Well if it is really shady all day, there is a limited range of plants that will cope and look good--- but there are some of these which are lovely though
which don't need damp conditions.
Woodruff (Galia odoratum) is excellent as ground cover, and it is covered in little white flowers from now until late summer. Dries leaves smell like new mown hay.
Cyclamen would flourish and can make huge clumps if left undisturbed -- C coum flowers in early spring and C hederifolium flowers ealry autumn before the leaves grow.
Alchemilla mollis ( Lady's mantle) which has beautiful pleated leaves which are soft and downy, and frothy pale green flowers. It is drought tolerant and self seeds too.
Bugle really likes a bit of moisture but you might get away with it if you water it a bit and dig in some leafmould -- A reptans has lots of cultivars,some with purple leaves and some with multicoloured pink and green and cream leaves. Flowers are blue spikes.
Coleus would do well as a very colourful bedding plant -- lots to choose from in nurseries and gc's at the moment. Bedding begonias would cope, and possibly bizzie lizzies witha bit of water
If you are going to dig in some leaf mould, hellebores would do OK --H orientalis is the one I would go for. Flowers from Feb through to beginning of April, Lots of colours from white, pink, plum and spotted flowers.
Arum (Lord's & Ladies) has strange white or greenish spathes in spring and glorious spikes of orange berries in ealry autumn. A pictum also has beautifully marked leaves.
Iris foetidissima gives marvellous orange berries in the autumn when the seed capsules split open. Flowers are unremarkable, but berries last ages.
Periwinkle grows without any sun at all in my garden, in quite dry soil under shubs. Two sizes Vinca major and V minor. Flowers are iether white or purple and leaves either green or variegated.
Sweet violets Viola odorata thrive in shade, as do snowdrops and the dutch cultivars of crocus. and bluebells of course.
Epimidium (Bishop's Mitre) is a clumping perennial with leaves that take on a reddish tinge later in the year. Flower colour vary and there are yellow ones (like tiny daffodils in shape) white or red.
Viburnum tinus is a shrub which can grow up to ten feet tall but is easy to keep much shorter. Lots of cultivars including one with green leaves with yellow margins 'variagatum' and flowers are in flat haeds of small flowers from late winter onwards. Buds are pink, flowers white.
Clematis need their roots shaded, and as long as they are mulched each year many woud grow on the fence without any trouble.
Ivy would clothe the fence completely and there are lots of different variegated or plain green cultivars -- great for wildlife
Hydrangeas love shade, but might need a bit of water in a hot summer. Climbing white flowered H petiolaris would go on the fence,and is self clinging, and other more unusual ones like H paniculata and H quercifoliia have long panicles of flowers rather than the flat heads.
Cotoneasters are fairly undemanding and the evergreen kinds usually tolrate shade and stiil flower and fruit C conspicuus Cornubia can make asmall tree with red berries in the autumn and clusters of small whire flowers in summer.
Hope that is more helpful that my previous rather random effort
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April 28, 2013, 03:53