Planting in Troughs – Plus See My New Trough

I’ve recently been on a mission, exploring planting for troughs.

That’s because I received the most amazing, stone trough from Mr F-W for my birthday. That man certainly knows the way to this girl’s heart. (Ha ha girl, I wish!) Anyway, I’ve positioned the trough in our front garden, towards the end of our driveway, in a semi-shady spot at the base of a magnolia tree. I think Mr F-W and my boys were mightily relieved that I decided to position it there, as it weighs around 250 kilos; I’m not sure anyone would have been able to lug it into our back garden!

Anyway, with a gorgeous trough to fill, and one that was going to be very on show to all those passing our little cottage, I wanted my plant choices to do it justice. That meant a lot of research into planting for troughs. So I thought I’d share the shade and semi-shade loving plants which I’ve identifed. Then do a big reveal, sharing my planted up trough.

Planting for Troughs in Shade

#1 Hostas

I’m a huge hosta fan and they undoubtedly thrive in shade. They apparently originate from particularly damp Japanese woodlands and were named in 1812 after the Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host (who knew!).

Hostas are a versatile, big impact plant. This is thanks to their gorgeous leaves, which come in every shade of green, as well as dusky blues and acid yellows. The leaves can also sometimes be variegated or flashed with cream or gold, ruffled, smooth or even ribbed.

However be aware that not every hosta is suitable for planting in troughs or other containers – some, like Empress Wu, are simply too massive. But there are many which do fit, and they can add plenty drama to any shady pot.

Some people like the flowers they produce, but for me, it’s all about their leaves. Though, if you are going to have them in a trough, the one thing to bear in mind (other than the fact slugs love them) is that their leaves do die back at the end of the season – making your container look rather empty. That said, I still love them. I have a number in pots on their own, my favourite has to be the massive beauty Sum and Substance.

#2 Ferns

From a dramatic greenery point of view, the only plant which rivals hostas in my opinion is ferns. They’re another of my passions and are one of the top container plants for shade. I can understand why. I have a container in dappled shade on my patio with a fern, grass and ivy. The combination is brilliant. I literally do nothing to it and yet it looks like a mini woodland in a container – all year round.

Again when looking for planting in troughs, you need to take care with your fern choices, as not all of them are evergreen – choose the wrong hosta and fern combo and you could end up with a container of nothingness in the winter! If you’re looking for good year round impact, Harts Tongue Ferns looks pretty good all of the time; over winter their leaves may get a little brown and ratty but they still look ok. However I prefer the more elegant fronds of Dryopteris Affinis and Braun’s Holly Fern (which is the one in my container above).

#3 Heucheras

Heucheras are such gorgeous, mound-forming beauties and perfect for planting in troughs in the shade – especially light shade. There are so many heucheras to choose from, and in such a lovely range of colours and forms. You get lime greens, like Heuchera Lime Marmalade through to the plums and reds of Heuchera Root Beer and darkening further to Heuchera Black Pearl, which has almost black leaves. Some cope with dry soils while others prefer damper sites.

Unlike hostas, I think there’s tremendous value in the flowers of the heuchera. Although tiny, they dance on long wirey stems, adding movement. The flowers often contrast wonderfully with the leaves, coming in a mix of colours – from hot reds through to creams and whites, which really ‘pop’ in a dark setting. Just what you want in a shady spot. Also, if you’re looking for a long period of interest in your pot, it’s worth noting that these flowers can last from spring right through to autumn.

#4 Ivy

In any container you tend to want fillers, thrillers and spillers. Fillers are plants which plus the gaps. Thrillers add height and impact. While spillers are the plants which trail. Ivy fulfils this last category brilliantly, and it’s evergreen which is a real bonus. When planting in troughs you can choose one with a glossy green leaf or with variagation. Wildlife loves ivy and if you have ivy in a container, you avoid the concern some people have of it spreading and getting out of control. You can tell, I’m a real fan of ivy in a pot!

#5 Solomons Seal

If ivy is the spiller then one thriller in a large shaded container would definitely be Polygonatum also known as Solomon’s Seal. It has the most gorgeous arching stems with oval leaves and dangling, green-tipped, white bell-shaped flowers. I think they’re ideal for planting in troughs that are in the shade. The flowers of polygonatum are on show from late spring to early summer. So you’d need to think about what’s going to happen after that. I have Solomon’s Seal in my woodland bed, where it arches over ferns, hellebores and hostas. This could easily be replicated in a trough. And don’t forget, you can also get varieties with variagated leaves which add even more impact in a shady spot.

#6 Snowdrops and Primroses

If you want a container which performs all year round, which I obviously do, then you can’t ignore early flowering plants such as snowdrops and primroses. The white of the snowdrops or yellow of the primroses will provide early impact in amongst all the greenery. And if you’ve a container that’s in the shade, you could go for a slightly wild, woodland vibe to your pot; in which case these two woodland plants would look perfectly in place! Indeed in such a scheme I think they’re the perfect container plants for shade.

You could also, of course, add hellebores to this early flowering mix. You can see how to care for hellebores here. However, I don’t personally put them in containers. I think their leaves are so dominant and not their best feature. I’ll happily tolerate them in the garden, but in the limited space of a container I prefer ‘slimmer’ late winter and spring performing plants like snowdrops, which I can easily lift and thin out if they get too much.

