Welcome to the Garden Ninja Gardening Forum! If you have a gardening question that you can't find answers to then ask below to seek help from the Garden Ninja army! Please make your garden questions as specific and detailed as possible so the community can provide comprehensive answers in the online forum below.

Welcome to the ultimate beginner gardening and garden design forum! Where no gardening question is too silly or obvious. This online gardening forum is run by Lee Burkhill, the Garden Ninja from BBC 1's Garden Rescue and a trusted group of experienced gardeners.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert gardener, it's a safe place to ask garden-related questions for garden design or planting. If you have a problem in your garden or need help, this is the Garden Forum for you!

Posting Rules: This space is open for all garden-related questions. Please be polite, courteous and respectful. If you wouldn't say it to your mum's face, then don't post it here. Please don't promote, sell, link spam or advertise here. Please don't ask for 'cheeky' full Garden redesigns here. They will be deleted.

If you need a garden design service, please use this page to book a design consultation. I will block anyone who breaks these rules or is discourteous to the Garden Ninja Community.

Join the forum below with your gardening questions!

Ask a Gardening QuestionGardening Questions & Answers: Plant ProblemsPlants for tricky shade/sun borde …

Please or Register to create posts and topics.

Plants for tricky shade/sun border

#1 · 29th August 2021, 1:01 am

Hiya,

I’ve just dug a new border, and I’m wondering what would do well in it, as it has awkward light. By that I mean it is in the shade of the house in the morning, then gets the full afternoon sun from around noon till 3. And then it’s in shade again.

Any plants I look up either like full sun, or shade loving but must be shaded from afternoon sun.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

The border is triangular, and directly beneath our living room window, so I wouldn’t want anything that grows too big or wide.
Thanks!
Mahmuda

#2 · 30th August 2021, 10:19 am

Hello Mahmuda,
If it's any help to you, my border is shady in the morning and the afternoon gets full sun, I think if I am looking at my compass correctly it's a North West facing border.

I have in mine, Leucanthemum, Coreopsis, Salvia, Penstemon, Gaillardia, Echinacea, and Aster which flower in Autumn, these plants seem to do ok for me, a quote from a gardener, he said " Gardening is like life, there will be some mistakes and mishaps and things go wrong" Oh how true? and it has happened to me this season, I planted some Gaura, it took off like a rocket, bushed out really well and smothered some plants near by, so my mistake, give it a few weeks I'll dig it up and move it to the back of the border, for me it has been trial and error, and still is sometimes, but when a piece of your garden flowers and looks good, you'll say the digging was worth it.

Lee Garden Ninja has reacted to this post.