It would be difficult to imagine a more challenging situation for a small back garden in London: north-facing and shady, overlooked at close range by a large mansion block, far broader than it is long, sunken down at lower-ground floor level. Add to this several existing mature trees, which legally cannot be removed, growing just metres from the house.
In brief: A shady garden in London
- What Shady, sunken city garden, featuring foliage-reliant plant choices for low light.
- Where London.
- Size 13m x 6m.
- Soil London clay improved with compost and loam.
- Aspect North-facing.
But such challenges are the norm for an experienced London-based garden designer such as Declan Buckley. He has turned the difficulties into advantages and produced a garden with character and atmosphere, where the plant palette, honed across many years and projects, will not only survive but thrive.
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"In a shady garden you can’t have many flowers, so it’s more about texture and shape,” Declan explains. The most strident foliage shapes in the garden are provided by Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’, tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) and Fatsia japonica ‘Tsumugi-shibori’, which dominate the east end of the garden.
Meanwhile Nandina domestica, which Declan describes as a plant for all seasons, lights up the central section. These taller plants thrust upwards and complement the two mature silver birches that were already in place, which Declan saw as an advantage because “they are in scale with the house”.
Lower down, Declan has introduced a tightly controlled range of plants that create intrigue by means of contrasting leaf shapes and shades of green. A thoughtfully curated range of ferns comprises Polystichum species (P. setiferum and P. polyblepharum), the glossy Japanese holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), feathery, clump-forming Pteris umbrosa and the maidenhair Adiantum pedatum.
At sundown, when the light changes, the colour of the foliage plants deepens and their shapes become more indistinct
Perennial plants include Liriope muscari and Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, both adding moodily rich purple-blue notes, while Persicaria filiformis ‘Batwings’ brings in delicate upright stalks bearing red flowers.
Running through it all is wild sorrel in abundance, with intermittent floral effusions in the form of small groups of white arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’) and Cautleya spicata ‘Arun Flame’, its dramatic orange flowers an unlikely bonus in deep shade. The dwarf fan palm Chamaerops humilis var. argentea provides more low-flying drama.
A tightly controlled range of plants creates intrigue by means of contrasting leaf shapes and shades of green
The garden is unusual in that its principal vista is along its breadth, best appreciated from the seating/dining area at the west end of the garden. This is surrounded by massed plantings of the aptly named Mahonia eurybracteata subsp. ganpinensis ‘Soft Caress’, which Declan loves for its tactility, with Trachelospermum jasminoides growing above and flowering for three months of the year.
The sound of bubbling water is provided by a small raised pool, which attracts birds including goldfinches. Ground-surface textures subtly sub-divide the space and create a feeling of progression: a polished concrete apron extends from the interior a little way outside, where it is superseded by gravel and then smooth concrete for the seating area. Simple uplighters make the garden glow green after dusk.
8 key plants for shady gardens
Find out more about Declan Buckley at buckleydesignassociates.com
