Six plants for dappled shade

Heart-shaped red flowers and grey-green foliage of Lamprocapnos 'Burning Hearts'

This presents a unique opportunity for gardeners to select plants that will thrive in the soil enriched by leaf mould that you're likely to find in these spots. The plants we've picked are best for the shade beneath deciduous trees, as opposed to evergreens. This allows plenty of light through in spring, but in summer equates to around three hours of sun a day, providing plants with constant, but low-level light.

Discover six plants that will thrive in dappled shade, including starry tiarellas and fragrant daphnes.

Lamprocapnos 'Burning Hearts'

Formerly known as Dicentra, grey-green filigreed foliage in early spring is soon topped by stunning heart-shaped flowers, produced over a number of weeks. Those of 'Burning Hearts' are deep ruby red, but there are also pure white-flowered cultivars like 'Alba'. Lamprocapnos dies down in winter.

Flowers: April to June.
Height × Spread: 40cm × 40cm.

Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill'

Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' is an evergreen shrub that provides scented winter flowers at a time where there’s not much else happening in the garden, especially in shade.

Flowers: January to February.
H × S: 2m × 1.5m

Acer palmatum 'Coral Pink'

Bronze-pink and lime-green leaves of acer 'Coral Pink'

Position this small tree where you can enjoy the changing colours of its leaves. Those of 'Coral Pink' turn from bronze-pink to lime-green and then amber in autumn, but there are many other beautiful acer cultivars to grow, with foliage in varying shapes and shades.

H × S: 1.5m × 1.5m.
Foliage: March to October.

Sweet box (Sarcococca confusa)

Delicate white flowers hanging along a stem of sweet box

Beautifully fragrant, sweet box is a tough evergreen shrub that copes well in dry shade. It brings year-round interest to shady borders.

Flowers: December to March.
H × S: 2m × 1m.

Fumewort (Corydalis solida)

Tubular pink-mauve flowers and grey-green foliage of fumewort

Finely divided grey-green leaves appear from fleshy tubers in early spring. Produces clusters of small tubular flowers over a long period. Shrinks back below the ground for winter. You could also grow Corydalis flexuosa in dappled shade.

Flowers: March to May.
H × S: 25cm × 25cm.

Tiarella 'Neon Lights'

Plant Tiarella 'Neon Lights' in groups to get maximum impact from the frothy flower spikes, which open in late spring. It also has distinctive bronze patterns at the centre of the leaves.

Flowers: May to July.
H × S: 20cm × 20cm.

Dealing with darker areas? Try our pick of plants that will thrive in partial shade and full shade.

Know your shade

When choosing plants for your garden, it's important to know what type of shade you have, which is affected by the aspect of your garden, as well as the objects and plants in it that cast shade.