Flowers that Grow in the Shade: The 14 Best Options

Looking to add some shade-loving flowers to your garden? Even the darkest spots of your yard can benefit from a splash of color from these flowers that grow well in the shade.

Many people think that if they have a shady garden they can’t grow flowers. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you have a yard or garden space with less than full sun, you can absolutely have a vibrantly beautiful flower garden.

What are the best flowers to grow in the shade? Keep reading, and I’ll show you all the best outdoor plants that grow in the shade!

Best Perennial Shade-Loving Flowers

I love having perennial flowers in my garden because I only have to plant them once, and they come back year after year. Take a look at this lovely variety of perennial flowers that grow in the shade. These beauties will help fill in even your darkest corners with a splash of color and help you create a lovely shade garden.

Astilbe

These shade-loving flowering plants, known for their tall, beautiful bright pink plumes, will burn in full sun and flourish in partial shade. Plant them in a light to a moderately shady spot to keep that from happening. These shade perennials have a wispy billowy look and come in shades of brilliant pink.

Zone: 4-9

Light Needs: Part shade to shade

Water Needs: Consistent watering is preferred; slightly drought tolerant

Flower Colours: White, pink, deep red, soft lavender, and violet.

Blooms: Mid-summer

• Learn More: See our full guide on growing and caring for astilbe plants.

Bleeding-Heart

These shade-loving flowers appear early in spring and provide quite the ornamental show with pink and white heart-shaped flowers growing on arching stems. Bleeding hearts are a wonderful addition to a shade border providing height, texture, and color.

Zone: 3-9

Light Needs: Part shade to shade. Bleeding hearts can be complete shade plants but may not bloom as heavily as plants with a bit of sunlight.

Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist

Flower Colours: Pink and white, white

Blooms: Early spring

Learn More: Check out our post on how to grow bleeding heart plants in your garden.

Foam Flower

A spring bloomer, these flowers grow well in the shade and are characterized by white fluffy blooms. These shade-loving perennials will keep coming back year after year.

Zone: 4-9

Light Needs: Part shade to shade

Water Needs: Keep consistently moist

Flower Colours: White

Blooms: Spring to early summer

Forget-Me-Not

Native to the United States, the dainty forget-me-not is a low-maintenance addition to many landscapes and looks terrific in garden borders. Forget-me-nots are also one of the fastest-growing flowers in your summer garden and are wonderful shade flowering plants.

Zone: 5-9

Light Needs: Part shade

Water Needs: Prefer to stay moist; thrive in wet, humid areas such as near a body of water

Flower Colours: Blue with yellow centers, pink, white

Blooms: May through October

Learn More: See our full guide on growing and caring for forget-me-nots flowers.

Hydrangea

A showy shade-loving flower indeed. Hydrangeas are famous for their large, rounded clusters of pink, blue or white flowers. These are non-fussy flowering shrubs that create a great deal of curb appeal. They grow exceptionally well against foundations on the north side of a home. Hydrangeas are a popular choice for flowering bushes for shade.

You can take a cutting from any of your hydrangeas to bring indoors to grow an indoor plant for your shaded areas! Once the plant is big enough you can harden it off and plant it outside.

Zone: 3-9

Light Needs: Part shade

Water Needs: Prefer to stay moist; water deeply at least once a week

Flower Colours: Blue, pink, white

Blooms: Summer to fall

• Related: Hydrangeas made our list of beautiful perennials that bloom all summer long.

Lily-of-the-Valley

A tiny, delicate-looking flower with a strong, wonderful scent. These shade-loving favorites have adorned gardens and other areas for thousands of years.

One crucial thing to know about this flower: it is poisonous and can be fatal to children and pets if ingested. Just two leaves can be a fatal dose. If you have children or pets that frequent your space, I highly recommend steering clear.

Zone: 2-9

Light Needs: Part shade to shade

Water Needs: Keep soil moist

Flower Colours: Pink, white

Blooms: Spring

Primrose

This early spring bloomer comes in a large variety of sizes and colors and makes an excellent garden or border flower. Also suitable for container gardening, this stunning perennial will add vibrant colors to any landscape.

Zone: 2-8

Light Needs: Part shade, shade

Water Needs: Don’t over-water; prefer well-drained soil and the chance to dry out very slightly between waterings

Flower Colours: Blue, green, orange, red, pink, white, yellow

Blooms: Spring

Annual Flowers that Grow in Shade

Annual flowers may not come back year after year, but nothing can beat the blooming power of a splashy annual. Check out this list of the best annual flowers for shaded areas to make your garden pop!

