PLANTS FOR SHADY BORDERS

Evening Star, Issue 22881, 12 February 1938, Page 21

PLANTS FOR SHADY BORDERS

A CHOICE OF SUITABLE KINDS. Even -if your garden does not contain the ideal position for an herbaceous border—one which is open and sunny—it is still possible to grow many beautiful border plants even in the most difficult of places (writes a contributor in ‘ Popular Gardening,’ London). The shaded border, for instance, can be made attractive , provided the right plants are chosen. Foxgloves are ideal for the purpose. Choose the Shirley strain, for this develops large flowers of various colours, ranging from white to deep pink and attractively spotted with yellow and dark brown. Lilies of the valley do best in the shade, but they must have a deep, rich soil to do really well. Bleeding heart (dicentra spectabilis) ; which grows 18in high and bears arching stems of pink and white heart-shaped flowers, thrives in a sunless border; so does leopard’s bane (doronicum), the large daisy-like yellow flowers of which are so valuable for cutting in spring. Among the bellflowers (campanulas) there are several which flourish in the shade: C. latiloba, pale blue, 2ft; 0. latifolia macrantha, violet, 3ft; and C. persicifolia, light blue, 3ft, are suitable. The Japanese anemone (anemone japonica) is a beautiful hardy plant for a shady border. It revels in loose leafy soil and does not like being disturbed. Other plants suitable for the same purpose include spiraea, aconitum, aqmlegia, cimioifuga racemosa. funkia, mimulns, Solomon’s seal, and thalictrum.