The best shade-loving plants

When choosing plants for shade, the most important thing is to understand the type of shade you have – there are various kinds:

• Light shade means slight shade for all or most of the day
• Partial shade means plants are in sun for some of the day
• Dappled shade is blotchy shade created when the sun filters through overhead foliage

You also need to consider the soil in your shady spot, which would be damp or dry. All of these factors will determine which plants you can grow, as plants for dry shade differ significantly from plants for damp shade.

Alan Titchmarsh's favourite plants for shade

Alan Titchmarsh recommends his favourite plants for shade, including snowdrops, foxgloves and aquilegia:

When choosing plants for shade, remember that too many dark greens can make a shady area look gloomy. Instead, use them for background structure and texture, then bring the area alive by making use of pale, pastel colours. White, cream, pale yellow, lilac, light mauve and pale pink show up best. Add variegated plants for splashes of cream, yellow and white.

We recommend 20 of the best plants for shade, below.

Stinking iris

Stinking iris thrives in full shade, particularly beneath trees. It has architectural evergreen foliage and dull purple-green flowers, but it comes into its own in autumn when its large seedpods split open to reveal rows of orange-red seeds that remain well into winter. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it the prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Height x Spread: 75cm x 45cm

• Buy stinking iris at Jackson Nurseries, Burncoose Nurseries and De Jager

(Please note, some plants may not always be in stock at smaller nurseries, and at certain times of the year.)

Wood spurge

There are many varieties of spurge, but Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae is one of the loveliest. From late spring it bears lime-green flowers above dark green leaves. Perfect for dry shade, it works well beneath trees and woodland borders. Left unchecked it can become invasive. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 70cm x 1m

• Buy wood spurge at Crocus, Beth Chatto Nursery and Jackson Nurseries

Snowdrop

The snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, flowers at the end of winter, often pushing up through frozen ground and blooming for weeks until the daffodils appear. It thrives in full shade, particularly in heavy, moist soils. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 15cm x 8cm

• Buy snowdrops at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, Suttons, and J Parker's

Winter aconite

Aconites grow into clumps, eventually bearing masses of bright yellow flowers in late January and February. They thrive in damp shade so are perfect for growing in a damp, shady border or woodland garden. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 10cm x 5cm

• Buy winter aconites at Crocus, Suttons, J Parker's and Thompson & Morgan

Bellflower

There are many varieties of bellflower, most of which thrive in shade. Campanula lactiflora (pictured) bears pretty clusters of purple-blue bell-shaped flowers, above heart-shaped green leaves, from summer to autumn. It’s perfect for growing toward the back of a border and works well in traditional or cottage garden planting schemes. Like all bellflowers, its blooms are a magnet for bees and other pollinators.

H x S: 80cm x 60cm

• Buy bellflower at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Suttons

Foxglove

Our native foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is a woodland plant that thrives in dappled or partial shade. There are many cultivars and varieties that flower in different colours and have different shaped blooms. Most thrive in partial shade but some require more sun.

H x S: 1.5m x 45cm

• Buy foxglove at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Suttons

Granny's bonnet

Aquilegias are a charming, old-fashioned cottage garden plant with bonnet-shaped flowers, perfect for growing in partial shade. Aquilegia flabellata (pictured) is a dwarf columbine, bearing blue nodding flowers over a compact mound of waxy grey-green foliage. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 30cm x 15cm

• Buy granny's bonnet at Crocus, Suttons, J Parker's and Thompson & Morgan

Bleeding heart

Bleeding heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis (Dicentra), bears pink-red, heart-shaped flowers with white tips, which hang from arching flower stems in late spring to early summer. It grows well in light, damp shade and looks good growing in clumps amongst shrubs. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 60cm x 45cm

• Buy bleeding heart at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Suttons

Lungwort

Lungwort, Pulmonaria, is named after its mottled leaves, which are supposed to resemble lungs. Different varieties produce different leaf markings, which look their best in mid-spring when putting on fresh growth after flowering. They make excellent groundcover plants, especially for shady borders. Funnel-shaped flowers are borne in shades of blue, violet, pink, purple, red and white.

H x S: 50cm x 50cm

• Buy lungwort at Thompson & Morgan, Naturescape, J Parker's and Crocus

Siberian bugloss

Brunnera macrophylla is the perfect plant for shady gardens. With mid-green, heart-shaped foliage and forget-me-not-like blooms forming on tall stems, it’s great for edging paths and mixing with other shade-tolerant plants, particularly in woodland borders.

