Plants For Shady Raised Bed

[megfitz]

Suggestions please,..I have just cleared a two tier triangular raised bed which was full of Pulmonaria and Lily of the Valley.. both of which had taken over the bed;
It faces North East and is very shady but protected on two sides by fences
which have Boston Ivy and climbing Hydrangea on them.
Ideas as to what would do well there and look pretty ,I think there is a Dicentra in there somewhere, no ferns please
Thanks for any ideas.

[woofgang]

You took out Lily of the Valley?

[megfitz]

Yes,it had run amok and some of the roots were feet long. Don't think I got it all but it's spread right round the garden and is popping up in the lawn.

[Chipchopper]

Not really sure what you ultimately want to achieve, but why not try some alpine strawberries ?
They're good to eat, attractive and you can clear them out after a couple of years.

[megfitz]

Already have Alpine Strawberries in a similar shady situation in the front garden
I'd really like something colourful,maybe trailing,low to medium height.
I've an envelope of Cowslip seeds I collected from a friends garden ,would
they be happy there?

[Buenchico]

Try playing with this:
http://rhs.org.uk/plants/search-form
(You don't need to complete all of the fields. Just use the ones which are important to you).

[ladybirder]

I was going to suggest Pulmonaria ...
And Dicentra, both of which I have in my shady bed.
I was going to suggest Euphorbia but that'll probably take over as well:-(
So not much help really. I'd go with Chris's RHS suggestion.

[Chipchopper]

Cowslips should do well in your soil but are slow to germinate, unless the seed is very fresh.
Cowslips would probably do better in a sunnier situation though, but primroses may take to the shade better.

[boxtops]

You could put in a Christmas or Easter Rose (helleboris niger) - mine flourish in shade, and the foliage is pleasant when the flowers have finished.