Impatiens

These cheery, bright beauties can put on quite a colorful display, even in full shade. These blooming powerhouses come in various colors and will continue to put on a show until the first frost. Impatiens look incredible as ground cover, window boxes, and patio containers.

Light Needs: Part shade, shade

Water Needs: Keep soil moist; will wilt quickly with a lack of water

Flower Colours: Blue, yellow, purple, orange, red, pink, white

Blooms: Spring, summer, fall

You May Be Interested in Reading: How to Grow and Care for Impatiens

Begonias

These showy shade-loving flowering plants are a favorite for a good reason: begonias are easy to grow and thrive in various conditions. I plant Bada Bing And Bada Boom begonias (see the picture below) every year in my window boxes at the front of my house and in containers on my front step. They put on a very beautiful show all summer long.

Light Needs Part shade, shade.

Water Needs: Keep soil moist; well-drained soil

Flower Colours: Yellow, orange, pink, white

Blooms: Spring, summer, fall

Learn More: There are several different types of begonias, and many of them have different care requirements. We put together a guide to help you navigate all the different care instructions for the different varieties of begonias so you can choose the right plants for your gardens.

Calendula

The calendula (also known as pot marigolds) has long been a favorite in British Cottage gardens with their bright yellow and orange blooms. The secret to growing thriving calendula plants is to neglect them slightly.

Light Needs: Part shade

Water Needs: Keep soil moist; well-drained soil

Flower Colours: Yellow, orange

Blooms: Spring, fall

Snapdragons

A bright, mid-sized plant, snapdragons make a terrific bridge between short and tall plants in your garden. Perfect for cut bouquets, this cool-weather bloomer looks right at home among violas and pansies.

Light Needs: Part shade to Full Sun

Water Needs: Prefer well-drained soil; avoid over-watering

Flower Colours: Yellow, orange, white, pink, red

Blooms: Spring, summer, fall

Fuchsia

This delicate, exotic-looking flower has a unique shape. Although not fragrant, fuchsia will stun in hanging baskets and attract hummingbirds.

Light Needs: Part shade, shade

Water Needs: Prefer well-drained soil; avoid over-watering

Flower Colours: Purple, orange, white, pink, red

Blooms: Summer, fall

Pansy

Part of the viola family, pansies are cool-weather flowers that grow in the shade and are among the first colorful blooms you see as winter departs.

Light Needs: Part shade

Water Needs: Prefer well-drained soil; avoid over-watering

Flower Colours: Purple, blue, orange, white, pink, red

Blooms: Spring, fall

Related: Pansies are wonderful flowers for dry pressing. If you’re interested in drying flowers or picking and drying a bouquet of your flowers, check out our posts on drying flowers and caring for dried flowers.

Wishbone

The wishbone flower is a delicate, shade-loving flower with plentiful blossoms that grow close to the ground. The bi-color blooms of the wishbone add a nice splash of color to garden borders.

Wishbone flowers would make an excellent addition to a moonlight garden!

Light Needs: Part shade

Water Needs: Keep soil moist; prefer well-drained soil

Flower Colours: Purple, blue, yellow, white, pink

Blooms: Spring, summer, fall

Vegetables that Grow in the Shade

Did you know that there are even some vegetables that can grow well without full sun? There are dozens of shade-tolerant options that can give you a bountiful harvest! Here are 28 shade-friendly vegetables to try planting.

You can also grow a bevy of vegetables indoors with the right tools.

Flowers that Grow in the Shade: Final Thoughts

With this list of gorgeous flowers that do well in the shade, you won’t need to look elsewhere to brighten up those dark spots in your yard. Enjoy all areas of your yard this year – even the shady ones with these shade-loving flowers! Which flower on this list is your favorite?

I must also mention the elusive shade flower, the queen of the night. It’s a beautiful flower, but it didn’t make this list because it only blooms one night a year, making it interesting and precious, but not a great candidate for a showy garden. You can read all about it here! It also made our list of beautiful flowers that bloom at night.

I love growing my flowers for displays during the summer, but I also get extra use for my craft projects. Dried flowers make excellent potpourri!

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• How to Grow Lupins – A Guide For Growing Robust Displays
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