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Home / Gardening Techniques / 15 Colorful Plants for Shade Gardens

15 Colorful Plants for Shade Gardens

By Amy Andrychowicz | 32 Comments

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Gardening in the shade isn’t nearly as fun as gardening in full sun – Yep, I hear this all the time. The reason it’s such a common feeling is because most shade gardens you see are BOR-ing. Well I have great news for you, there are lots of gorgeous plants for shade gardens!

15 Colorful Plants for Shade Gardens

 

When you think of plants for shade gardens, what’s the first thing that comes to mind… is it hostas?

Ok, confession time… I find hostas boring and overdone (at least they are here in Minnesota). Sure, there are tons of varieties of hostas, and if they’re mixed well, a hosta garden can be very pretty and even colorful (and I do have a few hostas growing in my shade garden).

But, usually I see the same boring varieties of hostas plopped into a shady spot in the garden. So I say, let’s think outside of the hosta box.

Let’s put a little more thought into our landscape and come up with creative gardening ideas for shady gardens. Here’s a good start.

Related Post: How To Determine Sun Exposure In Your Garden

15 Colorful Plants for Shade Gardens

  1. Helleborus – I planted this in my garden last fall, and fell in love with it as soon as I saw the gorgeous blooms in early spring. Helleborus also has some really cool looking dark green foliage, which makes a beautiful backdrop for other colorful shade garden plants throughout the growing season.

    Helleborus Flower

    Helleborus Flower

  2. Lungwort – It doesn’t have a pretty name, but the foliage is quite amazing. A friend of mine gave me some of the spotted leaf variety (Pulmonaria saccharata) a few years ago, and I couldn’t wait to plant it in my shade garden. This cute polka dotted plant is still one of my favorites. Since then, I’ve added another variety that has silver leaves (Pulmonaria longifolia ‘Diana Clare’). Kapow! Those silver leaves really pop in a shade garden. Lungwort gets small purple flowers in the spring, which adds early color to the shade garden… but I love the foliage the most.
  3. Astilbe – The flower spikes on astilbe add major pops of color in the shade garden, but I’m a big fan of the foliage too, it adds interest even when not in bloom. I also like to leave the astilbe flower spikes in the garden for winter interest, they look really cool sticking out of the snow – like little evergreen trees.

    Astilbe

    Astilbe

  4. Brunnera – Can we just take a moment of silence for this gorgeous plant?  …………… Awesome! I had never even heard of brunnera until a friend of mine told me about it a few years ago. Since then, I’ve purchased every variety I can find – and they are all super additions to the shade garden. The foliage colors are anywhere from near white, to silver/gray, to variegated, or yellow/green – and all these bright leaves really stand out in the shade garden. The flowers are pretty too, though I grow it for the foliage.
  5. Bergenia – I got a start of this from my dad’s garden because I really liked the light green waxy leaves and the low, compact growth habit. Bergenia leaves are bright green during the summer, and turn redish-bronze when it gets cold. It also adds early spring color when it sends up spikes of tiny flowers. This is a lovely little plant that has lots of character, and I think everyone should add it to their shade garden.

    Bergenia

    Bergenia

  6. Bugleweed (Ajuga) – Another one of my all time favorites! Bugleweed can grow anywhere. Seriously. My favorite varieties are pink variegated (‘Burgandy Glow’ in the photo below), dark purple/almost black (‘Black Scallop’), and the green and white variegated one (‘Silver Beauty’). Bugleweed also gets lovely purple/pink flower spikes in early summer, though it doesn’t flower as profusely in full shade as it does in the sun.

    Bugleweed (Ajuga 'Burgandy Glow')

    Bugleweed (Ajuga)

  7. Jack in the pulpit – This is a really cool plant that blooms early in the spring, and the flowers are green. They’re unique for sure, but I wish the flowers were a different color so they would call attention to themselves (I sometimes don’t notice the blooms until they’re withered). Then in the fall, it gets bright red seed pods, which look extra bright in the shade garden. They do seed themselves a bit aggressively, so if you don’t want this plant to spread, remove the seed pods before winter.
  8. Coral bells – Who doesn’t love coral bells? You can find coral bells in practically any color of the rainbow. You could do a full shade garden using nothing but coral bells, and it would be very colorful. I can’t say enough about coral bells, they are a definite must for a colorful shade garden!

