Myrtus

The only Myrtus species in general cultivation in Britain is Myrtus communis, which has a Mediterranean-area natural distribution and does need plenty of sun. However, the South American genus Luma is very similar and in fact used to be classified as Myrtus, and this happily tolerates part shade, so we think it would fit your bill.

There is only one species readily available, L apiculata, but there are several good cultivars including ‘Nana’, which is a little smaller (Luma tends to get a bit bigger in Britain than Myrtus communis would, but withstands fairly rigorous pruning!) and ‘Glanleam Gold’, a pretty variegated cultivar which shows up nicely in shade. It tends to produce some plain shoots (especially after a cold winter) but these can be easily removed.

There is also a form called L apiculata ‘Variegata’, which has a more silvery variegation, but NB that plants sold under this name sometimes turn out to be ‘Glanleam Gold’.