Bigroot Geranium
One of the toughest shade-tolerant plants, bigroot geranium doesn't mind heat or drought, and deer and rabbits typically pass them by in search of tastier morsels. Not to be confused with zonal geraniums grown as annuals, these colorful perennials put on a spring show with pink, purple, or white flowers; some varieties also offer outstanding fall color in their woodsy-scented foliage.
Growing Conditions: Part shade to full sun in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
Toad Lily
Add a touch of elegance to your shade garden with graceful toad lily. This easy-to-grow flowering shade perennial offers unique flowers that are often compared to orchids. Many are spotted with shades of purple or blue. 'Tojen' is a favorite variety that offers especially large lavender flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
Ajuga
Grown mainly for its attractive leaves, ajuga also produces blue flowers in the spring. Select varieties offer dark purple or variegated foliage or pink or white flowers. It makes a tough groundcover, staying low and spreading outward with creeping stems.
Growing Conditions: Full shade to full sun in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 6 inches tall
Zones: 3-9
In some regions, ajuga can spread aggressively and may even be considered an invasive plant, so check if it's a problem where you live before planting.
Hosta
Among the showiest and easiest-to-grow shade perennials, hostas come in a huge variety of sizes and shapes. Choose from miniatures that stay only a few inches tall or giants that sprawl 6 feet across or more. Look for leaves in shades of green, blue, white, chartreuse, and gold, with many cultivars boasting pretty variegation. Some hosta flowers are very fragrant, too.
Growing Conditions: Full shade to full sun (depending on variety) in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall (depending on variety)
Zones: 3-8
Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart
There's little wonder why the old-fashioned bleeding heart is a favorite shade perennial. Its finely cut foliage looks almost fernlike, and in late spring and early summer, it produces pink or white heart-shaped shade flowers that hang from elegant, arching stems. By midsummer, bleeding heart usually goes dormant and loses its foliage. Plant it with astilbe or hosta, so you don't have a bare spot in your shade gardens.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
Yellow Corydalis
This hardworking shade perennial takes the prize for being the longest bloomer in a shade garden. Enjoy the clusters of yellow flowers from late spring to frost. It's not just the flowers of yellow corydalis that are beautiful; the gray-green leaves of these colorful shade plants are also attractive. Deadhead the fading flowers if you don't want this plant to self-seed around your garden.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-8
Lungwort
Though it doesn't exactly have a poetic-sounding name, lungwort is an attractive shade plant. It earned its moniker from the silvery, lung-shape spots that dot the foliage of these flowering shade plants. The leaves look good all season long, but they make an especially pretty accent to the clusters of pink, white, or blue flowers in spring.
Growing Conditions: Full shade to full sun in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Because of its hairy foliage, deer and rabbits typically leave lungwort alone.
Deadnettle
Starting in mid spring, deadnettle produces clusters of pink, purple, or white flowers. This shade plant blooms all summer, creating months of color. Even when it's not blooming, the silver-infused foliage of these flowering shade perennials brightens shady corners.
Test Garden Tip: Keep deadnettle looking its best by keeping it moist. If it dries out too much, the leaves will develop brown edges.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 8 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Barrenwort
An underused perennial that deserves more attention, barrenwort has it all when it comes to shade perennials. The groundcover blooms in spring in shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, or white; it tolerates dry shade and is deer- and rabbit-resistant. Some varieties are evergreen in mild-winter areas; others offer good fall color.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade where it tolerates dry spells but does best with regular watering
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-9
Brunnera
In spring, the sky blue shade flowers of Brunnera add welcome sparkle to shade gardens. It's large, robustly textured leaves keep the plant looking pretty when not in bloom, especially if you grow a variegated variety. While the plant is often short-lived, it does tend to self-seed, so you won't need to buy new plants.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
Hellebore
Also called Christmas rose, hellebore is one of the earliest bloomers of flowering shade plants. Look for its burgundy, pink, cream, green, or white shade flowers in late winter or early spring. Although it looks delicate, the Christmas rose is quite sturdy once it gets established, very drought-tolerant, and it's deer- and rabbit-resistant.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade where it tolerates dry spells, though it does best with regular moisture
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
Astilbe
With feathery flowers appearing in early summer, astilbe blooms in shades of burgundy, red, pink, lavender, and white. In addition to the attractive flower plumes, this shade plant has finely cut foliage, which is flushed with bronze in many varieties.
