The Most Colorful Shade Plants for a Lovely Garden
Shaded areas in your garden can transform into lively green spaces with the right choice of colorful shade plants, but our experts experienced that choosing the right plants isn't always easy.
These 10 plants not only thrive in less sunny spots but also bring color to any shaded corners, planters and pods. From deer resistant to brilliant blooms, these plants are perfect for adding a touch of brightness to your great gardens.
Ti Plant
Ti Plant is a red shade perennial also known as Good Luck Plant, grows up to 1-3 m (3-10 ft) and has a striking, colorful foliage. It prefers partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. This tropical plant is low maintenance and can be used for both outdoor landscapes and indoor spaces, offering flexibility in garden design for example in vertical gardens.
Astilbe
Astilbe, reaching heights of 30-90 cm (1-3 ft), is a shade tolerant perennial known for its feathery, plume-like flowers in shades of pink, red, white, and lavender. Thriving in moist, well-drained soil, Astilbe plants add a soft, airy texture to shaded gardens. It's perfect for creating a colorful, low-maintenance underplanting beneath canopy trees or in woodland settings.
Coleus
Coleus offers a wide range of leaf colors and patterns, making it a visually striking addition as shaded hanging basket flowers. It's perfect for adding a splash of color and can be easily combined with other shade-loving plants. The leafy ornamental with its colorful foliage, can grow up to 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) and thrives in partial shade and well-drained soil.
Caladium
Caladiums have colorful, heart-shaped leaves that add nice texture, the plants also work great as shady ground covers. Caladiums are excellent for purifying the air and enhancing biodiversity. This leafy garden plant also suited for indoors, it reaches 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) and thrives in warm, shaded areas with well-drained soil.
Begonias Plant
Begonias, with their wide variety of leaf shapes and colors, are ideal for adding visual interest in a shaded pod or hanging basket plant setting. They typically grow to about 30-40 cm (1-1.3 ft) and thrive in filtered light with well-drained soil. Begonia Plants are valued for both their foliage and flowers, offering long-lasting color in shaded areas.
Rhododendron
Rhododendrons, ranging from 50 cm to over 2 m (1.5-6.5 ft), are excellent for adding color and structure to shaded areas. They prefer acidic, well-drained soil and partial shade. We saw their vibrant spring flowers provide a stunning contrast against their dark, evergreen foliage.
Pieris
Pieris, reaching about 1-3 m (3-10 ft), thrives in acidic, well-drained soil and partial shade. Known for its amazing clusters of bell-shaped flowers and colorful red new growth, these evergreen shade plants add a unique plant appearance to your shaded areas. It's a low maintenance plant that provides year-round beauty and can thrive in zones 5 to zone 9.
Toad Lily
Toad Lily, growing to about 60-90 cm (2-3 ft), thrives in moist, well-drained soil and partial to full shade. It's known for its unique, orchid-like flowers with spotted petals that bloom in late summer to fall, providing a rare splash of color in the shade garden when most other plants have finished blooming.
Primrose
Primrose is growing to about 10-30 cm (4-12 in) and we saw that it is one of the first flowers to bloom in spring. The purple flowering plant prefers moist, well-drained soil and partial shade, a dn comes in various colors that spruce up your early spring garden. Primroses are excellent for naturalizing in woodland settings or adding color to shaded borders.
Foxglove
Foxglove, growing to about 1-2 m (3-6 ft), prefers well-drained soil and partial shade. Its tall spikes of tubular flowers, ranging from purple to white, bloom in early summer. Foxglove is a toxic flower perfect for adding vertical interest to shaded garden beds or pods and attracts bees and hummingbirds. But you need to be careful with this flowering plant, as all parts of it are toxic.
Sources
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Ti Plant: How to Grow and Care for Ti Plant (Good Luck Plant) (thespruce.com)
Primrose: Primula vulgaris (Primrose) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu)
Rhododendron: Rhododendron (Azalea, Rhododendron, Rosebay) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu)
Begonia: Begonia | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu)
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Calin is in the garden industry for 5 years now and knows a lot about gardening and plants. He is the owner of this website and responsible for most of the content.