6 cottage garden plants that thrive in shade – brighten up your garden with these flowering plants and foliage

If you’re on the hunt for cottage garden plants for shade, you’ve picked the right garden aesthetic.

As luck would have it, many of the best cottage garden plants thrive in shaded spots. A lot of the flowers and foliage that fall under this planting scheme are from woodland backgrounds, which means they’re well-accustomed to shadier conditions.

To help you find the perfect candidates for the various types of shade in your garden, I’ve rounded up the best cottage garden plants for shade and a few variety recommendations to get you started.

1. Foxgloves

Foxgloves are the quintessential cottage garden plants, and they always take centre stage at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. If you're familiar with how to grow foxgloves, you’ll know that the nodding blooms thrive in a shady spot that mimics the woodlands they’re so often found in.

‘Foxgloves are some of the best plants for a cottage garden style, not least because they tolerate semi-shade,’ says garden designer Harriet Worsley. ‘They grow in open glades in between trees, as well as in sunny hedgerows in the wild.’

Digitalis purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot' from Crocus is a timeless choice.

2. Bleeding heart

Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis), is among the best shade-loving plants for pots, and it's one of the most delicate cottage garden plants out there.

'These heart-shaped spring flowers are almost too pretty to be true,' says David Fryer, head of technical at Mr Fothergill's. 'For something different, look for the white 'Alba' variety.'

You can buy Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba' at Crocus from £9.99.

3. Hellebores

If you’ve got a partial or even full shade spot in your garden, learn how to grow hellebores – they’re the perfect example of cottage garden plants that like shade, and they're one of the best shade-loving plants to grow under trees.

The ornate blooms appear during winter and early spring, adding a touch of sophistication to even the darkest corners of the garden during the colder months.

Helleborus x hybridus 'Double Ellen Red' from Gardening Express produces beautiful purple-red flowers.

4. Hostas

Learning how to grow hostas is an underrated move for a cottage garden – they provide a brilliant foundation for other flowering plants, and they thrive in the shade.

'When it comes to styling your garden, don’t underestimate the power of foliage,' say the horticultural experts from Cherry Lane Garden Centres. 'Hostas, ornamental grasses and ferns offer texture and variation, working especially well when grouped in clusters of containers or old wooden crates in smaller or shaded corners.'

Get started with this hosta collection from Thompson & Morgan, from just £12.99.

5. Oakleaf hydrangeas

If you’re hoping to fill a larger area in your garden or wondering which hydrangea you should plant, oakleaf hydrangeas are one of the best cottage garden plants for shade.

The leaves are, well, oakleaf-shaped, complemented by conical flower clusters which add to the romantic, whimsical feel of a cottage garden.

You can order a Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' plant from Thompson & Morgan for just £14.99.

Other types of hydrangea make good cottage garden plants for shade, too.

'The lime green, cone-shaped blooms of Hydrangea paniculata 'Mojito' offer long-lasting colour from midsummer through to autumn,' says David from Mr Fothergill's.

Hydrangea 'Mojito' is available at Thompson & Morgan from £10.

6. Cyclamen

Cyclamen are another example of cottage garden plants that love shade, because they’re native to woodlands. They spread naturally from year to year, adding to a cottage garden’s wilder aesthetic and forming a carpet of heart-shaped blooms in pots and borders during the winter.

You can also learn how to grow cyclamen indoors as a houseplant if you want to brighten up your home with winter blooms.

Cyclamen coum subsp. coum f. pallidum 'Album' from Crocus produces delicate, white-blushed-purple flowers.

Which shade-loving cottage garden plants will you be adding to your garden this year?