From late spring through the summer, multiple stems display clusters of tiny pink or white flowers. The leaves range from shades of purple, pink, coral, yellow, and sometimes green. Vying for hostas as the most popular shade plant, heucheras, also called coral bells, display even flashier foliage. They look great amidst the crevices of a rock garden, spilling over the edge of a container, or weaving around the base of other perennials. The round leaves of this groundcover grow more of a golden green in the sun and turn a deeper green in part shade. It’s a treat to watch the fiddleheads unfurl in the spring, and the green fronds offer steady foliage throughout the summer.Īlong with lily of the valley, creeping Jenny can blanket your shady spots in greenery. These deep-breathing plants give a peaceful mood to any cool, moist grove. Many gardeners often wish they had more shade so they could grow more ferns. As Astilbes prefer consistently moist soil, put them in an area that tends to stay wet throughout the spring and summer. Above a ground cover of green leaves, they display flamboyant plumes of red, pink, or white blossoms, usually rising 1-4’ in height. In fact, they can handle full-sun, as long as they have shelter on hot summer afternoons, but astilbes grow best in part shade. The bright flowers of this perennial look at home under the sun of a prairie meadow. The whole plant typically grows 12-18” with spacious green leaves around the strings of flowers and thrives in part shade. The heart-shaped blossoms hang gracefully from the stems and open towards the earth with drop-like white-petals.
This perennial offers some of the most intriguing flowers of all garden plants, whether they grow in the shade or not. While sunshine is always a gardener’s best friend, shade gives you the chance to grow a different world of plants altogether. During the summer, the flowers turn into attractive-but inedible-red berries that give extra color to their lush carpet of leaves. The bell-shaped flowers rise above tulip-like leaves that reach 6-12” in height. This woodland perennial blossoms with a sweet-smelling fragrance in late spring. They’re easily overlooked compared to the sun-loving perennials, but once you appreciate their suitability for the shade, you’ll fall in love with these plants. A large stem rises mysteriously above the foliage and blooms with nodding blue, white, or pink flowers throughout the summer. They grow large leaves in many shades of lime green, variegated, or blue-green colors. Hostas are resilient, long-lasting, and popular shade plants. Here are perennials that love to grow in the shade! Many plants prefer shady groves and will turn those dim haunts into verdant understories, if we only give them the chance.
But shade is just as deserving of attention, giving us cool shelter and moist growth. Sunshine usually gets all the accolades-with its heat, colors, warmth, and glow. “To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.”