By Tadpole
Gwynedd,
United Kingdom 
We have 2 north west facing borders about 2.5 ft in depth. They get the sun from about 1300 hrs till 2000 hrs in midsummer. Our house is a 200 year old stone cottage in North Wales. Could anybody suggest some cottage style planting that would do well in these borders please? In the past I,v planted lupins and delphiniums but they,ve always tried to lean forward towards the light. I also keep bees and would like to plant things that would be a good food source for them. I would really appreciate any suggestions.thank you
21 Mar, 2012
Answers
I grow foxgloves and hardy geraniums in this position and also pulmonaria, some greeny yellow heucheras and lady's mantle.
22 Mar, 2012
The problem is the narrowness of the border as much as anything, plus, if even lupins were leaning forward, and it wasn't because you planted them too close to a wall or fence behind (should be at least a foot away, or, given the depth of the border, 15 inches away), then it must get much less sun than you think it does the rest of the time. Lupins prefer a bit of a shady situation. Delphiniums too don't mind a little shade.
Foxgloves spring to mind, and the bees like those very much. Otherwise, not an easy situation to plant with bee friendly plants - most stuff that does well in shade isn't in flower all the time, and the obvious bee friendly ones like lavender, etc., are sun lovers. Monarda might be worth a try - they like partial shade, but must have moist soil.
22 Mar, 2012