flowers and evergreen foliage that takes on a copper tinge.
🌿 Geranium macrorrhizum
A softly scented, hardy geranium, with semi-evergreen leaves that colour up in autumn. This is the one I reach for when I need something to cover ground quickly. It’s unfussy, resilient, and has a pleasing way of softening the edge of paths, border edging, or planting pockets. I especially like ‘Ingversen’s Variety’, which has paler pink flowers and a slightly more refined look.
Other hardy geraniums that do well for me in dry shade include Geranium sylvaticum ‘Alba’, with elegant white flowers in early summer, and Geranium nodosum, which will happily self-seed into awkward gaps. Even Geranium ‘Rozanne’, often thought of as a sun-lover, will ramble and scramble happily through light shade with a bit of support and encouragement.
🌿 Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae
Architectural and evergreen, with a roguish tendency to spread. The lime-green bracts in spring absolutely glow in the gloom. It pairs brilliantly with darker foliage or anything purple-toned. Looks fantastic with blue camassias.
Take heed. This plant will run. It spreads via rhizomes and can become a real garden thug. Only plant it if you have space for it to roam freely, or be prepared to pull out young plants by the barrow-load.
🌿 Anemone hupehensis & Anemone × hybrida
Late-summer stars. These Japanese anemones bring a welcome lift when much of the shade garden is starting to quiet down. Their tall, wiry stems and open-faced, bee-friendly flowers float above the border like butterflies.
They can be a bit thuggish, but that vigour is a bonus when you’re asking them to grow in drier conditions. For best results, plant them in autumn so they can establish during a time of maximum rainfall. Once settled, they’re remarkably resilient.
🌿 Libertia grandiflora
This has been a real stalwart in my Cottage Garden. Sword-like, evergreen foliage adds strong structure year-round, and in spring it sends up sprays of white, butterfly-like flowers that flutter above the clumps like little garden ghosts.
Despite its graceful appearance, it’s proven tough and long-lived in dry shade, even among tree roots. A brilliant option for adding vertical lift and contrast to more mounded or leafy planting.
🌿 Digitalis (foxgloves)
A woodland classic. Although they’re fond of dappled and damp shade, they’re surprisingly tolerant of sun, light shade, and drier conditions too. Like anemones, water them well to help them establish. I’ve grown absolute monsters, towering over 6ft in my Cottage Garden. Digitalis lutea (a perennial species) seems particularly happy and spreads nicely.
Foxgloves are wonderfully architectural and perfect for threading height through a border. I often let mine self-seed where they please, or shake the seed over bare soil. It keeps the look loose and romantic. Cream, white, pale yellow, and soft apricot varieties really glow in gloomier spots.
🌿 Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ or ‘Alexander’s Great’
Frosted foliage and delicate forget-me-not blues in spring. These brunneras are undeniably the foliage stars, and they thrive in shade. Their silvery leaves really illuminate the gloom. Excellent under deciduous trees and alongside ferns. Although they prefer consistent moisture, they’re surprisingly drought-tolerant once established.
🌿 Pulmonaria
Another plant that has ‘damp shade’ written all over it. These are stars of my Bank Border, perched on a dry, sloping edge. They soak up the winter rains, flower beautifully, then as spring turns to summer, they shrivel up. I simply cut them back, and they regrow with fresh, healthy foliage, none the worse for the dry conditions.
🌿 Dryopteris & Polystichum ferns
Most dry shade plant lists will recommend Shield ferns (Polystichum) and Male ferns (Dryopteris), and with good reason. They’re among the toughest, most adaptable ferns around. I’ve had success with both in dry, rooty spots, even right under the dense hornbeam canopy.
They do need a little patience to establish. Once settled, they’re a brilliant way to add texture, height, and movement. Especially effective alongside broad-leaved ground cover or spiky grasses. I’ve found Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata The King’ particularly handsome.
Other plants that are worth a look: Cyclamen hederifolium, Pachysandra, Heuchera, Hellebore
Shady Companions: Planting Combos That Work
In the Cottage Garden, I often use strong structural shapes like clipped box or yew, paired with the sword-like foliage of Libertia grandiflora. Underneath, cushions of hardy geraniums, rustling Epimedium, and Pulmonaria create a calm base layer. Through spring, Aquilegias and Camassia bring a little whimsy height, before handing over to the floaty clouds of Thalictrum aquilegiifolium and Japanese anemones for high-summer colour.
The ‘Not in My Dry Shady Garden’ List
There are plenty of plants that appear time and again on “dry shade” lists, but in my garden, they’ve either sulked, vanished entirely, or flat-out refused to earn their keep. Like you (probably), I don’t have time to nurse plants along. They either thrive, or they end up on the compost heap, wondering where it all went wrong.
Sometimes the problem lies with the gardener: not knowing the soil well enough, choosing poorly, or simply hoping for the best. Other times, it’s a light or water mismatch. But more often, it’s that elusive gardener’s instinct: if you’ve given something two or three seasons and it still looks like it needs counselling, move on. Life’s too short and space on those borders is too precious.
Liriope – Often recommended, but in my experience it sulks in alkaline soils. It prefers neutral to acidic conditions, and has never really settled here.
Alchemilla mollis – In dry shade, this tends to flop, developing dusty, lacklustre leaves. Looks glorious in moisture retentive soil, with its zesty frothy flowers, less so when it’s flopped face-first across your path.
Tiarella - Starts strong but often peters out quickly. In my garden, it struggles to bulk up and usually ends up browning, lying prostrate like it’s had a long day. The only spot it’s happy is right under the Japanese maple. Worth trying if you’ve got reliably moist soil and dappled shade.
