If your yard or garden space doesn’t get much sun during the day, it’s valuable to know the best plants for shade. There are plenty of plant options with colorful flowers and foliage that make perfect additions to a shady garden. Here is a quick guide to some of the best plants for shade gardens:
Hosta
Hosta is a favorite among gardeners for its dramatic, variegated foliage. Hosta leaves come in every shade of green as well as yellow, white and even blue. While primarily grown for its impressive leaves, this shade garden favorite also produces flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Hosta is adaptable and hardy when it comes to light requirements, flourishing in partial shade, deep shade and everything in between.
Coral Bells
Coral bells are some of the most popular shade plants because of their bountiful, vibrant leaves. Once established, this shade plant favorite is extremely low-maintenance and only needs occasional watering.
Coral bells bloom and attract hummingbirds to shade gardens, but their yellow, lime green, apricot, peach and bright red foliage makes them perfect plants for any gardener wanting to add bold colors to dark corners of the garden.
Bee Balm
Bee balm, also called wild bergamot because of its fragrant leaves, has dramatic blooms perfect for brightening up a shade garden. While bee balm thrives in full shade, it’s important to plant this perennial somewhere with plenty of airflow to prevent powdery mildew.
You can plant bee balm during the spring or early summer and enjoy the amazing pink, red and purple flowers all season.
Many of the most colorful plants with variegated foliage or vibrant blooms thrive in direct sun. However, these are some excellent options for adding color and variety to your shade garden. With moist soil and moderate temperatures, these shade plants are the perfect additions to consider.
About the Author
Judy Szablak
With over 30 years in the industry, Realtor Judy Szablak has been on national television for her real estate expertise on the HGTV Network, featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio "Morning Living” , NPR radio as an expert real estate panelist, It’s Relevant News channel, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal for her in depth knowledge of Fairfield County Connecticut real estate.
She was also on the local NPR radio station (WSHU) as a Fairfield County CT real estate expert. Judy has provided multiple online respected news sources with her real estate expertise including The Daily Easton, The Daily Weston, The Daily Fairfield, The Daily Stamford and The Daily Greenwich, as well as in print in the New York Post. She is a weekly Real Estate Columnist for WestportNow.com, another real estate column "Real Estate With Judy” is syndicated through Hearst CT Media Online and seen in The Connecticut Post, The Danbury News-Times, The Stamford Advocate, The Greenwich Time, The Hour, Fairfield Citizen, Westport News, Darien News, New Canaan News and the Wilton Villager.
Judy is also the author of the book, The Art of Buying or Selling a Home, available at all major book retailers. Additionally, Judy has been nationally recognized in a number of national real estate trade magazines, some with distribution to over 1 million members. She was featured in Real Estate Today as early as 1994 for her commitment to, and implementation of technology in real estate. Judy appeared in the Certified Residential Specialist Magazine, as she provided advice on marketing strategies and ethics in the article titled "Marketing Makeovers.”
Judy was also featured in REALTOR® Magazine, regarding image enhancement for Realtors. She was again featured in REALTOR® Magazine, in an article on "Achieving Flow” and operating at optimal peak performance. In another article in the same publication, Judy offered guidance to fellow real estate professionals as she explored the topic of implementing and maintaining personal websites. She has appeared in The Council of Residential Specialists Magazine, which featured her ideas regarding technology. Additionally, Judy authored an article on marketing and technology for the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Online Magazine. On two occasions, in 2015 and 2017, she appeared as a featured agent in Top Agent Magazine. I have a few other websites- www.TheCtrealtyBlog.com www.CtHomesAndRealEstate.com www.BestWestportHomes.com www.ThePetitePowerhouse.com www,SzablakConsulting.com
