Five Flowering Plants for Deep Shade

These five flowering plants are able to provide gardeners with lots of color even in full shade garden beds.

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) for Moist Shade Gardens

Foamflowers have attractive flower clusters that raise above the bed of broad foliage. The leaves cover the ground providing a bed of color in the shade garden. The hardy foamflowers plants usually bloom in white, pink, rose, cream, and lavender. Some cultivars also have colorful and variegated leaves to increase the shade garden interest.

Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis) Flowering Bulbs for Shade Gardens

The fragrant lily-of-the-valley blooms attract butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects to the garden, even thriving in deep shade! They bloom in mid-spring for a few weeks, ending their show with the other spring bulbs in the garden. Lily of the Valley, or ‚”May Bells” are they are sometimes called, have a tendency to spread via runners in moist, humis-rich soil. The sweet flowering plants are hardy in zones 4-8 and tend to naturalize well when conditions are right.

Impatiens for Long-Lasting Blooms in Shade

The single most popular annual plant each year, impatiens are loved for their colorful blooms, long-lasting flowering and ability to withstand light to full shade garden conditions. Sometimes pronounced, and misspelled as impatients, they are indeed a perfect shade loving flower for gardeners who are impatient for flowers. There are hundreds of cultivars available to choose from with single, double and rose-like flowers or broad, thin and fine cut foliage. Impatiens are a great choice for any well-draining shade garden.

False-Forget-Me-Not (Brunnera macrophylla) For Blue Flowers in the Shade

An up-and-coming perennial, the brunnera is gaining the attention of shade gardeners for its cheerful and plentiful blue spring flowers, the ability to withstand part to full shade, and the easy care of this plant. Hardy in zones 3-7, brunnera has forget-me-not like blue flowers and large, broad leaves that are available in attractive variegated and golden colors. Provide brunnera with moist, fertile soil for best bloom, but shade gardeners should remember that brunnera grows slowly even in great conditions so it will not need to be divided very often.

Ligularia for Bold Color in Shady Gardens

These bright colors and bold leaved plants are sure to capture the attention of anyone passing by, and provide shade gardeners with a tropical feel they would otherwise miss. Ligularia blooms with a daisy-like flower, usually in yellow or orange. Hardy in zones 3-8, this perennial also has large, attractive leaves that are sometimes available with colorful foliage options like black, bronze or others. One of the larger shade-loving perennials, ligularia grows to 3 feet tall and over 2 feet wide, and prefers consistently moist soil.