On 8 April, Grayshott Gardeners were treated to a very informative and interesting evening talk on plants for shade by Rosy Hardy.

Rosy has 35 years’ experience of commercial horticulture and is the owner of Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants in Hampshire which is known for its high-quality herbaceous perennials and other plant varieties.  The nursery has won 24 RHS Gold Medals and two Tudor Rose Awards at Hampton Court.  In 2020 she was made Honorary Vice President of the RHS.   

Rosy started her talk on what shade is.  Shade can be from trees, buildings, no direct light, all time north facing and morning or evening shade. 

She emphasized that understanding the soil type in your garden was key whether it be heavy, light, alkaline or acid.    Some plants like dry soil and some damp, but observation was the key.

The audience were shown lots of different shade loving plants and she passed samples of Semi Aquilegia Australian Form, Epimedium and a viola (to name just a few) around for the audience to have a close look at.  

The evening ended with questions and the sale of some of Rosy’s shade loving plants.