Shade gardens get a bad rep, playing second fiddle to showy sunny spots, deemed the less desirable real estate to the prized south-facing garden. But I think unfairly so – there’s a lot to be said for the mysterious charms of an atmospheric shade garden. The other thing about shade gardening is it can be really restful, there’s something kind of really calming about it,” she adds. And that’s why grasses are important, because they can add a bit of movement. Work with the light, grow the right plants, bring dark corners to life’– that’s the sub-heading on the cover of Shade by Susanna Grant.

You also need to give them adequate support. Clematis can look beautiful scrambling through trees, but plant it 1m from the trunk and then train it towards the tree. Pots are fine for most climbers if they’re a generous size — I’d say at least 45cm tall and wide — but you need to ensure they don’t dry out.” Grant’s top three perennials to pretty up your place are begonia grandis subsp. evansiana var. alba (white hardy begonia), thalictrum delavayi ‘Splendide White’ (Meadow rue) and lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’ (white bleeding heart). (Francis Lincoln/PA))Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can open up a whole new world of plantsto explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs. Grant’s top three suggestions to up your grass game are hakonechloa macra (Japanese forest grass), luzula nivea (snowy woodrush) and melica uniflora f. albida (Siberian melic). 5. Perennials Since most annuals prefer a sunny spot, perennial plants are essential to the shade gardener. These are wonderful plants that generously return year after year, often bigger and better.”

If you're planting them in the ground, make sure they're around 50cm away from any walls or fences, so they're not in a rain shadow and can receive rain. The other thing about shade gardening is it can be really restful, there's something kind of really calming about it," she adds. And that's why grasses are important, because they can add a bit of movement. Although most climbers aren’t suited to deep shade, many like their roots shaded, as they grow towards the sun and there’re some that are definitely suitable for north-facing walls. Akebia Quinata/chocolate Vine (Aloha Bonser-Shaw/PA) They’re broadly familiar with being part of the understorey, and therefore making the most of the light that filters down through the trees above them,” she explains. “It’s worth noting that if they’re planted in pots, shrubs won’t reach the maximum height, which isn’t always a bad thing.”

Nobottle Nursery

If you’re planting them in the ground, make sure they’re around 50cm away from any walls or fences, so they’re not in a rain shadow and can receive rain. Arthur Cole, Programs Director at The Newt in Somerset, favours ferns. He suggests the key to a characterful shade garden is to think like the Victorians, who were famous pteridomaniacs (fern obsessives). Fern-hunting in the 1850s was a national pastime and such was the Victorians’ love of ferns, they soon found their way onto all manner of decorative objects from pottery and textiles to engraved glassware and wedding gifts. The reason for their obsession? The cool, damp British climate.