Growing Conditions: Part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall (depending on variety)
Zones: 4-8
Japanese Painted Fern
It's tough to imagine a lovelier shade perennial than Japanese painted fern. This beauty offers fronds liberally dappled with silver, burgundy, and green. Plus, it's a low-growing, slow-spreading plant for shady areas. Deer and rabbits usually leave it alone.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-8
Wild Ginger
Hailing from the woodlands of North America, wild ginger is one of the toughest shade plants. It produces fuzzy, heart-shaped leaves that look great from spring to fall, and it's rarely bothered by deer and rabbits. This slow grower eventually forms impressive groundcover.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 6 inches tall
Zones: 2-8
Japanese Forestgrass
With graceful foliage that looks like a waterfall, Japanese forestgrass comes in varieties that have bright gold, yellow, or white variegation. In fall, the leaves of these colorful shade plants often pick up beautiful reddish tones. 'Aureola' bears bright yellow leaves with dark green edges; 'All Gold' has even more brilliant golden foliage.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-9
Lilyturf
Loved for its grassy foliage and spikes of blue or white flowers in late summer, lilyturf also scores major props for being low on the menu for deer and rabbits. Plus, it's practically a plant-and-forget-it garden resident, even when it's growing in dry shade.
Growing Conditions: Full shade to full sun, where it tolerates drought well but does best with regular watering
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-10
Lilyturf can be a fast, almost aggressive spreader when it's in ideal conditions, so plant it where it can be contained, such as along a concrete walkway.
Fern-Leaf Bleeding Heart
Unlike the old-fashioned bleeding heart, fern-leaf bleeding heart keeps its fine-textured foliage all season long. These shade perennials bloom on and off from spring to fall (if they get enough moisture during hot, dry periods), producing delicate clusters of pink, red, or white flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
Virginia Bluebells
Virginia bluebells bring woodland beauty to your spring garden. The blue, bell-shaped flowers bloom for about three weeks at the same time as many spring bulbs. They are particularly lovely when paired with bright yellow daffodils.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
Columbine
Columbines bloom in almost every color, beginning near the end of bulb season. They add a dash of color right when your garden needs it. Although they are short-lived perennials, they reseed heavily in the garden. However, the resulting plants may not resemble the parent.
Growing Conditions: Part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
Cinnamon Fern
Cinnamon fern is a tall, elegant fern that forms a vase-shaped clump, leaving room for underplantings of low-growing shade plants. Fuzzy fiddleheads emerge from the plant base in spring, unfurling into large, bright green fronds that shine all summer before turning yellow and dying back for the winter.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in evenly moist to wet, well-drained, humus-rich soil.
Size: Up to 3 feet tall, even taller (5-6 feet) with constant moisture
Zones: 3-9
Foamflower
In spring, foamflower plants are covered with spires of frothy flowers—mostly in shades of pink and white—that last four to six weeks. After the blooms fade, the foliage of this woodland native serves as an attractive backdrop for other plants.
Growing Conditions: Full and part shade with a touch of dappled sun in average, moist, well-draining soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 3-9
Golden Star
MARK KANE
Golden star, also called Chrysogonum virginianum, is a low-maintenance native plant that forms a spreading groundcover with starry yellow flowers in spring and summer. This plant retains most of its leaves through winter except in the coldest parts of its range. Golden star spreads rapidly but is easily controlled if it outgrows its allotted space.
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade but best in dappled, light shade in organically rich soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 5-9
Woodland Phlox
Woodland phlox, also known as wild blue phlox, is a shade-loving wildflower with fragrant, lavender-purple flowers that add charm to the garden in spring. Often located along stream banks, this versatile plant is a creeping perennial that spreads slowly.
Growing Conditions: Partial shade in moist, rich, well-draining soil
Size: Up to 15 inches tall
Zones: 4-8