Shadey Side suggestions

[Scubapauly]

Hi All,

I need recommendations for wildlife attracting plant to go along the shadey side of my garden. 2 sides, get plenty of sunshine but one is really lacking. All suggestions welcomed.

Paul

[Cotham Marble]

Some info would help re: Size ? Type ? e.g shrub, small tree, ground cover; also total area for planting ?

CM

[Jason Green]

A scented variety of honeysuckle? Try L. periclymenum which has a normal-strength odour during the day, but then doubles and attracts hawkmoths by evening/night...

I believe it grows to 12ft creeping around a fence or trellis (though cutting should keep it in check?), and is thick enough to allow birds to roost inside, whilst the scent will attract insects, etc. by day.

HTH

[Scubapauly]

Thanks for the replies. The area concerned is about 1m x 8m (its a small garden). At the moment there are 3 bluebells and a ballerina type apple tree.

[paddy]

Foxgloves - bumbles love the big ones! Presumably if it's not getting much sun, it remains fairly damp?

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Scubapauly

Thanks for the replies. The area concerned is about 1m x 8m (its a small garden). At the moment there are 3 bluebells and a ballerina type apple tree.

With an 8 metre run it's worth thinking about the overall design, rather than dotting single plants.

You don't say whether there is a hedge, wall or fence - assuming the latter then certainly start with climbers. Personally I'm a bit dubious about using honeysuckles in an area where they get no sun at all. In a no sun area, I would suggest Ivy as the safest bet as it is everygreen and provides both year round shelter for inverterbrates and winter food for birds. As an alternative hops (Humulus lupulus) would make an interesting addition - it attracts comma butterflies and supports aphids which attract two spot ladybirds - hops have the draw back of dying back to the root stock each winter although they establish far quicker than Ivy so you'll get summer wall/fence coverage faster than if you use Ivy.

With the the wall/fence supporting a climber, I would suggest densely planting the full 8 metre run (including below the apple tree) with Woodruff (Galium odoratum), Yellow archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon), Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria - note this will likely need canes to support the flower spikes), and Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Vulgaris). All of these are easy to propogate so you don't have start out planting the whole area, and the whole lot can simply be trimmed back with shears in late winter. The flowering period will be limited to April to June but you will gets bees, hoverflies and moths.

If you do have a hedge rather than wall/fence, then the above will work as an underplanting though you may need to pay more attention to conditioning the soil with moisture retaining compost and supplementing summer rainful with some watering.

CM

[Jez]

I'd like to add a few more plants which do well in shade and beneficial to wildlife! Hellebores, Primroses, Pulmonaria, Red Campions, Angelica, Wood Cranesbill, Welsh Poppy, Wood forget-me-not, Nettle Leaved Bellflower, Hedge Wondwort, sweet violet, Wild Clematis( Travellers Joy/ Old Man's Beard), Field Rose, Clematis Macropatala, Clematis Spring Beauty, Martagon Lily.

[cwilk]

agree with the o.p. about Angelica!
It does well in shade, has lovely architechtural leaves and flowers and mine was absolutely covered in bees all summer. It was planted under a sycamore tree, did really well. Warning though - they grow big and self seed everywhere!

[Gaina]

I just saw Cotham Marble's suggestion of Woodruff and I second that - it's growing in profusion down the side of our garage and the smell is gorgeous as well as being extremely pretty . I have to say I've not seen any butterflies or moths on it though, so I am not sure what it attracts insect-wise.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Gaina

I just saw Cotham Marble's suggestion of Woodruff and I second that - it's growing in profusion down the side of our garage and the smell is gorgeous as well as being extremely pretty . I have to say I've not seen any butterflies or moths on it though, so I am not sure what it attracts insect-wise.

As far as daytime feeders are concerned I've only noticed a few types of small hoverfly (not sure about species), however many white flowered plants are specialist night time attracters and I would guess that applies to woodruff, although I've not tried to establish what the nightshift might consist of in my garden. The Natural England website records the Elephant Hawk moth as being associated though I've yet to see one: Woodruff - Galium odoratum - Natural England

Woodruff is very useful in a planting scheme because although it works as very low ground cover, it does not grow so dense that other plants can't be grown through it, so one can create vertical layering. Woodruff is also, unlike a lot of shade tolerant flowering plants, pretty drought tolerant.

CM