Ideas for shady spots

The power of foliage plants

Impatiens omeiana

I think we all have a corner of the garden that for one reason or another is unloved; an area that we studiously ignore every time we walk past it because it takes too much effort to get it right. My unloved corner is a border in fairly dense shade underneath an oak tree. It’s quite a small border, hurriedly made when I first moved here, and I hardly ever give it any thought. It is anchored by two gawky Euonymus ‘Green Rocket’ which have grown unchecked into unattractive, sentry-like shapes, and the whole border is being taken over by the wood spurge, Euphorbia x robbiae, which is more than happy to spread in the dry shade under the tree. There are some lovely Japanese anemones in there and a Soloman’s seal that someone gave me, plus a couple of ferns and some pheasant’s grass that is being encroached by a wayward laurel. At the back is a large, unruly philadelphus to hide the oil tank. You get the picture - it’s a tricky space to get right.