Australian native violetĭon't forget about the wide selection of flowers to pack your shady spots with colour. Once established this plant needs very little maintenance and will tolerate salt spray, drought and light frost.ĭicondra repens, also known as kidney creeper is a vigorous, low-growing perennial with pretty foliage that spreads quickly with little care.Īustralian native violet ( Viola hederacea) thrives in moist areas and will give you a rich carpet of green, accented with pretty little flowers.ġ. Many varieties provide an attractive carpet of colour, like fan flower ( Scaevola), a tough and impressive groundcover covered in blue-mauve blooms almost year-round.Ĭreeping boobialla ( Myoporum) has narrow, dark-green leaves and white, star-shaped flowers with a sweet perfume through spring and summer. Mondo grass ( Ophiopogon japonicus) is an obvious choice as it’s very much a set-and-forget plant and looks much like grass. As a bonus, most are slow-growing which equals even less maintenance. Taking advantage of low-growing groundcovers will also crowd out weeds, making your shade garden easier to maintain. Most turf struggles without enough light, so try shade-loving groundcovers instead. Groundcover plants for small shade gardens
This fast-growing plant will tolerate most soil, plus drought and root-competition.ġ. If your soil is ordinary and you haven’t had much luck with other plants, try plectranthus. Also known as the cast iron plant, aspidistra’s deep-green blade-like leaves will grow completely carefree in even the densest shade. If you want to keep this large plant in check, you can also grow it in a large container.įor ornate foliage that looks like it’s been hand-painted, decorate your shade garden with calathea, ctenanthe Burle-Marxii, prayer plant and rex begonia.īromeliads are your best bet if you want to add a tropical touch. Like hosta, fatsia also has huge leaves, which are deeply lobed. Try coleus and heuchera for an incredible array of shades, from scarlet to fuchsia to lime. Other similarly bright plants will shine in the shade and illuminate your shady garden - so take advantage of them. Hostas comes in a range of shades, from deep blue-green to bright yellow. From foliage to flowering, groundcover to climbing, discover the best plants for creating a shade garden in your small space.īy their very nature, foliage plants with big leaves are happiest in the shade because they’ve developed bigger leaves to help them catch more light for photosynthesis - and shade-loving foliage doesn’t get much bigger than hostas.