If you are planning on growing a food forest garden, it is key to find some shade tolerant fruit trees, bushes and other shade tolerant plants that will grow well under your canopy layer.
Luckily most berry fruit and small shrubs and herbs are quite happy to grow in shady conditions in your food forest.
Bushes like currants, raspberries, blueberry, blackberry, gooseberry and rhubarb are all happy as productive understories in a food forest.
Herbs like mint, and vegetables like perennial spinach are also great choices.
You can grab a PDF of these plants here
Shade tolerant small trees
Acacia/Wattle Acacia spp.
Aronia Berry Aronia melanocarpa
Austral Indigo Indigofera australis
Basket Willow Purple Salix purpurea
Blackberry Rubus fruticosus
Blueberry Vaccinium spp.
Cape Gooseberry Physalis peruviana
Chinese Quince Pseudocydonia sinensis
New Zealand Cranberry (Chilean Guava) Myrtus ugni/Ugni molinae
Currants Ribes spp
Curry Plant Helichrysum italicum
Edible Savlias Salvia spp.
Garden Huckleberry Solanum melanocesarum syn S. x burbankii
Globe artichoke Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus
Gooseberry Ribes Uva-crispa
Koromiko Hebe stricta
Horopito Pseudowintera colorata
Houhere/lacebark Hoheria populnea
Japanese Quince Chaenomeles japonica
Jerusalem artichokes Helianthus tuberosus
Jostaberry Ribes x culverwellii
Kawakawa Piper excelsum
Kotukutuku/Tree fuchsia Fuchsia excorticata
Kowhai Sophora microphylla
Lavender lavandula angustifolia
Lemon Verbena Aloysia triphylla
Lupine Lupinus
Makomako/wineberry Aristotelia serrata
Manuka Leptospermum scoparium
Mountain Marigold Tagetes lemmonii
Perennial Basil Ocimum gratissimum
Purple Chokeberry Aronia prunifolia
Raspberry Rubus spp.
River Mint Mentha australis
Rose Rosa
Scented Geraniums Pelargonium graveolens
Sea buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides
Silver Berry Elaeagnus x ebbingeii
Southernwood Artemisia abrotanum
Tomatillo Physalis philadelphica
Wormwood Artemisia absinthium
Worcesterberry Ribes divaricatum
Shade Tolerant Herbs
Asparagus Asparagus officinalis
Balm Melissa officinalis
Borage Borago officinalis
Broad bean Vicia faba
Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum
Calendula Calendula officinalis
Comfrey, Knitbone Symphytum officinale
Day lilly Hemerocallis
Dill Anethum graveolens
Egyptian walking onions Allium × proliferum
Fennel Foeniculum vulgare
French Sorrel Rumex scutatus
Garden Mint Mentha sachalinensis
Garlic Chives Allium tuberosum
Globe Artichoke Cynara scolymus
Hyssop Cynara cardunculus
Lemongrass Cymbopogon spp
Lovage Levisticum officinale
Marigold Tagetes
Mint Mentha spp.
Nettle Urtica dioica
Oregano Origanum vulgare
Parsley Petroselinum spp.
Perpetual/Perennial Spinach Beta vulgaris var. cicla
Phacelia Phacelia Tanacetifolia
Rhubarb Rheum rhabarbarum
Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Stevia Stevia rebaudiana
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Shade Tolerant Ground Cover
Alpine Strawberries Fragaria x vesca
Asparagus Asparagus officinalis
Sweet Alyssum Lobularia maritima
Basil Thyme Acinos arvensi
Black Cumin Nigella Sativa
Clover Trifolium
Coral Pea Hardenbergia violacea
Corsican Mint Mentha requienii
Cranberry Vaccinium Oxycoccus spp.
Creeping Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium
Creeping Snowberry Gaultheria hispidula
Creeping Thyme Thymus serpyllum
Fat hen Chenopodium album
Ground Elder Aegopodium podagraria
Horseradish Armoracia rusticana
Lingonberries Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Lowbush Blueberries Vaccinium angustifolium
Marshmallow Althaea officinalis
Miner’s Lettuce Claytonia perfoliata
Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus
Pigface Carpobrotus modestus
Prostrate Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ or ‘Huntington Carpet’
Rhubarb Rheum rhabarbarum
Roman Chamomile Chamaemelum nobile
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
Sweet Violets Viola odorata
Vervain Verbena officinali
Warrigal Greens Tetragonia tetragonoides
Wintergreen Gaultheria procumbens
