Suggestions for plants as ground cover under shade/dry soil?
By Rufus67
Gloucestershire,
United Kingdom 
Are there any plants out there that survive shade and dry soil? I have a walled bed that has some established trees surrounding it that in summer put it all in shade. I'm trying to make my garden as manageable as poss so things that don't need watering would be great (don't all laugh!). Thanks
15 Oct, 2009
Answers
Hello Refuse67 I had this problem and Grindle kindly gave me this site which I found very useful.
http://www.longacreplants.co.uk/
15 Oct, 2009
An obvious one is Foxglove.
15 Oct, 2009
I've used Longacre and they're a good company !
15 Oct, 2009
i have lots that survive in the dry shade of a beech tree. have a nosey on my plant list. i like pachysandra, ajuga, mitella to name but 3 cant do with outs.
15 Oct, 2009
Thanks so much everyone - lots for me to look into :)
15 Oct, 2009
One thing to remember is that these plans will survive without watering ONCE THEY ARE ESTABLISHED but you will still have to water them until they get going
16 Oct, 2009
One plant will tolerate this very well - Hypericum calycinum. However, I wouldn't say it'd be my choice - it can be invasive ,and flowers poorly in shade. Otherwise, there's Ruscus, Vinca, Geranium maccrorhizum, Tiarella, Brunnera, Pachysandra, Lamium white nancy. Lysimachia. All of these will be fine, if you can bear to water if we've not had any rain for 4-6 weeks. Mahonia aquifolium is an evergreen shrub that grows well in shade - once its been in a couple of years, it will tolerate a lot of dry.
15 Oct, 2009