    Coral Bells And Bleeding Heart Plants

    Coral Bells And Bleeding Heart Plants

  9. Solomon’s Seal (variegated) – Variegated solomon’s seal makes a wonderful backdrop for a colorful shade garden. The bright variegated leaves really stand out, and it’s especially striking combined with plants that have dark foliage. It also gets cute little white bell flowers in the spring.
  10. Bleeding heart – A classic beauty in the shade garden, and one of my favorite spring blooming plants. I love all varieties of bleeding heart, but the one with the chartreuse foliage (‘Gold Heart’) is… is… well it’s so beautiful I want to cry! Talk about adding color to the shade garden. Oh my – be still my bleeding heart! If you don’t have this plant in your shade garden yet, go get yourself one right now.

    Bleeding Heart

    Bleeding Heart

  11. Lamium – There are lots of different varieties of lamium too, but the one I love the most and grow in my shade garden has bright (like, really bright!) yellow leaves and pink flowers (I don’t have a tag for it). It’s so bright in the shade garden that it practically glows in the dark. Gorgeous! But be careful with the varieties you buy, because some types of lamium can be very invasive.

    Lamium

    Lamium

  12. Euphorbia (Spurge) – A friend of mine gave me this plant a few years ago, and wow! I had no idea how colorful this plant would be. In the spring, the foliage starts out green with bright yellow tips, then it grows into a eye popping compact bush covered by neon yellow flowers in early summer. I’m not sure which variety I have, but It’s so gorgeous! The stems of my spurge collapse after the flowers fade, so I just cut it back to the ground during the summer, which opens up the space for other plants to fill in.
  13. Obedient plant (variegated) – Obedient plants are beautiful, but the variegated one is especially nice. It makes a bright and colorful backdrop in the shade garden, and even gets cute little purple flowers in the summer.

    Spurge

    Spurge

  14. Irish Moss – When I was looking for a ground cover for my shade garden, I bought a cute little Irish moss plant. I had no idea that it would become one of the stars of my shade garden. Once it’s established, it spreads like any other moss – suddenly appearing in an unexpected place one day. Irish moss creates a lush bright green carpet on the ground, and it doesn’t mind one bit if you walk on it. This is the perfect ground cover for a colorful shade garden, and great for growing in the cracks and crevices of a garden path.
  15. Loosestrife (Lysimachia) – There are tons of varieties of loosestrife, and I especially love the variegated varieties. My two favorite types of loosestrife for adding color to my shade garden are ‘Alexander’ (white/green variegated leaves) and ‘Golden Alexander’ (yellow/green variegated leaves). Be careful about which type of loosestrife you choose, because some are very invasive (purple loosestrife is on the invasive species list in Minnesota).

I hope I’ve given you some creative gardening ideas for colorful shade gardens. Next time you’re at the garden center, I challenge you to think outside of the hosta box and get yourself some amazing plants to create your own colorful shade garden.

More Great Posts About Garden Plants

  • Partial Shade Shrubs For Your Garden
  • Create A Bee-Friendly Garden To Help Save The Honey Bees
  • Perennials Made Easy! How To Create Amazing Gardens
  • Gardening Tips For Amazing Summer Gardens

What are your favorite shade garden plants to add to this list?

Categories: Gardening Techniques

About Amy Andrychowicz

I live and garden in Minneapolis, MN (zone 4b). My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening most of my life. I’m a passionate gardener who loves growing everything from vegetables, herbs, and flowers to succulents, tropicals, and houseplants - you name, I've grown it! Read More...

Comments

  1. Catharine says

    August 25, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    What would the range be for how many hours of direct sunlight a day an area gets to be right for a shade garden? 1-3? 2-4? I have recently been photographing my yard during the day to see how many hours of sun each area gets since most of it is fairly shady.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      August 29, 2014 at 3:31 pm

      Shade refers to an area that receives less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, with the bulk of the sun exposure occurring during either early morning, late afternoon or dappled throughout the day. Full shade is an area that doesn’t get any direct sun exposure, but may receive bright, indirect light.

