My 9 Favorite Shade Perennial Plants
Last year hubby and I created a shade garden with the pile of dirt that we kept from when our pond was excavated. This year we added several more plantings to it and I really hope to share it with you next Saturday. Here are some of my favorite shade perennial plants that we’ve added.
1. Astilbe – Gorgeous, gorgeous astilbe! No matter what color you choose, it adds an element of femininity and softness to garden spaces. The first time I noticed this flower was during an evening mini golf event. The white astilbe appeared to be glowing in the moonlight and I fell in love with them. Once the flowers fade, the leaves still provide interesting shape and texture in the garden.
2, Yellow Loosestrife is the first flowering shade perennial that I ever added to my current home. I had plenty of annuals like pink and purple impatiens, but wanted a shot of bright yellow to brighten shady areas. The plant doesn’t disappoint with its spires of yellow flowers! It’s so easy to grow – I hardly ever bother with it. It’s easily divided and transplanted too.
3. Coral Bells – At first I wasn’t a huge fan of these easy-to-grow perennials. The flowers aren’t as dynamic as I’d like, but they’ve grown on me. My mother loved them and had several in her yard.
Truth be told, I’m more attracted to their leaves than their flowers. You’ll find leaf colors from light pink to burgundy to lime green, and more! And just look at the delicate design of the veins in the leaves. In addition to the variety of leaf colors, they also have a pretty mounding effect in the garden. The small leaf spires are like an added bonus.
4. Corydalis – I just added this flowering shade perennial to my garden this year and I’m just tickled with it. I was first attracted to the tiny little leaves when I spied it at the nursery. I thought I’d give it a try since my son’s name is Cory and it reminded me of that. And now, the small plants that I bought are now six inch mounds with plenty of yellow blooms. They’re so cute!
5. Lamium makes a great ground cover for shady spots. Plant a small bunch in the ground and watch it spread! The light green heart-shaped leaves are edged in dark green and are pretty all by themselves. The purple flowers are a sweet addition and add a nice bit of color. If it starts to grow too far, it’s easily pulled out of unwanted spaces.
A close-up view shows its intricate beauty. I’m always so amazed at the variety of nature and God’s creations. Every time I’m in a garden or outdoors underneath a beautiful tree I think, “This is what heaven must be like – only even better!”
6. Foam Flower is my new love affair when it comes to perennials. They’re like a smaller, daintier version of my beloved astilbes. I planted five of them on our shade garden mound this year and they’re performing beautifully. They make me smile every time I see them.
7. Bleeding Heart is one of the first shade plants to start blooming in the garden and how could anyone resist this beauty? I mean – just look at those heart-shaped flowers suspended like jewels from a necklace. One the flowers fade, you still have a nice looking little bush in your landscape.
8. Hydrangeas make a spectacular statement no matter where you plant them! Keep in mind, some like more sun than others so choose wisely. I have a few varieties of hydrangeas in my yard. Pink, blue, and a newly-planted white oak leaf hydrangea that’s really stunning. The tag says the leaves turn burgundy in the fall so I’m anxious to see it when autumn rolls around.
9. Hostas – A shade garden wouldn’t be a proper shade garden without hostas. A section of my new shade garden is dedicated to my father who had a love affair with them. Hostas come in so many sizes and colors. I love to mix them up. They’re easily divided so you can transplant new sections to other spaces, or even share them with friends. Their leaves will get burned if they receive too much sun, so make sure you have plenty of shade for them.
Photo by Bliss Garden Design, LLC
Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favorite shade perennial plants? I’m always looking for more stuff to add to my garden spaces!
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Some other nice shades perennials that I have in my garden are Lungwort (Pulvermaria) for their beautiful spotted leaves. This year I’ve added more clumps of yellow Japanese Forest Grass for a pretty draping effect. I have some Epimedium Rubrum that has tiny blooms in early spring, but it has delicate ruby edged leaves. I also have some tall Ligularia with spikes of yellow flowers in mid summer.
I guess my favorite plant for shade would be Hellebores. Beautiful very early blooming flowers and great dark green foliage all summer. With these I like to plant lots of Holly ferns and Hostas intermingled with some chartreuse Heucheras .
Loving this post! Not one bit of shade in this yard and I do miss those shade garden areas but I am learning how to use the shade of my larger plantings to bring in those sweet, low growing shade plants with their pops of color. My favorite is bleeding hearts. They always put a smile on my face and heart ❤️
I wish we had more shade here. We do have a north side yard that does get less sun so my hydrangeas do well there but I must water. We had to dig them up early spring and set higher in the ground due to our clay soil so they took off this year..yay! Heuchera’s (Coral Bells) I’ve always loved so I bought Black Pearl that will take hot sun. These deep purple black beauties look so good with our short lime green grasses and are doing well. Beautiful pics Jennifer!
Thanks, some of these i have and some would like to but wondered about them so you have solved that question for me. I can’t wait to see the pictures of your beautiful back yard.
Thanks for sharing your favorite shade plants with us! We don’t have much shade at our home; but what we do have
is planted with Hellebores, Ladies Mantle, Columbine and Swee Woodruff as a ground cover. I planted hostas under a couple trees and in the shade of other trees, I have astilbe, coral bells, corydolis, lamium and bleeding hearts. I have also tried Jack-in-the-pulpit – it does OK and Virginia Bluebells. I LOVE flowers; but this Senior is having a hard time “playing in the dirt”. Best of luck in trying new shade plants!