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Although we typically associate sunshine with plant growth, you don't have to let a lack of light stop you from growing your dream garden! Believe it or not, numerous flowers actually thrive in the shade. So even the covered or shadiest spots on your lawn can boast beauty and vibrancy like their sunlit antitheses! Plus, by incorporating both annuals and perennials in your yard, you'll cultivate a delightful garden brimming with blooms from spring through fall.
Before shopping for shade flowers, watch your garden at various times of day. Full shade is considered 3 or fewer hours of direct sunlight per day. Part shade is about three to six hours of shade. Then read the plant tags or descriptions so you choose the right flowers for your garden's conditions. And when planting perennials, make sure to choose those that can survive winters in your USDA Hardiness Zone (find yours here).
Don’t forget that even shade plants need to be watered when first planted and during any hot, dry spells. Check pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets daily during hot weather because they tend to dry out more quickly than beds. Also, make sure to fertilize regularly (with any general purpose fertilizer) to prevent nutrients from leaching out and to keep flowers blooming all season. Thanks to these shade flowers, a few helpful tips, and of course, your handy gardening tools, even dark spots in your garden will be blooming with beauty!
For more great gardening ideas:
Primrose
For plenty of colorful petals all through your garden, plant primrose! These water-loving plants appreciate some morning sun but do their best in partial to full shade. Some varieties, such as P. vulgaris, will do a bit better with full shade.
Ligularia
The bright mustard yellow spikes of this flower are sure to make a statement wherever they grow. Though robust, ligularias are at their prime when grown in cool, moist locations in part shade. They need protection from hot afternoon sun.
Alternanthera
Also known as 'Purple Knight,' this moody annual adapts well to partial shade conditions! Its deep purple leaves are the perfect way to add contrast to bright blooms in your garden.
SunPatiens
Despite having the word "sun" in its name, this beautiful bloom can grow in the shade, although it also thrives in full sun. SunPatiens is a cross between two impatiens species: New Guinea impatiens and impatiens walleriana, the latter of which is also a shade-loving plant!
Flowering Tobacco
Nicotiana, or flowering tobacco, is an amazing annual known for its star-shaped blooms and the sweet floral scent it emits. This fragrant flower, which comes in many colors, such as pink, red, white, and lime, grows well in partial or dappled shade. Its leaves can get larger and more green when grown in partial shade rather than full sun!
Diamond Frost Euphorbia
As its name suggests, these white flowers look like clusters of fluffy snow and are so easy to grow! Diamond Frost is a hybrid perennial that can grow in partial shade. It's known for its narrow, gray-green to bright green leaves and tiny white flowers that bloom from spring to frost.
Toad Lily
You can really add some style to your shaded garden with this speckled flower! The easy-to-grow and elegant toad lily boasts white to light purple six-petaled flowers that closely resemble orchids. You can plant this one in the spring for late summer or fall blooms. Just remember that they're toxic to cats.
Columbine
Not only is this perennial so lovely to look at, but it's super easy to care for, too! The unique, dangling bell-shaped blooms of columbine come in a variety of colors to liven up even the shadiest parts of your yard. Plus, the early summer bloomers are loved by birds and butterflies but aren't likely to be enjoyed by deer.
Lungwort
Thanks to the lungwort's eye-catching silvery dotted leaves that last through the season and pretty clusters of pink, white, or blue flowers that pop up for a for a short period of time, it'll add bright color to your shady garden for months! While planting it in late summer or early autumn will give you the best results, spring planting should also work.
Bigroot Geranium
The bigroot geranium is one tough (and pretty) plant! With thicker rhizomes and stouts than other geraniums grown as annuals, these colorfully blooming perennial plants with their sprawling stems will definitely add lasting looks to your garden. They make for easy ground cover and produce pretty summer flowers. Their woodsy-scented foliage will even offer great color in the fall.
Torenia
Hummingbirds can’t resist the purple, white or pink blooms of this trailing annual. Torenia looks amazing draping out of window boxes and hanging baskets, and you won't have to deadhead, or remove faded flowers, to keep it blooming.
Fuchsia
These exotic-looking annuals come in shades of white, hot pink, pale pink and deep purple. Fuchsia is another plant hummingbirds can’t resist, so plant it in a hanging basket and wait for the show as hummers whiz and buzz by you on the way to sip the nectar.
Caladium
Large heart-shaped pink, red, white and green leaves make caladium a real show-stopper in the shade. They grow from tubers, which you can leave in the ground in zones 8 and warmer, and they’ll return next year. But in cool climates, dig up the bulbs after the first frost and save to replant next spring.
Lobelia
Lobelia is an annual with tiny, delicate flowers of pink, purple or white. It looks smashing in mixed containers, draping over the edges. However, it doesn’t like heat, so when nighttime temperatures stay in the 70s, it stops blooming well. Shear it back, and it should rebound when it cools down again in the fall.
Heuchera
Heuchera is another plant grown for its colorful foliage. This perennial grows well in ground or in pots, and it comes in every color from lime green to dark burgundy. Bunnies and deer tend to leave it alone, too.
Nemesia
Nemesia resembles tiny snapdragons and comes in cheery colors including pink, purple, white, orange and sunny yellow. These annuals also prefer cooler temperatures, so give them a light haircut if they’re looking scraggly, and they should perk up for fall. Bonus: The flowers are beautifully fragrant!
Browallia
This heat tolerant annual has pretty star-shaped purple or white flowers. Browallia will bloom all season long, and it’s often used as an alternative to impatiens.
Rex Begonia
This gorgeous begonia with striking leaf shapes and stunning patterns is grown for its foliage, rather than its flowers. The Jurassic series is especially beautiful. Bonus: In fall, you can bring it indoors as a houseplant.
Pulmonaria
The pretty speckled leaves and pink and purple flowers of this perennial shine in late spring. Pulmonaria is super cold-hardy, too, and you’ll enjoy the pretty foliage all season long after the flowers fade.
Brunnera
Heart-shaped leaves dusted with white are topped by delicate bright blue flowers in spring. Brunnera is a must-have perennial for any shade garden with its good looks and cold-hardiness. It’s also deer resistant.
Arricca Elin SanSone is a writer, editor, and content creator who specializes in lifestyle and gardening. With a background in health reporting, she applies these same research skills when writing about the science of growing things. She trials new plants in her expansive garden, and her houseplant collection consists of 60+ varieties. Arricca has written thousands of articles for publications such as Country Living, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, VERANDA, Southern Living, and more. She’s happiest when digging in the dirt, baking, or spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
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