Shade need not mean a dull balcony

A north-facing balcony or a courtyard tucked between walls can feel like the poor relation of a sun-baked patio, but it is really just a different sort of growing space. Many of the most generous summer plants actually prefer to be out of fierce midday sun, and a sheltered courtyard holds warmth long after a windy roof terrace has cooled down. The trick is to choose plants that come from woodland edges and damp valleys rather than Mediterranean hillsides, and then to manage water and compost carefully, because shade changes the way containers behave.

Work out what kind of shade you have

Before you buy anything, spend a day watching the space. Note how many hours of direct sun reach each pot, and roughly when. An east-facing balcony may get three or four hours of gentle morning sun; a courtyard with a wall opposite may only get bounced light. Then check the surface: shade under an overhang or beneath a wide eaves line stays dry even in a downpour, whereas an open courtyard floor collects water and stays damp. This distinction matters far more than the label on the plant.

• Dappled or partial shade — two to four hours of sun. Almost anything flowers well here.
• Light shade — bright but no direct sun. Fuchsias, begonias and impatiens all thrive.
• Deep or dry shade — under a canopy or beside a wall. Lean on foliage plants and hardy perennials.

Fuchsias: the hardest-working plants in the shade

If you plant only one thing, make it a fuchsia. They flower from June until the first frosts in light shade, and the trailing kinds are superb in hanging baskets and wall pots. ‘La Campanella’ is a dependable trailing variety with white and violet flowers, while ‘Tom Thumb’ stays compact and neat in a small pot. Upright bush types such as ‘Mrs Popple’ make bushy standards and tolerate a fair bit of neglect.

Start with young plants after the last frost in your area — late May in most of the UK, early June in the north. Pinch out the growing tips of bush varieties twice in spring to make them branch, and water consistently rather than in occasional floods. From midsummer, feed weekly with a high-potash tomato feed and deadhead regularly; a fuchsia left to set seed will quietly stop flowering. In autumn, either move pots into a frost-free shed or take softwood cuttings in late summer to carry the display over to next year.

Begonias and busy lizzies for colour without sun

Tuberous begonias are made for shaded containers. The trailing forms tumble over the edge of a basket, and the upright ones produce double flowers in apricot, lemon and crimson. Start tubers indoors in March or April, hollow side up, in trays of damp compost, and plant out once the danger of frost has passed. They dislike waterlogging, so use a free-draining mix and let the surface dry slightly between waterings.

Wax begonias and busy lizzies (Impatiens) fill gaps beautifully. Newer busy lizzie varieties are far more resistant to downy mildew than the old ones, so it is worth buying fresh plants each spring rather than saving seed. New Guinea impatiens cope with a little more light and have handsome bronze or variegated foliage into the bargain. All of them flower on and on with very little fuss, which is exactly what a shaded courtyard needs.

Foliage first: plants that carry the display

Flowers come and go, but leaves work all season. A container built around foliage will look good in July and still look good in November. Heucheras offer a huge range of leaf colour, from near-black through caramel to lime, and they shrug off shade happily. Hostas are unbeatable for bold texture, though you will need to patrol for slugs and snails — a copper tape collar round the pot and a nighttime torch are the old-fashioned, effective answer. Ferns such as Dryopteris and Asplenium bring a soft, woodland feel, and ivy or trailing vinca will knit a group of pots together.

For something brighter, coleus delivers vivid crimson, chartreuse and maroon patterns, provided it is kept warm and watered. Silver-leaved plants such as lamium and brunnera will lift a gloomy corner, because pale surfaces reflect what little light there is back into the space.

More reliable flowering choices

• Lobelia — trailing blue, white or purple, ideal for filling the edges of baskets.
• Nicotiana — tall, scented and happiest out of strong sun.
• Hardy geraniums — Geranium macrorrhizum and G. phaeum cope with dry shade and return every year.
• Hydrangeas — for a generous courtyard pot; lacecaps in particular take shade well.
• Winter interest — hellebores, snowdrops and cyclamen keep the same pots working from January onwards.

Compost, watering and the small print

Use a peat-free multipurpose compost, and for anything in a pot wider than about 30cm mix in a little loam-based compost and some horticultural grit to improve structure and drainage. Choose the largest containers you can accommodate, since big volumes of compost buffer both drought and excess water. Raise pots on feet so surplus water drains away freely.

Shaded containers dry out more slowly than sunny ones, but they still need attention in a hot spell, and the roots sit cooler and wetter, which invites vine weevil and rotting off. Water when the top few centimetres feel dry, feed fortnightly from June with a liquid seaweed or high-potash feed, and keep the air moving — trim overcrowded growth so mildew does not settle in. Finally, wash dusty leaves occasionally, and turn pots a quarter turn each month so every side of the display gets its share of the light.