Best Landscape: Shady Perennials

Many homeowners often wonder what they can plant in their shady spots in their home landscape. While full sun gardens tend to boast of the large, stunning flowering perennials, there are some amazing perennial plants that can thrive with little sun and can set up a magnificent show. Shade can be a blessing when you know what plants will thrive there, and a shady garden be as beautiful as a sunny garden. Follow this list of shady place perennial plants for some great ideas for new plants to add to your shady place!

The first shady place perennial is a favorite in many home landscapes. Every gardener loves to see this plant sprout to life in the spring and bloom in the middle of summer. The Hosta is a beautiful plant that has large leaves with spikes of flowers sprouting from the middle in the summer. Hostas come in so many shapes, colors and sizes. From deep blues, to bright greens, almost any gardener can find a Hosta variety they will love. The deeper the color of the Hosta, the more shade it likes. There are some lighter colored Hostas that will still thrive in semi-sunny conditions. Hostas need to be spaced evenly to allow adequate airflow between the large leaves. They are susceptible to slug damage, so the more airflow you can acquire, the better.

The next shady place perennial is the Columbine. The Columbine is an early bloomer, often one of the first perennials to bloom in the spring. The beautiful blooms are set atop soft blue leaves. Columbine is most commonly found in a deep blue to violet shade, but many other colors can be found as well. Pink and yellow Columbines are very beautiful when planted next to any shady place plant. The foliage of the Columbine will remain beautiful for most of the summer, even after the blooms have faded away.

A traditional Bleeding Heart plant is also beautiful in the shade. The Bleeding Heart blooms in the spring, with spikes of flowers flowing from the plant. The flowers are heart shaped and have a drip-like formation coming out of the bottom of each flower. They are beautiful and will be the star of a spring shady garden.

Another great shady place perennial is the fern. There are so many different fern species and varieties, but they all love the shade. They provide an excellent backdrop for annuals such as impatiens and wax begonias. Ferns can live for many years and often become heirloom species in your garden.

The Astilbe is a great choice for blooms in your shady garden. The tall spikes bloom in the summer and bring bright color to the shade. They come in many colors, white, pink, red and purple being the most common. Astilbe is very easy to grow and is one of the most commonly used perennial flowers for the shade.
Some other commonly used shade loving perennials are Lady's Mantle, Coral Bells and Lenten Rose. Any plant that will bloom in the shade should be added to your shade garden so that the area will look brighter and more beautiful!