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31 of the best garden plants and evergreen shrubs for shade

Photo credit: Various
Photo credit: Various

• Want to know the best plants, flowers and evergreen shrubs for shade-covered gardens? Here, we list varieties that will thrive out of the sun, either in full or dappled shade.

• Follow our advice on how to treat soil for shrubs and plants that grow in the shade.

• Visit one of our top three recommended nurseries to buy shrubs for shady parts of your garden.


Shade is seldom constant. It varies according to the season and time of day, so the first step to understanding what will grow in a shady spot is to observe how the light changes. Once you know what you are dealing with, there are things you can do.

Unless deep shade appeals to you, judicious pruning will make a shady space much easier to manage. Thinning the canopy and removing the lower branches of trees (you may need planning permission for this), as well as lifting the skirts of shrubs, will let in more light, allow rain to penetrate the soil more easily and create better growing conditions. But bear in mind that, over time, trees and shrubs re-grow and shade will deepen once more, so cut back regularly or plants may fail to thrive.


How to choose the best shrubs for shade in your garden

Choose shrubs for year-round interest, including blossoms for spring, flowers for summer, berries and vibrant leaf colour for autumn and evergreens for winter. Many shade gardens are at their best in spring when bulbs, primroses, wood anemones and hellebores carpet the ground beneath deciduous trees before the leaf canopy opens and excludes much of the light.

Summer shade planting seldom has the same impact, but the good news is that there are tough perennials, such as epimediums, ferns, lily of the valley and hardy geraniums, that can provide ground cover and create a backdrop for some of summer's best shady characters, including the white form of foxglove, martagon lilies, lamiums and Japanese anemones. For the best effect, choose white or pale tones to stand out against the largely green backdrop.


15 best shade loving plants

1. Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Ballerina'

This small tree does well in semi-shade, tolerating deeper shade in summer. Best bought multi-stemmed, unless space is limited, it provides clouds of white flowers and coppery young foliage in spring, summer berries and vivid autumn colour.

2. Hakonechloa Macra or 'Japanese forest grass'

Known as Japanese forest grass, this vibrant deciduous plant thrives in damp shade and has mounds of cascading leaves. Variegated and golden forms are the most eye-catching and will have the brightest colour in partial shade. Good in pots.

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3. Melica Uniflora

Described by Beth Chatto as "quietly attractive", this deciduous native grass grows in woodland, on shady banks and in alkaline soils. It forms upright clumps with stems of dainty rice-like flowers and, once established, will self-seed readily.

4. Ferns

Happy to grow in inhospitable spots, many of these plants are evergreen, and there's a huge range of shapes and sizes – from shiny leaved asplenium to tough polystichum and the elegant, moisture-loving Osmunda regalis.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden

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5. Hedera helix or Ivy

A shade-loving climbing plant, English ivy is great for adding greenery as well as covering less attractive spots in a garden, like a wall or manmade structure.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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6. Hydrangeas

Once established, these shrubs will provide reliable summer colour beneath trees or on the shady side of a garden. Tough and resilient, they come in a variety of sizes and different forms, including climbers.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden

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7. Epimediums grandiflorum or 'barrenwort'

Reliable in dry shade, the evergreen varieties of this plant make excellent ground cover with their wiry branching stems and heart-shaped leaves. Trim clumps with shears in spring so emerging flowers can be seen above the foliage.

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8. Hardy Geraniums

This useful plant does well, even in dry shade. G. endressii and G. x oxonianum can be pretty thuggish and self-seed freely, but G. macrorrhizum, G. phaeum and G. versicolor make good ground-cover plants in full or partial shade.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden

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9. Clematis

Spring-flowering C. montana and autumn-blooming C. viticella are good climbers for shady spots. Like all clematis, they prefer their roots in shade and heads in sun, so plant them where they can scramble up a wall or through a tree or shrub.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus


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10. Helleborus Orientalis or Hellebore

Invaluable in winter and spring, these leathery leaved perennials are tougher than their delicate drooping heads might indicate. Plant on a bank or where you can look up into the flowers. H. foetidus, the stinking hellebore, only smells if you touch it and does well in very dry shade.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden

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11. Persicaria virginiana 'Lance Corporal'

This perennial foliage plant deserves to be better known. Happy in partial or full shade, its bright green leaves have striking dark chevron markings. It prefers a moisture-retentive soil but will grow in dry shade and self-seed if you are lucky.

12. Tellima Grandiflora or 'fringe cups'

A semi-evergreen, tallish, ground-cover perennial that does well planted around trees. It sends up spires of white or green-tinged bell-shaped flowers above rosettes of leaves from May to July. Although it prefers a moisture-retentive soil, it will do almost as well in dry shade.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus


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13. Tiarella Cordifolia or 'foam flower'

In late spring and early summer, this evergreen perennial bears attractive foamy white flower spikes, held just above its robust heuchera-like leaves. The foliage takes on bronze tints in autumn. A good choice for dense, dry shade.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus


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14. Galium Odoratum or 'sweet woodruff'

Sweet woodruff hugs the ground with whorls of foliage and starry white flowers in spring and early summer. It dies back for a few months, re-emerging in early autumn. Great beneath hellebores, among ferns or in dark corners, but it can be rampant.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden


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15. Cyclamen Coum and Cyclamen Hederifolium

C. coum flowers in late winter and early spring and needs a damp soil, while C. hederifolium is happy in dry shade and blooms in August and September. Plant both where they will not be disturbed and, once established, they will spread beneath deciduous trees.

