[katiekate]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any suggestions for plants that will thrive in deep shade and relatively dry conditions? A lot to ask of any plant I know!  There are massive conifers next to our garden which means its dry and dark..

Thanks!!

[ex-cavator]

Tricky. How about massive conifers?   

[Trillium]

You will need to beef up the soil a bit so the plants can survive as conifers are terrible water and nutrient thieves, and most new flowers will need some watering early in their start to survive, but once established these plants should keep going on their own. I have many of these:

bergenia, foxgloves, ferns, some euphorbias, bleeding hearts, hypericum, tiarellas, hostas, acquilegias, bear's breeches, alchemilla, forget-me-nots, epimedium, sweet woodruff, perennial geranium, perennial sweet pea, mahonia, oxalis, pulmonaria to name a few.

[lancashiregardeninggal]

laurel, pieris, berberis are a few I have grown in shade

[Goosegirl]

Syssirinchiums, variegated nettle family and bluebells.

[totalnovice]

you could try a periwinkle, i've got a patch in out garden which sounds very similar and my periwinkle (vinca Minor Autropupurea - not right but close i think) seems to be thriving. I throw some water at it if i remember but don't very often! Also what about toad lillies? not had any experience with them myself but i know they are shade loving and offer a splash of colour. Try the RHS web site, they have a plant recommender.

[compostqueen]

Cotoneaster, comfrey (useful too), pulmonaria is a good one, red hot poker (I got a yellow one to grow fine in shade), perennial forget -me- not (brunnera), foxglove
White flowers look great in deep shade as they show up
Choisya

[viettaclark]

There are loads of plants to choose from but it's not just shade and lack of water/nutrients. The soil under firs is very acidic. Most of the shade plants mentioned should be ok because soil under any tree tends to be acidic but fir produces no leaf mould to retain moisture/nutrients. It would be a good idea to bung in a load of manure, leaf mould, home made compost and general fertilizer and keep the area watered and mulched until the plants are well established.
I've got alot of shade but manage to keep the beds full with all year interest because some of the trees are deciduous which means some shrubs, perennials and bulbs will flower in the Winter/Spring when there is more light through the branches.
Ferns are wonderful structure plants and can take shade and dryness.

[sion01]

i've got some euphorbia robbiae under a yew screen and it's doing well