Suggestions for plants - north facing garden
Hi
Could anyone suggest any ideas for planting in my north facing front garden?
I have a long(ish) border which currently has box plants, primulas, daffodils (which don't flower like they used to).
I have a purple beech hedge along the other border so I don't want more beech.
Ideally I'd love a lavendar hedge but wonder how this would work out being a north facing garden. It can get alot of sun (when it makes an appearance) but I would worry about the lavendar surviving through the winter.
Although I love gardening I've had successes and failures over the years and I have a very active toddler so something which would be relatively easy to maintain, yet looks good, sounds appealing.
Thanks!
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Don't use lavender. Its mediterranean and needs hot, dry conditions. It would sulk if facing north. I've found that things like alchemilla and some of the evergreen hardy geraniums work well in shade. Also fuchsia magellanica aurea which brings a touch of lime to a darker border. Heuchers don't mind shade.....they're pretty versatile and can be happy in most situations. There are some pretty wild colours.
Hi Sarah247, I too have a north facing back garden, the bottom of the garden gets a lot of sun during the summer and I will be planting a mixed border with shrubs and perennials and a patch for cut flowers. ( it's a new build garden) The shady part only gets early morning sun and I will be planting hostas, ferns, astilbes, geraniums etc. It's surprising the variety of plants that will grow in shade, colourful too. My last house had a v shady area all year round and it was the best bit of the garden aways very lush. Just choose plants with lots of different textures, shapes and colours. Host as are my absolute favourite garden plant and tick all the boxes for me, just cover the whole area with gravel to keep the slugs away!
if you want something smelly how about trachelospermum. really good north-facing and scent is delightful,
The plants you choose will obviously depend on which part of the country you're in. Trachelospermum is lovely, but wouldn't grow in my NE facing garden here in the Pennines! Some lovely ideas above - and yes, it can be lush and colourful, as it's less likely to need huge amounts of watering than a constantly sunny bed.
Many garden centres have areas devoted to shade-loving plants.
http://www.plantsforshade.co.uk/
Someone posted this link a while back (might have been fidget) for shade loving plants for all conditions.