Another option (less traily) would be Heuchera - Lime Marmalade and Country Rose are thriving in the same dark spot as my Epimedium. Mine have proved evergreen, albeit not as fulsome through the winter. They put out flower spikes in summer.
My favourite ground cover plant is ajuga and I have it growing well in some fairly shaded parts of the garden. It spreads by sideways growing shoots so would in time hang out over the edge of a raised planter. Here is a clip that shows one that has spread to cover an area of my own garden and this includes some area of stone around where it was originally planted.
I like the looks of Heuchera too, the variety of leaf shapes amongst all of the suggestions is very appealing for the added interest it will provide. And if some are less traily than others, that’s not such an issue as long as some of it is.
One quite good trailing plant is smaller forms of ivy, Hedera helix, which can actually be combined with other, flowering things if you wanted. There's also Euonymus fortunei.
I have seen Bacopa 'Snowflake', which is not supposed to be either shade- or frost-tolerant, working really well in a semi-shaded container and surviving overwinter. I haven't tried it myself.
Bacopa snowflake looks good- thanks for the suggestion. I’m not a huge fan of the Euonymus and I’m having a long-running, irritating battle with ivy in the garden so I’m reluctant to add more, although if it’s contained I may come to like it?
My favourite ground cover plant is ajuga and I have it growing well in some fairly shaded parts of the garden. It spreads by sideways growing shoots so would in time hang out over the edge of a raised planter. Here is a clip that shows one that has spread to cover an area of my own garden and this includes some area of stone around where it was originally planted.
Thanks, I like the flower stems but is it evergreen?
My favourite ground cover plant is ajuga and I have it growing well in some fairly shaded parts of the garden. It spreads by sideways growing shoots so would in time hang out over the edge of a raised planter. Here is a clip that shows one that has spread to cover an area of my own garden and this includes some area of stone around where it was originally planted.
Thanks, I like the flower stems but is it evergreen?
Yes the leaves stay on year round but the growth is more filled out at the times of the year when the weather is warmer. I have a couple of purple leaved varieties and one that has a multicoloured variegation. The purple leaf type may be more stable as I found the multicoloured one had some parts that reverted to green leaf growth but then it does have the advantage of being a bit brighter.
I was looking at that for another part of the garden after seeing it somewhere recently. Another one where I like flower stems (and I never thought I’d be particularly interested in flowers when I took on the garden responsibilities).
You don't mention the area space you have for the plant. Hypericum Calycinum will spread and drape over the edges of your planter. Once established a tough plant that should do fine in those conditions.
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Yes the leaves stay on year round but the growth is more filled out at the times of the year when the weather is warmer. I have a couple of purple leaved varieties and one that has a multicoloured variegation. The purple leaf type may be more stable as I found the multicoloured one had some parts that reverted to green leaf growth but then it does have the advantage of being a bit brighter.