#7 Begonias

Just because you are planting in troughs in the shade, doesn’t mean you can’t have colour. And if you are looking for colour then look no further than begonias which have a lovely long flowering season. If you go for a trailing one, you can cover off the spiller requirement of your container scheme without using ivy, and you’ll inject some hot colour into your container whilst you’re at it! Or if you have a begonia with a more updright habit, it will look lovely with ivy. I love this comination in this white planter below. (Sorry I’m not sure which begonia it is).

Size-wise you can get some begonias which are small to those which grow a good 20 inches tall, and can be in a container all on their own. So if you are going for one, do have a good look around before making your choice. Also bear in mind that tuberous begonias, which are the ones mostly used in containers are a tender perennial. That means that while they will come back, you can’t leave them out unprotected over winter as the cold will kill them. You must lift them before the first frosts.

My wonderful neighbour Desi has warned me that begonias can be a bit of a thug as they grow so quickly. She’s a professional gardener so I obviously take her advice really seriously. And I have to say, I’ve not historically been a fan of begonias. But there’s no denying the wow effect of their colours.

#8 Geranium

I don’t know how many perennial geraniums I have in my garden. I love them for a number of reasons. One is that they remind me of my Mum and Dad; I have an old chimney pot full of very claggy, Welsh soil which has a glorious Ingwersen’s Variety geranium in it which was on my Mum and Dad’s patio. It’s one of my most treasured posessions and reminds me of them every time I look at it.

Beyond their sentimental value, cranesbills, as they’re also called, have long-lasting flowering periods and offer a vast array of choices, from coloured foliage to compact, spreading and trailing habits. So you can really play around with them in containers – and I do, for instance randomly popping clumps into my pots to shade the base of my clematis.

There are a number of geraniums which work brilliantly in shaded containers such as Wargrave Pink and Rozanne and they offer a really extended flowering season which is a key consideration. If you want interesting leaf colour, I’ve discovered a beauty called Geranium Dusky Crug , which has plummy dark leaves and pale pink flowers. It flowers through June, July and August. That’s ticking a lot of boxes for me!

#9 Grasses

I have lots of grasses in containers . To my mind, they add lovely movement and inject height. Furthermore they come in an incredible array of forms and colours. If you’re planting up a container, you obviously need to bear in mind the height they will grow to and their spread, some are pretty mighty and will want a container all to themselves. But there are some which make brilliant bedfellows. Indeed you may recall I included one in my autumn container – see how.

Grasses which thrive in shade include Unicinia Rubra, which I have in pot all on its own, but which would happily mix with others. To be honest, unless a grass is big, I’d try any of them in a mixed container, and I think most would cope with partial shade. So have a browse at the grasses on display in your garden centre and have a go; often you see pretty cheap ones in the bedding plants area which are small but are a brilliant little addition for a pot, and they last and last!

#10 Pansies

Talking of bedding plants, if you are looking for colour in your shaded trough you cannot ignore pansies. They like full sun or partial shade, but I’ve read that they will flower for longer in partial shade. They do need a bit of light, so I’m afraid if you’re container is in deep shade 24/7, they probably won’t work. (That’s said, a tray of them is so cheap, I’d be tempted to try!)

Planting in Troughs – Here’s Mine!

So time for the big reveal. What plants have I gone for?

Well I’ve chosen plants to create a woodland vibe, as my husband loves woodlands…and he gave me the trough after all. Colour-wise, I’ve constrained my colour palette to mostly plums/purple, bright green/lime and white

The Plant List

• Heuchera Wildberry – which has purple ruffled leaves, and airy spikes of pinky white flowers in early summer
• Heuchera Silver Scrolls – which has stunning silver leaves with purple veins. The leaves are purple on their underside, it has white flowers in the summer on really elegant stems
• Heuchera Lime Marmalade – has amazing dense ruffled bright lime green leaves. It will contrast wonderfully with the darker leaved heucheras and will have white flowers from late spring to late summer.
• Braun’s Holly Fern – lovely elegant fresh green fronds all year round
• Scaled Male Fern – again really elegant and an all year round performer
• A tiny grass – no idea what type, saw it for about £1 and thought I’d pop it in to mix things up!
• Snowdrops – I divided a clump in my garden and popped some in the container while they’re ‘in the green.’ They obviously aren’t going to do anything now and just look a bit of a straggly mess, but come early next year, they’ll provide early woodland type interest hopefully
• Geranium Dusky Crug – with dark bronzed leaves, it will forms a lovely mound with pretty pink flowers in June, July and August which show up beatifully against the dark leaves
• Some purple pansies – cheap little fillers which I can swap out with something else when they fade
• Primroses – these are my one mistake so I’ve removed them. Like my snowdrops, I divided up a clump from my garden and popped some in the trough. However, I have a colony of sparrows nesting in a bush at the end of my drive. They made a bee-line for the primroses and removed every flower overnight!! I instantly ‘Googled’ to work out why they did this. Apparently, sparrows will eat the yellow heads off crocuses for the pigment in the yellow flowers. This helps their plumage and so makes them more attractive to mates! I don’t blame them wanting to boost their sex appeal, but not at the expense of my container! So I’ve removed the poor old pecked primroses, and replanted them in my woodland style bed in my back garden.
• I may add another, this time more trailling, geranium in place of the primroses.
• I will also add some ivy, (by lifting some from another container) – that’s one of my jobs for this afternoon!

It’s obviously very early days. I’ve left a bit of room for the plants to spread, and they need to do that. But ultimately, I hope it will look rather wild and lovely.

What do you think? Happy gardening…Louise x