      Here’s a post I wrote about sun exposure in the garden, and that has definitions of all the different types of sun exposure in the garden too… How to Determine Sun Exposure in Your Garden

      Reply
  2. Penny says

    September 10, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    One of my favorite shade plants is Jacob’s Ladder. It never seems to get mentioned. It self-seeds but is not invasive. Pretty blue delicate flowers in spring, variegated fern like foliage thru out the summer.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      September 11, 2014 at 9:00 am

      I love Jacob’s Ladder Penny, thanks for adding that one to the list! 🙂

      Amy

      Reply
  3. Alvin says

    January 27, 2015 at 6:56 am

    My favourite one is coral bell and thanks for sharing this info!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      February 4, 2015 at 6:06 am

      Awesome, thanks!

      Amy

      Reply
  4. Jen Sabelko says

    May 31, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    I was just out in my shade garden today wishing that it wasn’t primarily hosta! Thank you for the great ideas! The helleborus is super cute!!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 4, 2015 at 2:18 pm

      Awesome! You’re welcome, and happy shopping! 🙂

      Reply
  5. ramona cagle says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:36 am

    Coral bells,how I love them! I would have them for shade, but I have some which receive quite a lot of sun & they flourish.At last count I have 19 of them & I must add one more to make an even number. Any excuse to add one more.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Yes, they are some of my favorites too! So much colorful options. Have fun shopping for more!

      Reply
  6. lilly says

    June 14, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Would any of these plants work in zone 8b under an oak tree?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 17, 2015 at 3:46 pm

      I would thing that most, if not all of them would grow in your zone – and all of them would definitely do well under an oak tree. Take the list with you to your local garden center and see what they carry. Have fun shopping!

      Reply
  7. Jane Rutkowski says

    June 15, 2015 at 7:16 am

    Nice post. I have a lot shady spots around my yard and this gives me some ideas for NEW plants to try!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 17, 2015 at 1:18 pm

      Awesome, glad you found the list helpful!

      Reply
  8. Vanessa D. says

    July 12, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    I like my hostas a lot, but I like many of the ones you’ve mentioned here too. I have a Pink Fizz Heucherella that has been in flower since the end of May and the Hellebore started even earlier. With the right plants, shade gardening isn’t boring at all.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:47 pm

      Totally!

      Reply
  9. Nicole @ The Professional Mom Project says

    July 13, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    This is a great list. We have a super shady spot under a big tree in our yard and I’ve been searching for a while for plants that might work back there! #wineddown

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:47 pm

      Awesome!

      Reply
  10. Sarah says

    July 14, 2016 at 6:51 am

    Gorgeous picks! Love your blog!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:49 pm

      Thanks so much!

      Reply
  11. Laura says

    July 14, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Amy, these are wonderful shade plant suggestions.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:50 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  12. Emily says

    July 16, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    These are all great suggestions! We don’t have many shady spots in our yard, but I am always looking for plant ideas. Plus, we have too many deer for hosts to survive, so it’s nice to bookmark some other options. Thanks for sharing with Merry Monday.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 3:58 pm

      Awesome! You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  13. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says

    July 22, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    I always love a touch of color in the garden! We added some pretty pink and red around the garden of green!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 27, 2016 at 4:06 pm

      Me too, love it!

      Reply
  14. Chel says

    March 8, 2017 at 4:11 am

    Hi Amy,

    Thanks for the creative gardening ideas for colorful shade gardens.I am loving these plants!I think they will be a great addition to my garden.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      March 10, 2017 at 12:26 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  15. Ann says

    June 23, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    The bleeding hearts is my favorite! Not sure if it would fit in my balcony garden. The area gets partial to full sun during the year. I love their color though! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 28, 2017 at 9:21 am

      Bleeding hearts are one of my favorites too! I’ve never tried growing them in pots before, it’s worth a try.

      Reply
  16. Paulette Crabill says

    May 16, 2018 at 1:06 pm

    Most helpful insight.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      May 22, 2018 at 12:31 pm

      Glad you found the list helpful! 🙂

      Reply

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