H x S: 45cm x 45cm

• Buy Siberian bugloss at Thompson & Morgan, Burncoose Nurseries, J Parker's and Crocus

Lords and ladies

A native woodland perennial, Lords-and-Ladies, Arum maculatum, is perfect for growing beneath trees and shrubs. It bears unusual spring flowers, followed by dense clusters of dark red berries.

H x S: 45cm x 45cm

• Buy lords and ladies from Naturescape, Ballyrobert Gardens and Shipton Bulbs

Cranesbill geraniums

There are many types of cranesbill geranium, many of which thrive in shade. Dusky cranesbill, Geranium phaeum (pictured) is particularly shade tolerant, and quickly grows to a dense weed-suppressing matt of green, deeply lobed leaves with distinctive purple blotches around the centre, from which small, nodding, purple flowers with yellow centres appear on tall stems, from late spring to early summer.

H x S: 90cm x 50cm

• Buy cranesbills from Thompson & Morgan, Suttons, J Parker's and Crocus

Hellebores

A winter-flowering staple in the cottage garden, hellebores thrive in dry shade, bearing large clusters of saucer-shaped flowers with white, pink, green, mauve or smoky purple flowers. Helleborus ‘Garden Red’ (pictured) bears single red flowers.

H x S: 30cm x 30cm

• Buy hellebores from Thompson & Morgan, Suttons, J Parker's and Crocus

Masterwort

Astrantias are superb perennials for growing in shade beneath under trees or in a moist border. They prefer moist soils but will tolerate drier conditions as long as the plants are mulched. Astrantia major ‘Gill Richardson’ (pictured) is a gorgeous variety with large, cherry red flowers.

H x S: 90cm x 25cm

• Buy astrantias at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan and Suttons

Hardy cyclamen

Hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen coum, is a pretty, hardy perennial, bearing delicate silver-lined dark green leaves and dainty blooms in shades of white, pink and red, from late winter to early spring. It’s perfect for growing in partial shade, at the base of small shrubs and trees, and naturalising in grass. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 8cm x 10cm

• Buy hardy cyclamen at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, and J Parker's

False goatsbeard

False goatsbeard, Astilbe, bears showy plumes of dramatic flowers, over fern-like foliage. It’s perfect for a shady corner, where its dramatic blooms add height and colour.

H x S: 60cm x 45cm

• Buy false goatsbeard from Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Van Meuwen

Solomon's seal

Solomon’s seal, Polygonatum x hybridum, is an old cottage garden plant, bearing graceful, arching stems with paired, oval leaves and dangling, green-tipped, white bell-shaped flowers from late spring to early summer. It’s perfect for growing in a partially shaded border or woodland planting scheme, and looks lovely paired with corydalis and bleeding heart.

H x S: 1.25m x 30cm

• Buy Soloman's seal at Crocus, Beth Chatto Nursery, J Parker's and Avon Bulbs

Himalayan blue poppy

Himalayan poppy, Meconopsis baileyi, bears spectacular, bowl-shaped blue flowers with bright yellow centres, in late spring to early summer. It makes a dramatic statement when grown en masse, and does best when grown in moist, neutral to acid soil in a partially shaded spot. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it the prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

H x S: 1.2m x 45cm

• Buy Himalayan poppy at Suttons, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Hayloft

Coral bells

Heucheras are attractive, mound-forming plants, perfect for growing in light shade. There are many heuchera cultivars to choose from, coming in a range of unusual colours and forms. Some are tolerant of dry soils while others prefer damper habitats.

H x S: 50cm x 40cm

• Buy heucheras at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Suttons

What is the easiest plant to grow in shade?

Ivy

In our experience, the easiest plant to grow in shade is English ivy, the ultimate shade-loving climber. It can be used to cover shady walls and trained to climb up or spread out along a low wall. Being evergreen, ivy is perfect for covering pergola poles, or creating a leafy backdrop beneath clematis and climbing roses. As an alternative to English ivy, consider Boston ivy.

H x S: 10m x 10m

• Buy ivy at Crocus, Thompson & Morgan, J Parker's and Suttons

In this short video, Monty Don selects two beautiful flowering perennials to add instant colour to borders in light or dappled shade. Watch and you'll see why he's chosen them: Thalictrum delavayi, with its airy froth of small mauve flowers, and the elegant white-flowered Japanese anemone Anemone x hybrida 'Whirlwind'. Plant them in summer and they'll flower into autumn, establishing quickly in the warm soil.

More advice on gardening in shade:

• Types of garden shade
• 20 plants for dry shade
• 10 best fruit crops for shade
• 10 best vegetables for shade
• Container plants for shade
• Climbers for a shady wall or fence
• 10 unusual perennials for shade