Shade cottage plants

Plants suited to a shade cottage planting scheme.

A shaded cottage border keeps the romantic, abundant spirit of the traditional cottage garden but swaps the sun-loving roses and delphiniums for plants that flower happily out of direct light. The principle is the same, generous, informal, densely planted with self-seeders allowed to wander, but the palette draws on woodland-edge favourites: foxgloves, hardy geraniums, columbines, hellebores and primroses, lifted with plenty of pale flower to glow in the gloom. Enrich the soil with leaf mould and keep it moist. The mistake is forcing full-sun cottage staples into shade, where they grow leggy and shy. These plants give that soft, overflowing cottage look in a north or east-facing border, or under the dappling of trees.

Border Builder is a garden border planner for iPhone and iPad. Pick from the 241 plants below and it works them into a full plan: how many of each, where they go, and how the bed reads through the seasons.

241 plants for this

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