Impatiens have a huge variety of blooms and colors and do well in shade or part shade. I also like coleus. Hostas plants also do well in shade or semi shade as well as astilbe, bleeding hearts, mugworts etc.
grnwillow’s list is great, but I’d like to also add coral bells (heuchera), which now come not only with very pretty delicate flowers in white, rose, and red, but also leaves in everything from lime green to orange to burgundy, purple and close to black. Also (and these plants are not necessarily considered for their flowers but many of them have very nice lily like flowers and some of them are very fragrant), please consider hostas, with leaves that range from dark blue-ish green all the way to lemon yellow and in sizes from about 2″x1″ all the way to a plant (Emporess Wu) that is as big as a man is tall and about 6′ wide. The leaves also come in multicolors as well. Both of these plants are very hardy – and can stand a lot of neglect and will survive down to Zone 3.
There are lots of choices, actually. If you are looking at Perennials you could try Columbine or Astilbe, Violas or Shooting Star. If you have deep shade, try Hosta, Sweet Woodruff, Ferns, Lily of the Valley,or Virginia Bluebells. For Annuals you can use Impatiens, Coleus, Begonias (wax or Tuberous), Lobelia, or Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana). You could also try Ageratum or Torenia. I have used all of these at one time or another and they all are pretty easy. Check your zone and how much shade you actually have before buying your plants and putting them in. If you can, go to your local nursery and browse, looking at what they have, and what they recommend for your area. Good Luck and have fun!
0 Answers
Joan Ross wrote on :
Impatiens have a huge variety of blooms and colors and do well in shade or part shade. I also like coleus. Hostas plants also do well in shade or semi shade as well as astilbe, bleeding hearts, mugworts etc.
Helene Wollin wrote on :
grnwillow’s list is great, but I’d like to also add coral bells (heuchera), which now come not only with very pretty delicate flowers in white, rose, and red, but also leaves in everything from lime green to orange to burgundy, purple and close to black. Also (and these plants are not necessarily considered for their flowers but many of them have very nice lily like flowers and some of them are very fragrant), please consider hostas, with leaves that range from dark blue-ish green all the way to lemon yellow and in sizes from about 2″x1″ all the way to a plant (Emporess Wu) that is as big as a man is tall and about 6′ wide. The leaves also come in multicolors as well. Both of these plants are very hardy – and can stand a lot of neglect and will survive down to Zone 3.
Cheryl Wait wrote on :
There are lots of choices, actually. If you are looking at Perennials you could try Columbine or Astilbe, Violas or Shooting Star. If you have deep shade, try Hosta, Sweet Woodruff, Ferns, Lily of the Valley,or Virginia Bluebells. For Annuals you can use Impatiens, Coleus, Begonias (wax or Tuberous), Lobelia, or Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana). You could also try Ageratum or Torenia. I have used all of these at one time or another and they all are pretty easy. Check your zone and how much shade you actually have before buying your plants and putting them in. If you can, go to your local nursery and browse, looking at what they have, and what they recommend for your area. Good Luck and have fun!