Ideas or suggestions what to plant in this shady area.

Hi all,
Has anyone any suggestions what to plant in this small area under my apple tree.
It doesn’t get any direct sunlight, just dappled sun part of the day.
It is covered in Spanish bluebells (nuisance) which I have just cleared out and removed as many bulbs as possible.
I was hoping for a few plants that would spread out and provide ground cover, would geraniums be happy there? There are geraniums to the side that are very happy (more sun there) that you can maybe make out in the photo.
Any advice most appreciated.
Cheers.

 

Definitely ferns and heucheras. Some ferns can grow to quite a size and although heucheras don't spread, it doesn't take long before they need dividing so you'd end up with more plants quite quickly.

 

We do have a large fern in there already (other side of tree in photo)
We have lots of large ferns behind the garage, which are wasted really where they are, wonder if they could be dug up and transplanted there?
But was looking for ground cover with a bit of colour, something like geraniums which are easy and will spread, but guessing they would require more sun maybe?
Cheers.

 

Have a look at geranium phaeum - they are happy in shade, even dry shade.

 

Try your hardy geraniums they seem to move very easy and ours seem fine in a very shady area under an apple tree.

 

Geraniums would be fine there, so would Brunnera Jack Frost, Epimediums, Astrantias and pulmonarias.

 

Geranium macrorrhizum are good in shade as well. Also Liriope muscari, aster divariaticus, hellebores, Hakonechloa, Heuchera and Welsh poppies

 

I have a similar area, also under an apple tree, and I have Geranium Rozanne, Astilbes, a Hosta, Solomon’s Seal and Foxgloves. I’ve put a couple of small ferns on the shadiest side just today.

 

Geraniums will be fine - there are hundreds of varieties.
How wet does the ground stay though - especially from spring till autumn? Some plants will cope with drier shade and some need consistent moisture to do well. Many plants will cope well enough with drier conditions once established too, so it can be helpful to plant in autumn rather than now if you're in a drier area.

 

Its probably a drier area thinking about it, sheltered from the tree?
Im actually growing some foxgloves from seed at the moment, they are on the kitchen window cill, so they might be ready to go in there this autumn.
Probably will add some geranium, and I do like Astilbes.

 

I had a problem area under a mature Acer a bit like that. I tried many of the usual shade loving plants but it always looked miserable after they had flowered in spring. I copied an idea from the Knoll Gardens website, block planting the area with Hakonechloa aureola, a neat, clump forming shade tolerant grass. The grass needed watering regularly for the first year while getting established but this year’s rain has meant no further attention needed!

 

I'd get those foxgloves outside rather than being on a windowsill @Grays . They don't need to be indoors at any point - for germination or for potting on
Astilbes are fine if they have enough moisture, so again - if you aren't in a reliably wet area, they'd need plenty of watering to get them established if you plant now.
I don't know how well they'll do in a drier site as we don't have that problem here. I can grow them easily enough near other large shrubs/trees etc. @AuntyRach will also get decent enough rainfall to keep them happy. You may have to experiment a bit with those - perhaps keeping them further from the tree so that they get enough rain into teh surrounding ground. They'd be fine over winter, but it's once the tree canopy is there, that may be trickier.

 

That looks great
Must say, looks like you have a lovely garden there.

 

Thanks for the advice, I was just following the guide on the seed packet.
This is the first year I’ve really grown things from seed, I’ve enjoyed it so far.
They have just started to germinate, and there seems to be a lot, a very fine green carpet, reminds me of growing cress as a kid.
I was going to leave them then prick them out into individual pots, then into the cheap plastic Amazon greenhouse for a bit? Before planting them out in autumn?
Or would you recommend another way?
Thanks.

 

Thank you @Grays. I’ve also got some Anemone nemerosa in that bed to give colour and interest in early spring. You could also combine the grass with Nepeta if you want some extra colour over summer as in this other shady bed: