Compact growing perennials & shrubs that are good for ground cover keeping weeds down & that can grow in shade. Please check on our website for details of varieties, sizes & growing conditions-www.Caths Garden Plants.co.uk

Some of these plants can be planted under taller growing plants. Most are grown for their attractive foliage to create interest rather than flower. Dense planting requires little maintenance & minimum weeding as long as they have adequate moisture especially when newly planted. Add compost when planting & finish with a mulch to retain moisture & nutrients.

• Dwarf Astilbe-Green foliage & red, pink or white flowers in summer. Likes a very moist soil.

• Athyrium niponicum (Japanese Painted Fern)-very attractive & unusual foliage that is red & green but overcast with silver making fronds look ghost-like.

• Brunnera-cut off dead flowers to encourage larger leaves. Spring flowering.

• Ferns generally- green foliage, non-flowering, attractive fronds of different shaped make lovely carpets. Low maintenance. Can grow in woodland situations. Very hardy.

• Geranium maccrorhizum-Summer flowering perennial-cut back after first lot of flowers to encourage repeat flowering. Loved by butterflies, resistant to rabbits & deer.

• Hakonechloa (grass) – bright golden foliage stands out in the shade & flutters in the breeze.

• Helleborus-evergreen. Flower in late winter & spring so good for pollinators. Usually green leaves but some newer varieties have attractive white/silvery marked foliage.

• Heuchera – don’t plant too deep. Wide variety of colours-plum, reddish, marmalade, golden, green or variegated foliage. Summer flowering. Some varieties are evergreen.

• Hosta-wide variety of leaf colours from various shades of green to leaves edged/shaded with paler green, yellow, cream or white.

• Hydrangea-dwarf varieties-shrubs which will grow under a tree canopy or in a shady shrub or mixed border.

• Primula vulgaris AGM (English primrose)-Can be planted under trees & shrubs. Flowers in spring & then produces a blanket of leaves from summer to late winter. Self-seeds so spreads quickly. Will also grow on slopes & banks or at the bottom of hedges.

• Vinca & Lamium also provide good ground cover but can be invasive although they are easily weeded out.