Cottage Gardens in the Shadows: A Guide to the Best Plants for Shade
Blooming Shade-Loving Plants for Your Garden: Enhance your garden's charm with these shade-tolerant flowers and lush foliage plants.
Looking to bring a touch of cottage charm to your less-sunny spots? Fear not, for many of the best plants for a cottage garden thrive in shade! With their woodland origins, these beauties are well-versed in the art of growing in darker environments. Here's our handpicked list of the top cottage garden plants that can shine even in the shadows, along with a few recommendations to help you get started.
1. Foxgloves
The quintessential cottage garden staple always takes the limelight, and for good reason! If you're familiar with growing foxgloves, you'll know these nodding blooms are at home in a shady spot much like their woodland dwellings. Garden designer Harriet Worsley cuts to the chase, "Foxgloves are fantastic for a cottage garden style. They tolerate semi-shade and grow in open glades between trees, as well as sunny hedgerows in the wild."
For a classic choice, check out Digitalis purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot' from Crocus.
2. Bleeding Hearts
With their delicate heart-shaped spring flowers, Bleeding Hearts are close to perfection - almost too pretty to be true! Garden expert David Fryer remarks, "The white 'Alba' variety offers something different." You can grab Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba' from Crocus for just £9.99.
3. Hellebores
If you've got some partial or even full shade spots in your garden, learning how to grow hellebores is a must! These winter-blooming gems are the epitome of cottage garden plants that love shade, and they provide an elegant touch to even the darkest corners of the garden during the colder months.
Helleborus x hybridus 'Double Ellen Red' from Gardening Express produces brilliant purple-red flowers.
4. Hostas
Don't be deceived by the humble hosta! Despite being often overlooked, these shade-loving perennials form a solid foundation for other flowering plants in your garden. Garden experts from Cherry Lane Garden Centres say, "Hostas, ornamental grasses, and ferns offer texture and variation, working especially well when grouped in containers or old wooden crates in smaller or shaded corners."
Start your adventure with this hosta collection from Thompson & Morgan, from just £12.99!
5. Oakleaf Hydrangeas
These larger plants are made forfilling largerspaces in your garden. Those curious about which hydrangea to plant should consider oakleaf hydrangeas. Their oakleaf-shaped leaves complement the conical flower clusters, offering a romantic, whimsical feel that suits the cottage garden aesthetic.
You can order a Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' plant from Thompson & Morgan for £14.99.
Other hydrangea varieties make great candidates as well. David from Mr Fothergill's notes, "The lime green, cone-shaped blooms of Hydrangea paniculata 'Mojito' offer long-lasting colour from midsummer through to autumn." Hydrangea 'Mojito' can be found at Thompson & Morgan for £10.
6. Cyclamen
Native to woodlands, cyclamen spread naturally year after year, forming a carpet of heart-shaped blooms in pots and borders during the winter. They're the perfect addition to any cottage garden, even in shaded areas.
For a delicate, white-blushed-purple variety, check out Cyclamen coum subsp. coum f. pallidum 'Album' from Crocus.
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- For those interested in home-and-garden lifestyle, learning how to grow hellebores is essential for adding elegance to the shady corners of a garden.
- Garden design enthusiasts might want to consider incorporating foxgloves, with their charming woodland origins, as they thrive in semi-shade and can add a touch of cottage charm to shadier spots.
