BBS - your Magic Dragon looks perfect for this new garden. I shall try and find some seeds.
I grew Lemon Queen in my last garden and had to move it to poor soil in full sun to calm its vigour. Gorgeous but a bit too exhuberant in good soil. I've brought a bit here for this garden and so far it's doing very well in partial shade from a small, nearby tree but then it does get a full blast when the sun comes round. It's certainly very dry there so I hope it will thrive without becoming a thug.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
@Richard Hodson having googled the helianthus, all sellers and the rhs site say it needs full sun. Presumably yours does ok in some shade then? I know we don't always have to slavishly follow labels but I guess it might take a few seasons to get a plant used to less than totally ideal conditions?
No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.
We are on reclaimed marshland, wet in Winter, dry in Summer. This perennial grows happily in both our mixed side borders, in the shade part of the day, even spreading into the bordering shrubs
I have Helianthus Lemon Queen on fairly poor, slightly acidic sandy soil (well-drained in winter, dries out in summer) in a spot that gets morning sun only, and it's fine. They don't get as tall as they would in better conditions, but they have plenty of flowers. It's a late summer to autumn flowerer though, it doesn't get going until August.
I have some of the shrubby salvias in my west-facing front garden so they don't get the sun until midday, but they don't get to 1 metre high.
Geranium psilostemon might be worth considering (it certainly has the bright colour).
Knautia macedonica has tall (but floppy) flower stems, but the bulk of the foliage is lower, and mine seed themselves into part-shaded areas as well as sunny ones. They'll start early and keep going if you deadhead.
You might be better off with late-summer perennials mixed in with tall biennials for May/June colour (foxgloves or honesty, maybe the dark-leaved cow parsley if foliage colour counts).
PS don't know why my post appeared here instead of at the end of the thread
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I have Lemon Queen in various locations around my garden in average soil. The clump in the shadier part seems to flower later than the others, but also for longer.
I have Helianthus 'Lemon Queen in a shady position - currently 7ft tall and blooming madly. I shall also be splitting the clump very soon. My garden is part shade in many areas and I have had success with many 'sun-loving' perennials e.g. Helenium 'Sahn's Early Flowering ( does what it says, flowers from June to October),Lysimachia 'Firecracker' Polemonium (May - July and often a second flowering later) Geranium 'Brookside' Phlox, Campanula lactiflora 'Loddon Anna', Foxgloves,and many more. Not all will flower together, but there is always something coming up or 'having another go' after being cut back. Shade doesn't have to be a problem. Try experimenting, you will be surprised what happens. Good luck
A gardener's work is never at an end - (John Evelyn 1620-1706)
BBS - your Magic Dragon looks perfect for this new garden. I shall try and find some seeds.
I grew Lemon Queen in my last garden and had to move it to poor soil in full sun to calm its vigour. Gorgeous but a bit too exhuberant in good soil. I've brought a bit here for this garden and so far it's doing very well in partial shade from a small, nearby tree but then it does get a full blast when the sun comes round. It's certainly very dry there so I hope it will thrive without becoming a thug.
It is a wonderful plant, one of my top favourites. But it doesn’t reproduce by seeds, it is a hybrid, so you would need to look out for a plant to buy. I got mine from Waitrose this summer but since then i also saw it in local garden centers too.
How about some of the taller growing penstemons? Mine have been flowering all summer but only about 18 inches high. There are taller growing ones around.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
According to my Claire Austin book on perennials,tall long lasting flowers are Astrantia "Roma" and Persicaria "Darjeeling Red" both for partial shade May to Sept. There's quite a few more that will flower June to Aug of course.
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I grew Lemon Queen in my last garden and had to move it to poor soil in full sun to calm its vigour. Gorgeous but a bit too exhuberant in good soil. I've brought a bit here for this garden and so far it's doing very well in partial shade from a small, nearby tree but then it does get a full blast when the sun comes round. It's certainly very dry there so I hope it will thrive without becoming a thug.
I have Helianthus Lemon Queen on fairly poor, slightly acidic sandy soil (well-drained in winter, dries out in summer) in a spot that gets morning sun only, and it's fine. They don't get as tall as they would in better conditions, but they have plenty of flowers. It's a late summer to autumn flowerer though, it doesn't get going until August.
I have some of the shrubby salvias in my west-facing front garden so they don't get the sun until midday, but they don't get to 1 metre high.
Geranium psilostemon might be worth considering (it certainly has the bright colour).
Knautia macedonica has tall (but floppy) flower stems, but the bulk of the foliage is lower, and mine seed themselves into part-shaded areas as well as sunny ones. They'll start early and keep going if you deadhead.
You might be better off with late-summer perennials mixed in with tall biennials for May/June colour (foxgloves or honesty, maybe the dark-leaved cow parsley if foliage colour counts).
PS don't know why my post appeared here instead of at the end of the thread
My garden is part shade in many areas and I have had success with many 'sun-loving' perennials e.g. Helenium 'Sahn's Early Flowering ( does what it says, flowers from June to October),Lysimachia 'Firecracker'
Not all will flower together, but there is always something coming up or 'having another go' after being cut back. Shade doesn't have to be a problem. Try experimenting, you will be surprised what happens. Good luck