Click on the 'S' at the bottom of the page them click on 'Shade Plants' lots of ideas there.

Ah! Thank you :)

If you're looking for shrubs for shade, Mahonia is supposed to tolerate it. If you have acid soil, Camellias are woodland edge plants. I found that Acanthus (which isn't a shrub, it dies back in winter) tolerates deep shade and it does grow 3 or so feet high.

Thanks that's great. I'm not sure what type of soil I have to be honest. It's very clumpy and muddy so I mix in some compost a couple of times a year during the summer but it always seems to go back to being muddy again.
I don't mind whether they're shrubs or flowers, anything would be better then it being bare like it is now! Thanks for your suggestions.

Try this it will spread 'Waldsteinia ternata'. If you have already been unsuccessful with this plant and cannot find anything to your liking try the RHS plant site. You can answer questions on soil type etc and they make suggestions. Please let us know what you decide to grow.

Something that spreads sounds ideal! The wall is painted white so and it just looks awful at the moment. I'll be sure to let you know what i plant and whether or not I'm successful!

Cheers.

have you thaught about mirrors to reflect light at the shady spot and it makes your garden look much bigger .

Ooooh no i haven't. I do have a massive mirror that i don't have anything to do with too. I'm just trying to imagine how I could get it to reflect down there tho, the sun shines side on through the hottest part of the day so it shines against the garage wall (or some of it). But i will certainly have a play with that mirror when we see some sun again and see what I can do! Great idea, thanks!!

i think with a block under one end you should be able to get some more light in there . you can make a frame out of some 2" bye 4" to and make it a feacture . id varnish the back thow .

The mirror i have is huge so I could easily cut it in half and make two to reflect it somehow, and like you say make a frame for it and make it part of the garden. Honestly never would have thought of it and it's such a brilliant idea.

I've been googling the other plants that were suggested and love them all too! Mahonia and Acanthus are both the type of thing that I was after, maybe i'll put some camellias in the middle and put a trellace up on the wall so that it can grow up the wall. I've done that on the garage wall and have some clematis, passion flower & honey suckle growing on it and it looks beautiful in summer.

If I was also to plant some Waldsteinia ternata would that choke the other plants or just grow around them if it's one that really spreads?

If you're also looking for smaller plants you'll love hardy cyclamen - and they're excellent in shade. C.hederifolium flowers from late summer to November / December and C.coum takes over in late winter to spring. Both have pink or white flowers and lovely marbled leaves that die off in summer - which is fine as there are lots of other plants out then.
Like Epimediums that Sheilabub reminded me of the other day. They're very useful under trees too.

Great cheers. I might try some of them in amongst the others that were already suggested.

you could even put a bit of trellis up the middle of each mirror and alont the top in a t-shape or make your own design . all you have to ask for is battoning excuse my spelling from a builders merchants . its rough sawn and made to go under slates etc on rooves . its a bit heavier duty than the trellis you buy and cheap .

As long as it remains moist, Tricyrtis (Toad Lily) would flourish.

I went looking for Tricyrtis as it sounded lovely and I came across this site. http://www.plantsforshade.co.uk/acatalog/Plants_for_Moist_Shade.html
It has lots of suggestions for shady sites. I do notice when specifying 'moist shade' growers also specify well drianing so before you start planting and losing any more plants it might pay you to drain the site better. This may not need to be too difficult. A soakaway could help but have a look at this site. http://www.diydata.com/problem/drainage/drainage.php#what

One word of warning on Tricyrtis - spotted ones are fine, but avoid the blotchy ones as pictured in my blog below.....

http://www.growsonyou.com/meanie/blog/11991-toad-lily-virus

Meanie I have read your blog on the virus discolouration and am wondering if in time we will accept these as normal. I believe some well loved tulip colours stemmed from being infected by a virus. In the article which opens in your blog they also mention alstroemeria virus. This is a very interesting subject and I will be interested in what Erkabobby in Belguim has to say on this subject too.

I hear what you say Scotsgran, but do I really want either of the two below to become infected and change?

http://www.growsonyou.com/garden/show_garden_item/29175-toad-lily-taiwan-adbane

http://www.growsonyou.com/garden/show_garden_item/29136-toad-lily

Come to think of it, I wouldn't want the one Alstromeria that I have getting "disfigured" either....

http://www.growsonyou.com/garden/show_garden_item/29488-alstromeria-royal-star

Hi Meanie,
No I would not want my plants infected either but it seems destroying expensive plants in your garden is not really an option either when your next door neighbour may well be incubating the virus in plants bought from 'legitimate' sources. From what I have read it only appears to affect the maroon shades of toad lily and can travel fair distances. I posted a question to Erkabobby asking about the Alstroemeria mosiac virus and his reply was that in these plants the problems seem to lie with big cut flower producers in Japan. In Belguim, Wageningen Uni is doing research in to the problem but it is being kept quiet. I suppose because finding solutions is expensive and when it is found the answer will be very expensive if it is available to hobby gardeners. I feel for you in your dilemma of what should happen to your plant.