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Suggestions for a colourful border in partial shade

FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
in Plants
I want to plant a new herbaceous border which gets afternoon sun from March till September but little to no sun the rest of the year. I like to have flowers in succession through the whole of the year and would particularly like suggestions for plants which flower in late summer/early autumn. In an ideal world I’d be planting things like helenium, rudbeckia, echinacea (would they be classed as prairie planting?) but all I can think of are anemones and geums and reverting to shorter plants like geranium and hosta. 

The soil is neutral and well drained to dry, although I’m planning to use the no dig method for the first time - so I don’t know how much difference that will make in the long term. 

The border is 6ft deep and 30ft wide, relatively sheltered, and in the North East of England nowhere near the coast. 

What would you plant there?
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  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I have a bed like that. The main problem is that many plants need staking and they grow taller than they should, reaching for the sun. I have heleniums, rudbeckias, alstromeria "Indian Summer", Michaelmas daisies, geraniums of different sorts, campanulas, autumn anemones, veronicas, salvias, most still have some flowers now. Once they get going in summer sun they still seem OK in the shady autumn. I think warmth and light are what they need at this time of year. If it rains a lot and/or is very cloudy the flowering isn't so good.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Foxwillow Could you plan a rethink? Is there another border for your Prarie plants in full sun. I think you will be disappointed with poor flowering otherwise. The other alternative is trial and error to see what will work. Do you have plants you could lift and split and see how they do over winter? I think this could be a long term experiment to see what might work. Spending money on plants that hate their growing conditions it not a good idea.
    @Busy-Lizzie has made some suggestions also Rudbeckia goldstrum or similiar with Solidago Fireworks and all the campanulas. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    edited October 2022
    I have Crocosmia and Persicaria, latter still flowering well, in a north facing border so should be perfectly happy in yours.
    I would have thought Rudbeckia would be fine. 

    How about Miscanthus for late summer display and colour, I have Malepartus which has flowers with a lovely deep plum colour when the first emerge.

    The perennial sunflower Helianthenum Lemon Queen is happy in similar conditions to yours in my sisters garden. Flowers until the first frosts

    If there are plants you’d really love to have, I would try them anyway. Plants don’t read the text books and sometimes thrive where they aren’t supposed too. As Busy-Lizzie says they may grow slightly more leggy or have a few less flowers but look lovely. 
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Not sure about echinacea, it’s a definite leaner toward the sun, shorter heleniums might be ok, rudbeckia, crocosmia and even some achilleas would be fine. Crocosmia Emily Mckensie is a late flowerer and that and Achillea Safran are happy in only a few hours of sun for me in a west-facing border. In fact both crisped and would’ve appreciated more shade this year! Some hardy geraniums can get pretty big - Rozanne is a real trouper for me in just morning sun. I have a warmer summer, but sometimes that means drought-tolerant sun lovers can do fine in much less sun, but I also think some experimentation is in order. Of course the beauty of most perennials is that you can try with one of each, split the successful ones for more plants and discard the fails without breaking the bank.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Crocosmia will flower in shade but if soil is dry it could be shy to flower. You could try grasses but I think they will be slow in the spring to get going. If you are ok with poorer flowering then have a go but plants are expensive.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited October 2022
    Flowers are a very personal thing.  I would show my garden and give advice but never make a recommendation.

    Try to visit gardens open near you in the season. Google open gardens.   If possible try to make a visit to RHS Harlow Carr.  The staff are always pleased to stop and talk.

    Don't be tempted by what you see in a garden centre.  Do some research.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Hardy fuchsia would probably do well in that situation.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
    Thanks everyone for your suggestions and real life experiences with my favoured plants. Due to the length of the border, I’ll look at moving the echinacea further from the shade cast through autumn and winter and will bear in mind the staking requirements for some of the other plants. 

    I am terrible for buying and propagating plants so have too many quite a few already, and I’m pleased persicaria has been mentioned as I’ve got several varieties that I’d love to be using. 

    I’ve not thought of prairie type grasses as I had a grass border in a previous garden and it always ended up looking fairly scruffy but I might pay a bit more attention to Miscanthus if it gives a good autumn colour. 

    Does anyone have a Cotinus or Rosa Glauca growing well in a part shaded position like this or should I aim to plant them at the sunnier end of this border?
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Rosa glauca will grow well in partial shade.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I have three different Cotinus varieties, all growing in different situations, one full sun all day, one gets afternoon sun only and another gets about two hours of afternoon sun. The dark leaved varieties are faster growing in full sun, but still grow strongly with some shade. I also have a green leaved variety which seems to prefer some shade and retains a nice lime green colour instead of going yellow as it would in full sun.  Your border seems to provide sun at the most important time of year when foliage is developing so I'd give it a try!  It really is one of the most attractive shrubs and makes a good companion for flowering perennials.

    Helenium Sahin's early flowerer would also be fine, and for a filler at the front of a border Erigeron karvinskianus grows in many situations in my garden, including a spot with less than two hours of morning sun, then light shade, and it still flowers up until December!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


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