Hosta – Yes, I’ve seen them recommended for dry shade. And no, they don’t really belong there — not most of them, anyway. The smaller ‘mouse ears’ cultivars tend to cope quite well. But the larger-leaved hostas? Without moisture and/or humus-rich soil, they sulk. Worse still, stressed hostas are like a siren call for slugs and snails, who turn up in battalions, ready to devour the lot.
Hydrangea paniculata – Weak growth, fewer flowers, and the flower heads that do appear are disappointingly small. These are thirsty plants, and dry shade simply doesn’t cut it.
Moist & Marvellous
Not all shade is dry and difficult. Some corners stay deliciously cool and moist, often found in the quiet dips and undulations of the garden where water lingers longer than expected.
These are the shady spots where foliage really flourishes and plants look as though they’ve just had a spa day. But it doesn’t suit all. For some, the higher moisture levels are just too much, leading to rotting roots and crowns. For truly saturated ground, you’ll want to look to the colourfully named Bog Plants (not discussed here).
Here are a few that have worked well in my slightly moister borders:
🌿 Astrantia
Reliable, long-flowering, and loved by pollinators. Their pincushion blooms bring subtle colour and texture, and the leaves hold up well in cooler conditions. Cut flower stems to the ground (or give them a sharp tug) to promote more. Rosy Hardy recommends cutting them down to a leaf node about 2-3 inches (5-7cm) above the ground, so maybe worth a try.
🌿 Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’
Predominantly grown for its bright young foliage, lance-shaped and purplish-green with a bold central splash of purple, bordered by a silver chevron marking. In early summer, small sprays of tiny white flowers are held just above the striking foliage. Not subtle, but a great punctuation mark in a sea of endless green. The more sun it receives the bolder the colour and more compact the growth.
🌿 Actaea simplex ‘Chocoholic’
Dark palmate leaves and scented, pale pink bottle-brush flowers in late summer. I grow it for both foliage and late-season impact, it adds drama without shouting. Like ‘Red Dragon’, I use its dark tones (and height) to break up clumps of hydrangeas. In heavier shade, the leaves will turn more green.
🌿 Thalictrum delavayi
Like a cloud of mauve confetti floating over fine foliage. Loves good soil and light shade. Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’ is an exceptionally tough, self-supporting Thalictrum with clouds of mauve flowers.
🌿 Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’
A well-known and widely grown shrub, especially valued for its enormous domed flower heads that begin pale green and fade to soft ivory with pink tones. In my garden, I grown both white and pink Annabelles. It does best in moist, part-shaded conditions, though it still needs careful siting. It’s happiest with afternoon shade and a little shelter from wind, as the large blooms can cause stems to flop. If you have rich soil or are heavy-handed with the fertiliser, these will need supporting. Beautiful at the back of a border where it can bulk up and surprise you each year.
🌿 Gillenia trifoliata
A graceful, airy perennial with delicate, star-shaped white flowers that dance on wiry red stems in early summer. It’s quickly become a firm favourite here. The finely divided, trifoliate leaves turn rich shades of orange and red in autumn, adding a second season of interest. Although often recommended for moist shade, it’s coped surprisingly well in drier parts of my garden too. Wherever it’s planted, that airy lightness never fails to lift heavier foliage around it.
🌿 Bistorta officinalis ‘Superba’
A bold and cheerful perennial that brings upright bottle-brush spikes of soft pink flowers from late spring into summer. The blooms hover above large, slightly crinkled green leaves, offering texture and colour in damp, partially shaded borders. Long-flowering and reliable, it’s also a good source of pollen for insects and works well woven among looser perennials or in generous clumps.
Other plants that are worth a look: Heuchera, Astilbe, Primula denticulata, Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal), Hellebore, Persicaria amplexicaulis, Brunnera, Pulmoniara
Scene Stealers: A Shady Scenario
A cushioned ground story of shimmering astrantias, accompanied by Silene fimbriata (fringed-flowered campion). Clumps of Gillenia with its starry white flowers rub shoulders with Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’, the red tones echoed in Gillenia’s stems. At the back, Japanese anemones and Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ spread freely while they wait for their moment to bloom. Above it all, Thalictrum delavayi floats with clouds of tiny mauve flowers.
Climbers That Rise to the Challenge
I use trees and yew topiary and Viburnum tinus standards for height and structure, but you can just as easily create vertical interest with obelisks and climbers.
Most climbing plants have evolved to start in the shade and grow up into the light. That said, some cope with low light far better than others. I grow honeysuckles, climbing hydrangeas, clematis, and even a few climbing and rambling roses.
Here’s a quick-fire list of climbers worth trying in shady spots:
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris (climbing hydrangea) – slow to get going, but so rewarding
Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' and Lonicera periclymenum cultivars (honeysuckle) – best with roots in shade, heads in sun
Clematis x durandii, Clematis alpina, and C. macropetala – tough and floriferous
Clematis montana – tolerates light shade, especially in open spaces
Rosa ‘Albéric Barbier’, ‘James Galway’, ‘Wedding Day’, 'Madame Alfred Carrière', ‘Albertine’, ‘Veilchenblau’, or ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’ – ramblers that don’t mind dappled light
Garrya elliptica 'James Roof'
You don’t need loads of sun to grow climbers. Just a bit of patience, good soil, and something sturdy to cling to.
So there we have it… some of the best plants I’ve found for bringing life, texture, and quiet drama to shady corners. Whether you're wrangling dry roots or curating a leafy understory, the right plant makes all the difference.
Next time, we’ll go beyond the plant list. I’ll share practical tips for preparing the soil, boosting light, and designing a shady space that doesn’t just survive, it thrives. Bring your notepad (and maybe a torch). It’s going to get practical.
This is super informative and helpful! I have been grappling with two shady spots-one dry and one went and this article is perfect! Thank you for taking the time to post.