Deer-Resistant Shade Plants

A shaded position gets little or no direct sun, and the soil stays cooler and wetter than the rest of the garden. Dry shade is the hardest place in the garden to plant, and some of these manage it. Most settle in and then look after themselves. Leaves earn a place here more often than flowers do.

Perennials and ground covers do most of the work here, and the range leaves room for almost endless combinations in a border. Epimedium, Carex and Dryopteris have the most entries, and woodland edges and borders are the commonest uses.