Dusky violet shade mini-border collection

Soft violet tones and dark foliage bring a calm, woodland feel to this easy-going shade planting combination. The Dusky Violet Shade Mini-border Collection is ideal for brightening those trickier parts of the garden where sun-loving plants struggle, adding layers of texture and long-lasting interest from spring into early summer.

Deep plum foliage from Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' creates a soft, airy framework, topped with delicate dusky pink flower umbels that move beautifully in a breeze. It pairs naturally with the rich violet-blue blooms and dark-flushed leaves of Polemonium 'Violet Heart' ('Tuipol'), which adds a more upright shape and finely divided foliage that keeps the display feeling light rather than heavy.

Threaded throughout the planting, Geranium phaeum produces nodding purple flowers above mounds of gently spreading foliage, helping to knit the collection together naturally. Beneath it all, Vinca minor forms a neat evergreen carpet with glossy leaves and violet-blue flowers, helping to suppress weeds and soften the front of the border.

This shade garden collection works particularly well in woodland-style borders, beneath deciduous trees with adequate soil depth, or along north- and east-facing fences where moisture-retentive soil allows plants to settle well. Once established, the combination is low maintenance and reliable, returning each year with very little fuss.

Carefully curated to deliver on style and performance, and grown to order on the Crocus nursery, our mini-border plant collections create beautiful displays that come back year after year. The collections comprise six, 9cm plants.

Each collection is suited to fill a 1m² space in the border, and has been designed to enable you to either place them on their own, intersperse them with other plants, or weave them in multiples to create a cohesive, considered look to your planting scheme.