These Shade-Loving Plants Will Thrive No Matter Your Garden's Sun Exposure
Even if your yard gets minimal sunlight, you can still put your green thumb to work. Plenty of plants can grow and thrive in the shade, you just have to know which ones work best for your yard.
When planning out your garden or general landscaping, you need to consider tree cover and where the sun hits your property before you settle on particular perennials or annuals. For those less-than-sunny areas, certain shade plants, particularly the perennials we've listed below, can add so much color and life to your yard, whether you have partial shade or full.
How to Care for Shade Plants
First, you'll want to make sure you choose shade plants that can survive winters in your USDA Hardiness Zone (find yours here). You can plant shade perennials any time of year, but the most ideal environmental conditions typically are in the early spring and mid-to-late fall when temperatures are more moderate and rainfall generally is more plentiful. If you plant them in summer, water them deeply. There's no sense in spending money on plants that struggle due to heat and water stress.
Keep in mind that perennials may take some time to get established in a new spot—the first year, they may not do much blooming while they put down roots—keep them watered during this time to help them out. In the second year, they should become more vigorous. By the third season, they'll really take off!
Read on to learn more about the best shade-loving plants that'll bring much-needed color and vivaciousness to your backyard garden.
Additional copy by Arricca Elin SanSone
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Foxglove
While these perennials can definitely do well in the sun, they can thrive just as well in partial shade. Foxgloves produce eye-catching flowers in shades of pink, purple, white, and yellow that bloom in late spring to mid-summer. You can often find them in cool, moist climates and along borders of gardens and wooded areas. Keep in mind that while they're beautiful and unique, they're also highly toxic if ingested.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
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Woodland Phlox
These delicate pale purple flowers are known as woodland phlox, and they're shade plants that can also endure a bit of sun. This plant creates a beautiful mat along the ground in mid-to-late spring, and they are deer-resistant and attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 8
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Trillium
The trillium plant produces things in threes, hence its name which is derived from the Latin term for "triple": Three large leaves, three-petaled flowers, and three sepals. These plants thrive in shade and partial sun, though they can tolerate fully shaded areas. They're beautiful in woodland gardens but also are a favorite to deer and rabbits.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
Green-and-Gold
Green-and-golds produce vibrant star-shaped flowers from the late spring into fall. These shade-loving plants are fairly easy to grow and provide a nice ground covering in any garden, particularly one with partial shade.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
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Canadian Wild Ginger
This tough shade plant not only provides your garden with gorgeously green foliage but also ground covering and purplish-brown flowers that show up in the spring. Use the plant in your woodland garden or as a border for part of your yard, but note that it'll spread into large colonies over the years. Canadian wild ginger is also deer-resistant and thrives in partial shade.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 6
Cranesbill
This pretty, low-growing shade plant, also known as hardy geranium, has a lovely spicy-minty scent that also repels deer and rabbits. Its delicate flowers bloom in a range of colors from purple, pink, white, and blue, and it attracts butterflies.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
Irish Moss
This delicate shade plant creates dense mats in your garden and creeps along the ground in a beautifully storybook way. This petite plant with its little white flowers would look incredible between stepping stones or decorating your garden arbor.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 8
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Toad Lily
Think of the toad lily like a shade-loving orchid—its spotted flowers make this perennial so unique, and they bloom in shades of white, purple, and pink. The toad lily will bloom in late summer to fall, and it does best in fully shaded areas.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
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Creeping Jenny
One look at this chartreuse plant and you'll know why it's called creeping Jenny. In the late spring, you can find little yellow flowers popping up from its stems that add even more color to your yard. Just be aware that Jenny creeps quickly, and she'll be fast to take over an area of your yard!
