20/09/2026
πΈβ¨ Garden Glow up for a shady border β¨οΈπΈ
Another garden transformation in Helensburgh β and this time, a north-facing shady border that gets just a few hours sunshine. My client wanted a cottage border with lots of colour and year round interest. I enriched the soil and added a mix of evergreens, shrubs and perennials that will spread out and fill the area nicely.
I chose plants for height that will really show off next year - Japanese Anemones, Astilbes and Monkshood π. Then there are some mid height plants and some low growing spillers like geraniums. And not to forget some carefully selected evergreens like Viburnum, Sarcoccca, Skimmia and Heucheras.
There were a few things I needed to consider when designing this space:
π± Ground elder
There were some ground elder issues, so I incorporated lots of spreading and groundcover plants to help suppress it and fill the space naturally over time.
πΏ Shade & evening sun
This border gets a few hours of evening sunshine, so I carefully selected plants that would thrive in these conditions, while making sure the deepest shade areas were planted with genuine shade-lovers.
πPinks, Purples & Blues
My client loves these colours so they feature heavily throughout the planting. There are also lots of spring and summer plants that will really come into their own next year!
πΈ Year-round interest
Some of the plants might not look like much just yet, but come spring and summer, this border will burst into life, with colour continuing through late summer and into autumn.
πΌ A cottage-garden feel
Iβve grouped plants together and used repetition throughout the border to create that relaxed, abundant cottage-garden feel.
Iβll be back in October to plant lots of beautiful spring bulbs, ready to bring even more colour to the border next year. π·π
I canβt wait to see this one evolve! πΏβ¨
Send me a message to see how I could help you with your garden πΈπ