My Garden Zone Is
Narrow Selection
Shade Perennial Plants
You can utilize the shady areas of your landscaping by choosing perennials that grow well in the shade. Here are a few top choices for shade-loving plants.
Hosta
Hostas come in a great variety of colors and shades of green. The flowers of these lovely plants bloom in the middle of the summer on tall stems and range from purple to white. Hostas prefer well-drained soil that stays moist and grow best from zones three to nine.
Hellebores
Hellebores exist in a wide variety of colors, including:
• White.
• Pink.
• Rose.
• Maroon,
• Green.
It’s fun to plant these nodding flowers on a hillside to best enjoy the early spring blossoms. The foliage of the hellebore stays a beautiful dark green all year round. Hellebores grow well in moist, well-drained soil with partial or full shade. Hellebores grow well in zones three to nine.
Bleeding Hearts or Dicentra
This old-fashioned, heart-shaped flower dangles delicately from arching branches. The bleeding heart’s blossoms come in shades of pink and white. The foliage of the bleeding heart plant looks ferny and delicate but doesn’t last all season. This plant prefers a shady, moist location protected from the wind. The bleeding heart lives best in zones two through nine.
Ajuga
Ajuga multiplies quickly and comes in shades of white, blue, and pink. This plant adds a pop of color to your shade garden and grows best in zones four through ten. One of the most striking aspects of raising ajuga is that the leaves come in a wide variety of colors, including shades of brown.
Astilbe
If you have fertile, moist, and well-drained soil, you’ll enjoy growing astilbe plants. The astilbe needs very little maintenance and grows well in the shade. Feathery plumes emerge in the middle of the spring and come in white, pink or red atop a fern-like plant. Astilbes grow well in zones three to eight.