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Vinca Minor
Vinca minor goes by a few names, such as periwinkle or creeping myrtle, and it's a charming flowering plant that covers the ground. The dark green leaves are a beautiful contrast to the delicate purple petals which appear in late spring and thrive in full shade.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
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Lily of the Valley
The bell-shaped flowers of the Lily of the valley perennials are iconic to anyone with even a slightly green thumb. The beautiful blooms, which come out in the spring, produce a very strong floral scent, and they're quick to spread, which is ideal if you adore the plant. However, if you want it only in some places, try between pavers or somewhere it can be easily monitored.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 2 to 7
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Bletilla
The bletilla, or hardy orchid, is a sturdy flowering plant that loves moisture. From late spring to early summer, expect to find the purple blooms opening up against their lance-shaped leaves. These shade perennials will tolerate the morning sun, and they do best in temperate climates.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
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Hosta
Beware: This shade-loving plant is a favorite of deer. While the large and lush green leaves look beautiful under mature trees and in cool spots in your garden, it can feel like it's all for nothing if Bambi cuts it short. However, hostas are totally worth it, as they also attract hummingbirds with their tiny spikes of flowers that bloom in mid-summer.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Bleeding Heart
A bleeding heart is a shade plant which takes several years to show its stuff, so be patient, and you'll be greatly rewarded with the striking blooms. Give the plant a lot of shade with some morning sun for the best results. The flowers can pop out in pure white, red, or pink, and they appear in late spring.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Japanese Forest Grass
Japanese forest grass is also often referred to as "Stripe It Rich" thanks to the white and golden stripes on its long leaves. This perennial lights up shady corners of your garden and produces delicate little flowers in the late summer, though they seldom show themselves from under the leaves. The best part about this plant is the leaves are deer-resistant.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
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Foamflower
The beautiful pale pink spikes of the foamflower, also known as tiarella, appear in late spring and are very striking against the heart-shaped leaves. The most intriguing part about this perennial is that when planted en masse, they resemble foam from a distance!
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Lamium
Lamium, or spotted dead nettle, is a low-maintenance and beautiful shade plant. Its silvery green foliage and pale pink flowers provide excellent ground cover, and while it tolerates the sun, it does better in shaded spots. The flowers can bloom in pink, white, or purple and do so in late spring to early summer.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
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Astilbe
The deer-resistant astilbe plant produces feathery flowers in shades of white and pink. They begin to bloom in late spring and continue throughout the summer, absolutely lighting up your shaded garden with vivid colors all through the season.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Autumn Fern
The burnished fronds of autumn fern add subtle color to shady areas of your yard. While this shade plant does best in full shade, it can also tolerate the bright morning sun. Keep in mind that they do spread fairly rapidly, but they're also deer-resistant, so maybe that's not such a bad thing.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zone: 5 to 9
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Jacob's Ladder
This shade plant is a unique pick, as the foliage grows to look like the rungs of a ladder, hence the name. However, its striking blue flowers are what typically make it a gardener's favorite. Make sure Jacob's ladder receives a few hours of sun each day for the best blooms. The flowers bloom for weeks in late spring to early summer.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 2 to 9
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Bunchberry
Bunchberry is a low-growing ground cover that does well in shady areas. The white flowers, which resemble dogwood blossoms (it's in the same family), become bright red berries in the fall.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 2 to 7
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Japanese Painted Fern
The delicate fronds of the Japanese painted fern are silver and burgundy, making it an elegant and slightly dramatic addition to the shade garden. It needs full shade but will tolerate some morning sun. It's deer-resistant.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
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Bugleweed
A mat of low-growing foliage makes this shade plant an excellent ground cover. In summer, bright blue spikes of flowers appear on bugleweed. It can be an aggressive spreader, so make sure to contain it if you don't want it growing everywhere.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 10
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Coral Bells
Available in a wide range of colors from burgundy to chartreuse, coral bells make for a lovely ground cover. Tiny bell-shaped flowers, which hummingbirds love, appear early- to mid-summer. Coral bells, also called heuchera, are deer- and rabbit-resistant.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
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Columbine
Columbines are early- to mid-spring bloomers, offering much-needed food early in the season for pollinators. The intricate flowers look delicate, but it's a tough shade plant that will return for several years. Many types reseed themselves.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
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Hellebore
This late-winter bloomer has exquisite flowers in a wide range of colors from pink to white to red. Give hellebores mostly shade, but they need some morning sun to bloom well. They're deer- and rabbit-resistant.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
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Marsh Marigold
If you have a very moist area in the shade, these native flowers are a great option. The sunny yellow blooms, surrounded by heart-shaped leaves, appear in early spring. Plus, you can cook or pickle them as a substitute for capers, though they should never be eaten raw.
Soil: Wet and boggy
Hardiness zones: 3 to 7
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Lungwort
This lovely, unassuming shade perennial, once believed to cure lung ailments, has pretty splashes of silver on its foliage. Salmon buds open into beautiful blue flowers in spring. They're also deer- and rabbit-resistant.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
Epimedium
This shade perennial is a low-growing ground cover that blooms in the spring. The delicate flowers are quite exquisite! But they don't like foot traffic, so plant them where you won't be walking or working in the garden frequently.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 4 to 8
Virginia Bluebells
These native shade perennials look amazing when planted in a group under tall trees. They prefer moist soil, and the plants are ephemeral, meaning they disappear during the heat of summer. Not to worry: They'll be back (and spread) next year.
Soil: Moist but well-draining
Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
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