How can I brighten up my very shaded stone trough?
HUMAIRA SAYS I’d start with lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) for fragrant white flowers in spring. Then Corydalis ‘Korn’s Purple’ has deep purple droplet flowers in May to July. Disporum leucanthum with its bronze-toned leaves and creamy summer flowers will add another layer. These work well with ferns such as Dryopteris erythrosora and hostas such as ‘Devon Green’, which is a beauty with shiny leaves and lilac flowers in August.
Add Hackonechloa grass and blue-flowered Geranium pyrenaicum ‘Bill Wallis’. Drop in some martagon lilies for extra pizzazz, then repeat some Hebe ‘Celine’, which is a compact shrub with white, bee-friendly flowers. Finish with evergreen Heuchera cylindrica ‘Greenfinch’. This gives you a lovely palette of plants for colour from spring to late summer, with evergreens for winter too.