Full Shade Edibles/Herbs

Hopefully an easy question for someone out there to give me some advice/experience.

Background:
We have a 2 story house in central Indiana (6bish).  Last summer we took out a bush/tree on the north side of our house and we have some empty space there now.  Due to our house's height and a large river birch in the front yard, the north side of my property is full shade.

Question:
I have a strip of ground ~15-20ft long  by about 3ft wide that i would love to have something food producing or herb production that is both tasty/useful as well as aesthetically pleasing.  We do live in a subdivision so whatever i plant i'll have to take care of visually but i'd prefer as little maintenance as possible.  Also, the north side of the house stays fairly moist.  The run off from my neighbor's back yard and my side yard flow about 6ft from the house (so 3ft from this section) back to the east end of the property where i have a large willow tree and there is a small retention pond.

Thanks in advance to everyone for their assistance.

~Jonathan

This list is for herbs that will grow in the shade.

Mint;  probably the most popular and most universal herb. Mint tea is used against coughs and some other health problems. It is a good addition to a lot of meals and salads, too, as it adds a very fresh and pleasant flavor.  Maintain it regularly by trimming it because it will become leggy and will look bad.

Chives; Most of you might not even heard of it but it is a very popular herb. In my opinion, it is not exactly a herb but a vegetable, but it likes shade.

Parsley;  goes very well on tomato salads, but it is widely used for other dishes, too. It is rich in vitamin C. There are two types of parsley - flat-leaved and Italian. They both like moist soil and partial shade.Cilantro

Cilantro; also likes partial shade, like chives. It can be grown from seeds and is a very good addition to lots of meals, too. Mind that this herb doesn't like to be transplanted.

Tarragon; loves shade but only in the afternoon. In the morning it prefers sunny spots. Tarragon is used in salads and other meals. You can also flavour vinegar with it. It is a very interesting herb from the perennial family. The easiest way to grow it is from cuttings.

Golden Oregano;  the only type of oregano that doesn't need full sun. All other types of this wonderful herb love direct sunlight, but golden oregano prefers partial to full shade. Direct sunlight will kill it.

Lemon Balm;  has a very pleasant citrus flavour. It is used for flavouring dishes, salads, tea and whatever else you can think of. It is also a perennial and loves shade. It has to be trimmed often, though, in order to prevent it from getting leggy.

Thyme; a popular herb used in different cuisines around the world. It goes well with beef, pork, lamb, potatoes, fish and lots of other food products. Thyme loves partial shade and shouldn't be watered too often.

Sweet woodruff; very appropriate for a ground-covering plant. It has aromatic, star-like leaves. It is used in pot-pourri and is a very effective moth repellent. Germans use it to flavour desserts and drinks, as it has a very strong scent.

Angelica; a biennial, which loves partial shade, high amounts of moisture, and woodland conditions. It can be grown in the garden, too, though. This plant is a cure for a lot of diseases, but its roots are poisonous. Only the flowers/leaves and stems are edible.

Wild Bergamot; is used mainly for tea and as a honey plant. It is very effective against colds and flu.

Anise; has a liquorish flavour. It is mainly used in medicine and for the production of strong anise drinks. Tea made of its fruit is very effective against colic. Anise loves partial shade.

Meadowsweet;  The blooms and leaves have a pleasant aroma and are used for flavouring teas, desserts and wine. Meadowsweet is an appropriate plant for your garden, if you want to attract bees and butterflies.

Red Perilla;  also know as Shiso. It is mainly used in the Asian cuisine. Red perrilla has an anise-like flavour and goes well with fish and on salads.

Spicebush;  an extremely aromatic herb, that loves partial shade. It is edible. Spicebush blooms from late winter to early spring, as in the end of the blooming season it grows red berries.
They are very delicious, but for birds. If you want to attract some wildlife in your garden, spicebush is a good enticement. There one little detail, though, you have to plant a male and a female plant, if you want to have berries.

Redhawk

Those are excellent suggestions from Redhawk. The angelica, by the way, has hollow stems that you can use as drinking straws.

You might want to consider red or black currants, or gooseberries. Blueberries (which are very decorative in fall when the foliage turns red) will also grow in partial shade. Strawberries and rhubarb will do very well in shade.

Also hostas, violets and ramps come to mind.

Thanks Redhawk, those are some great suggestions.  We have some mint in a different area and we have gralic chives all over the place they love to spread and the moist areas don't bother them in the least.  I'll take a look at some of the others you listed.

I have gooseberries on the property already though they're down by the eastern end toward the willow and the pond.  They have good drainage there and have done amazingly.  They're like 6ft tall for some of the older canes.  I have Rhubarb on the west side of the house but it is shaded there too.  It will be its second year so i'm eager to see how it does.

I was curious if anyone had experience with blackberries or raspberries in full shade.  How did they do?


Side note:  whole property is like .22 acres so between 1/5 and 1/4 of an acre.

Dan Allen wrote:Also hostas, violets and ramps come to mind.

Got both and my violets love to spread :)  The whole swath of the north part of the house is maybe 50-100ft...got lots of shade loving plants so far..just need some more.

Raspberries would probably prefer partial shade or sun for full production, but I've had success growing them in spots with quite a lot of shade. I think blackberries are indestructible and should do fine.

Also thought of daylilies. If the spot is wet enough, fiddleheads (ostrich ferns).

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone.

Hello from another 2 story central Indiana shade grower. We got a huge sandy lot but. Like 100 trees. We have a 60ft porch shaded by walnuts. Imagine if those toxic yet sentient beings were gone i wouldnt have to worry about toxic soil any more.This is the south side in shade so the peeks of sun are strong but last an hour a day.

My savory loves it, horseradish is fine, catnip good, hyssop loves it, heal all so far so good, quince is great, oregano super happy, sage is not dead nor is lavender, nasturtium are blooming, chamomile blooming, snapdragon blooming, bee balm loves it.