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16. Astrantia

A great perennial for herbaceous borders, astrantia naturally grows in damp ground at the edge of woodland and will do best in similar garden conditions. A moisture-retentive soil is essential for it to grow well.

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17. Iris foetidissima or 'stinking iris'

Given the Award of Garden Merit by the RHS, this iris thrives in shade and particularly likes to live under a tree. It looks most beautiful in autumn when its seed pods split open and bright orange seeds protrude. It also has evergreen foliage and dark purple flowers.

Photo credit: Goldfinch4ever - Getty Images
Photo credit: Goldfinch4ever - Getty Images

18. Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae or 'wood spurge'

This particular euphorbia offers contrast through has lime-green leaves and darker, purple-tinged leaves. It loves dry shade and woodland borders but can become invasive if left unchecked.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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19. Galanthus nivalis or snowdrop

Their arrival is one of the first signs that winter in drawing to a close and snowdrops are known for thriving around the base of a tree. They like heavy, moist soil and are in bloom for weeks.

Photo credit: Waitrose Garden
Photo credit: Waitrose Garden

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20. Foxgloves

Digitalis purpurea is the UK-native foxglove that grows wild in woodlands. It thrives in dappled or partial shade. Some varieties of foxglove do require a bit more sun so be sure to research their different requirements.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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21. Kalmia latifolia or Mountain laurel

Mountain laurel is native to North America where it grows wild in woodland settings. When planted, it needs cool, rich, acidic soil and prefers partial shade. It has evergreen leaves all year round and displays beautiful white and red flowers in late spring.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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22. Emerald and Gold Euonymus

Named after the two colours which adorn its leaves, this shrub gets brighter in full sun but survives well in partial shade, too. If in a shady spot, it might not be so bright in autumn. Do not confuse this type of euonymus for its invasive cousin Euonymus alatus or 'burning bush'.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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23. Yews

Known for their festive feel, yews will thrive in sun, partial shade or full shade. Similar to other Christmassy foliage, they are needled evergreen shrubs with small, red cones. They are tough and resilient but do note that yews can be poisonous so be wary with pets and children.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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24. Aucuba japonica

Aucuba is an evergreen shrub that can grow in partial or full shade. There are many types, most with lovely speckled leaves and, if planted alongside the opposite sex, will produce red berries in early spring. They like moist, well-drained soil.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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25. Rhododendron

There are lots of varieties and colours of rhododendron that will flower in spring. They like partial shade and acidic soil. They can grow large if not pruned.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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26. Buxus sempervirens or 'Boxwood'

Known for its pruning potential and the ability to create personalised shapes, the common boxwood is great for landscaping and can grow in partial shade and well-drained soil.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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27. Hamamelis virginiana or 'common witch hazel'

Witch hazel can grow in partial shade. It is a tall shrub which can grow to tree height if left to its own devices. People also like to use extracts from witch hazel for its skin benefits.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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28. Ilex aquifolium or 'English holly'

Another festive shrub, English holly, with its spiky evergreen leaves and winter red berries, does well in partial shade. It's great to cut and bring indoors come Christmas or use as part of a wreath.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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29. Viburnum davidii

There are many varieties of viburnum that like a shady spot. They can feature evergreen leaves and delicate, fragrant white flowers.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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30. Pachysandra

A dwarf evergreen shrub, pachysandra likes dry shade. Known as 'green carpet', it's great for glossy greenery.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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31. Enkianthus cernuus var. rubens

With bell-shaped flowers in spring and fiery colours in autumn, enkianthus is a visually appealing shrub that likes partial shade.

Photo credit: Crocus
Photo credit: Crocus

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How to know what kind of soil you have

Soil conditions (like light) can vary throughout the year: damp in spring but dry once the tree canopy develops, prone to flooding in winter, but free-draining the rest of the year – or permanently dry. It is essential to choose plants that are well adapted to your soil type.

Moisture-loving shade plants will never thrive in a dry soil. Humus-rich damp shade is good news. Dry shade is low in fertility and can repel water, but it can be improved by digging over the soil, removing intrusive roots and adding compost or soil conditioner.

Nurture plants in their first year, water in dry weather and liquid feed until they are growing strongly. An annual mulch with composted bark or leaf mould will keep all shady soils in good condition and suppress weeds: apply it after rain or a thorough watering.

Nurseries for shade-loving plants

  • The Beth Chatto Gardens Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex (01206 822007; bethchatto.co.uk)

  • Long Acre Plants Charlton Musgrove, nr Wincanton, Somerset (01963 32802; plantsforshade.co.uk)

  • The Plantsman's Preference Church Road, South Lopham, Diss, Norfolk (01379 710810; plantpref.co.uk)

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