Colorful Flowering Plants for Shade Gardens

♛ By

Pinterest

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden. I’ve provided a list of suggested plants and real-life examples from the garden.

If you like food gardening, also see vegetables you can grow in the shade.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.


I may receive a commission if you purchase something mentioned in a link on this post for sites including Amazon.com. Other links may go to websites where I have been paid to write a blog or article. See the entire disclosure here.

Shade Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Have Color

Shade gardens are one of the most overlooked areas in a backyard. If you’re like me, you love the rich, deep greens of the hostas and ferns, and smell of the moist, earthy soil, but there’s something missing. Colour! Shade-loving plants provide a perfect background for eye-popping flowering plants and foliage.

3 Types of Sun / Shade

  • Full Sun is 6 or more hours of direct sun a day.
  • Partial Sun or Partial Shade is 4 to 6 hours of direct sun a day.
  • Full Shade is less than 4 hours of direct sun a day.

Colorful Flowering Plants for Shade Gardens

This list shares some of my favorite flowering plants for parts of the garden that receive limited amounts of sun (4 to 6 hours per day). Most or all of them will be sold as annuals at garden nurseries. If you’re lucky, your garden nursery sorts the plants by light preferences, making it easy to find the ones perfect for your growing conditions.

Keep in mind that there are hundreds, if not thousands of hybrids available, and growing conditions vary. Use this list as a starting point and then check the plant tags before buying to be sure you can provide what the plant needs to be happy.

Also, I always recommend growing plants like these ones in containers. That way, you can provide the best growing medium (potting mix for containers), keep the plants properly watered, and not have to worry about poor growing conditions or tree roots that tend to interfere with in-ground growing in shady areas.

1. BegoniaBegonia in shade garden

2. Coleus

3. Foxglove

4. Fuchsia

5. Impatiens

6. Petunias

Next, I’ll show you some examples from my garden.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Colour in the Shade Garden

Here’s some examples from my garden. A massive, old walnut tree casts heavy shade on this part of the garden, so, instead of battling poor soil and tree roots, I place all the flowering accent plants in containers. With just an hour or two of late afternoon sun, it’s perfect for the impatiens (pink) and dwarf salvia (red).

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Further back in the garden, the ferns are thriving. We don’t really think of these as colourful, but they really light up with some dappled sunshine.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Potato vine is a favourite for container gardening. Here, combined with some gorgeous petunias by Proven Winners, they thrive in partial sun.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

I also keep fuchsias in hanging pots in the shade garden. They do not like to dry out, and placement out of direct sun helps keep the soil moist.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

So pretty!

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Another non-flowering option for colour in a shade garden is heucheras (shown below in front of the hostas). There are so many gorgeous colours these days including golden yellows, bright greens, oranges, and reds. I would have hundreds of them if I could.

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Even one pot of colourful flowers is enough to transform a plain, shade garden area. And, good news, there are plenty more than I have listed here.

Happy gardening,

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Empress of Dirt TV

Growing in a shade garden does not mean you have to give up colour. There are many plants with colourful flowers and foliage that can light up even the darkest corner of the garden.

You Might Like These Too

 Veggies & Herbs to Grow in the Fall | Free Pr... This handy list shares the various vegetables and herbs you can grow in fall in a cold climate like I have here in Ontario, Canada, as well as the bes...
30 Flower Container Ideas to Make Your Garden Wond... Want some super simple ways to create some fabulous flower containers for your garden? These 30 ideas will have you thinking outside the terra cot...
How to Make Squirrel Screens for Raised Garden Bed... Squirrel screens are one way to keep cats, squirrels, and other wild animals from digging in raised garden beds. Also see, free plans for making ra...
Pinterest

Comments
Subscribe!