Shady areas

Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula

I was recently reminded that one of the perennial problems for gardeners is finding plants that thrive in shade. If you listen to radio garden broadcasts these questions are usually answered with all sorts of domestic suggestions, such as Cyclamen and ferns. What is never suggested is that we have some superb native orchids that just love it in shade. I suppose the main reason that shade loving orchids are not usually mentioned is one of availability and cost. The last thing anyone would  want is to encourage people to dig up orchids.

If the shade is partial then the choices are broadened out considerably. Early Purple Orchids, Orchis mascula, are an excellent example of a species most comfortable growing in shade and one of our species which we hope to have on sale in the Spring of 2017. It has taken longer than expected to bring these plants up to a size suitable for open cultivation, but we think we are there now. Another species which does well in shade is the Butterfly Orchid, Platanthera chlorantha, this is also a slow developer which takes several years to grow to flowering size. Interestingly these plants will also do well with some sunshine. These orchids, which are only a small sample of the shade loving species that grow in the UK, can be charmingly naturalized under hedges and trees as well as amongst ferns in a shady bed.