Gardening Flowers Perennials 17 Colorful Outdoor Plants That Don’t Need Sunlight These shade-loving annuals, perennials, and tropicals are pretty to the eye and easy to grow! By Sheryl Geerts Sheryl Geerts Sheryl Geerts is an editor and author who has nearly three decades of writing and editing experience. She enjoys writing about garden, food, and home topics. Her bylines have appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Allrecipes, Martha Stewart Living, and several other publications. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on July 21, 2023 Reviewed by Joseph Tychonievich Reviewed by Joseph Tychonievich Joseph Tychonievich is a gardening expert with two decades of work in horticulture, the author of three gardening books, and known for his deep knowledge of the science behind techniques for successful gardening. Learn about BHG's Gardening Review Board Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Samantha Hedum Not all plants need direct sunlight. In fact, plenty of annuals, perennials, and tropicals can thrive in the shade. Whether you want to brighten up those dim corners in your yard or liven up a spot in the shadow of a large tree, these shade-loving flowering plants happily grow where their full-sun counterparts won’t. What is Indirect Light for Plants in Your Home? 01 of 17 Bleeding Heart Peter Krumhardt Perk up the dark corners of your landscape with a generous helping of bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). These hardy shade perennials develop graceful, arching branches of heart-shaped flowers that have a tiny teardrop at the base of each bloom. Besides its lovely flowers, bleeding heart also produces pretty, ferny, blue-green foliage. This no-fuss plant goes dormant in middle to late summer and reappears the following spring. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in medium moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 3 feet tall Zones: 3-9 02 of 17 Fuchsia Justin Hancock Cool, shady locations are the ideal environment for fuchsias, which aren’t very heat tolerant (they aren’t a good choice for warmer climates). Many fuchsia species form small shrubs in mild climates and are hardy in Zones 7 and 8. Others are treated as annuals and grown in hanging baskets that showcase eye-catching, pendulous flowers. The plant’s long-lasting blooms in red, pink, white, violet, and purple are a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in evenly moist, moisture-retentive soil Size: Up to 2 feet tall Zones: 10-11 03 of 17 Astilbe Stephen Cridland No shade garden is complete without astilbe. These rugged, long-blooming perennials thrive in moist shade, providing you with a summer’s worth of feathery flower heads. And even when not in bloom, the plants’ mounded, fernlike foliage is pretty, too. Astilbe flowers come in white, red, pink, orange, and violet, and generally start to appear in late spring and early summer. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 18 inches tall Zones: 3-8 Long-Blooming Perennials for Sun and Shade 04 of 17 Toad Lily Greg Ryan With a name like toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta) you might not expect much in terms of beauty, but this hardy perennial turns into a prince in the late summer, producing jewellike white flowers generously splashed with purple spots. Capable of blooming in full shade, toad lily will slowly naturalize a small area, carpeting it with a late-season flush of color. Size: Up to 3 feet tall Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in medium to wet, well-drained soil Zones: 4-8 05 of 17 New Guinea Impatiens Peter Krumhardt Large, colorful flowers make New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) a must-have annual plant for your shade garden. New Guinea impatiens seem to thrive better in containers than they do when planted directly in the garden. But, grown either way, they add tons of spectacular color to the dark corners of your landscape. Bloom colors include pink, red, white, orange, lavender, and bicolor. The leaves can be dark green, green with red veins, or cream and green. It’s possible to grow New Guinea impatiens from seed, but it’s a lot easier and faster to buy young plants in the spring at your local garden center. Growing Conditions: Part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 4 feet tall Zones: 10-11 06 of 17 Wax Begonia Ryann Ford A no-fail shade plant, wax begonia (Begonia × semperflorens-cultorum) grows easily in your garden and needs very little maintenance. This mounded, compact plant has thick, fleshy stems with bronze or green leaves and is almost always in bloom, sporting clusters of white, pink, red, or bicolor flowers right up until frost. The plants thrive in both containers and borders. Extra showy, double-flowered varieties are also available. Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 1 foot tall Zones: 10-11 07 of 17 Impatiens walleriana Chipper R. Hatter A go-to flower for shady spots, impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) will transform any dark corner into a flower festival. Many gardeners use impatiens as a quick-growing summer groundcover for hard-to-plant locations under tall trees. Both single- and double-flowering varieties are available and bloom in white, pink, peach, yellow, orange, lavender, and bicolors. Impatiens grow well in containers, too. If your garden has been affected by outbreaks of downy mildew disease, switch to New Guinea impatiens or wax begonias, which are immune to the problem. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 2 feet tall Zones: 10-11 08 of 17 Viola Justin Hancock A shady border garden packed with the happy faces of viola is always a cheerful sight. These joyous spring bloomers (close cousins to pansies) almost seem to smile at you whenever you approach. Violas produce a seemingly endless supply of irresistibly perky flowers during cool seasons (they peter out in summer heat). Colors vary, but most varieties show off bicolor flowers in shades of white, blue, purple, yellow, orange, red, or lilac. Growing Conditions: Part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 9 inches tall Zones: 5-8 09 of 17 Wishbone Flower Peter Krumhardt Look closely into this shade plant’s blooms, and you’ll see stamens forming a wishbone shape, which is how the plant got its common name: wishbone flower (Torenia fournieri). This hardworking plant puts out a big show of jewellike, trumpet-shaped flowers throughout the summer. In warm climate regions, older varieties will sulk during hot weather, but newer varieties will continue to bloom through summer heat. Remove the faded flowers as needed to promote additional bloom. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in consistently moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 1 foot tall Zones: 10-11 10 of 17 Ajuga Blaine Moats If you’re looking to add color to your shade garden with both flowers and foliage, ajuga (Ajuga reptans) is a tough perennial groundcover that features bright green, bronze, or tricolor leaves, and every spring it sends up spikes of blue, purple, or white flowers. When flowering, this plant can make a striking display in containers. And because of its spreading nature, keeping ajuga in pots or other small spaces where it can’t invade lawns is best. Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 9 inches tall Zones: 3-10 10 Easy-Care Groundcovers for Shade 11 of 17 Lungwort David McDonald In the early spring, you can depend on the attractively spotted or splotched leaves of lungwort (Pulmonaria saccharata) to give your garden an early jolt of color. After the leaves are established, the plants send up graceful bell-shaped stalks with pink flowers that mature into shades of baby blue, which means that you might find both blue and pink flowers on the same stalk. This deer-resistant perennial will slowly spread through your garden without becoming invasive. Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 18 inches tall Zones: 3-8 12 of 17 Heartleaf Brunnera Jacob Fox With colorful flowers and foliage, you can’t go wrong with heartleaf brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla), also known as Siberian bugloss and false forget-me-not (its blooms resemble those of true forget-me-not). In spring, this shade garden perennial develops clouds of small, bright blue flowers atop a mound of heart-shaped leaves. It’s the perfect partner for spring bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips. And even when its flowers fade, you can enjoy this plant’s pretty foliage all summer long; some varieties have silvery or variegated leaves that brighten up shady corners. Growing Conditions: Part shade in consistently moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 1 foot tall Zones: 3-8 13 of 17 Hosta Kritsada Panichgul Hostas are among the best plants for shady gardens. Their leaves come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, so you can mix and match them with each other and other shade plants to create a dynamic display. Many hosta varieties also develop showy white or lavender flowers from midsummer to fall. Growing Conditions: Part shade to full shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 3 feet tall Zones: 4-9 14 of 17 Coral Bells Samantha Hedum Some types of coral bells (Heuchera spp.) offer colorful foliage in shades of red, bronze, green, plum, or chartreuse to brighten up a shady spot. Others offer showy wands of pink, white, or red bell-like flowers that bloom from late spring to early summer. Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil Size: Up to 18 inches tall Zones: 3-8 15 of 17 Leopard’s Bane Marty Baldwin One of the earliest flowering perennials in the aster family, leopard’s bane (Doronicum orientale) shoots up bright yellow daisy-like flowers just as spring is getting underway. This eager perennial makes a wonderful companion for spring-flowering bulbs, such as scilla, daffodil, and tulip. To encourage fall flowering, be sure to deadhead its spent blooms. Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, fertile soil Size: Up to 2 feet tall Zones: 4-8 16 of 17 Hellebore Richard Hirneisen Just when you thought winter was never going to end, the beautiful flowers of hellebore (Helleborus spp.) burst into bloom. Commonly called Lenten rose, hellebores are among the first perennials to bloom in the spring, often before the snow melts. Most varieties of this nearly indestructible shade garden plant develop downward-facing white, pink, green, or purple blooms that are often delicately etched in a contrasting color. Although most varieties have single flowers, a few also offer showy double blooms. Growing Conditions: Part shade to full shade in humusy, well-drained soil Size: Up to 18 inches tall Zones: 4-9 17 of 17 Coleus Jason Donnelly No story on colorful shade plants is complete without including coleus. This popular foliage plant is available in a variety of leaf combinations that add vivid color to your shade garden right up until frost. Coleus will occasionally flower, producing a narrow blue spike in late summer, but the plants do better if you clip the spike away as soon as it appears. Growing Conditions: Part shade to full shade in moist soil Size: Up to 3 feet tall Zones: 10-11 Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit