The Best Shade-Loving Plants

Many gardens have shady areas, where sun-loving plants won’t thrive. The good news is that there’s plenty of plants that can tolerate or even do better in a shaded position.

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 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 thrives in full shade, particularly beneath trees. It has architectural