The Best Flowers for a Shady Area

While the main function of a flower is to attract pollinating insects with a combination of sweet scents and appealing forms, the first thing many people notice about a flower is its color. Flower color is a primary consideration when choosing a plant for the garden. As an energy-conserving measure, most shade-loving flowers bloom less abundantly and brightly than their sun-loving counterparts; however, there are many beautiful plants that can brighten shadowy areas with their showy blooms.

Sunny, warm colors, such as gold, yellow, scarlet and orange, visually advance planting areas and make them seem closer than they are. Hot, vivid hues also tend to carry well and are easily seen from a distance. While it is rare to find warm-colored blossoms among shade-loving plants, exceptions do exist. To create the impression of sunshine in a shady space, plant masses of yellow flowers, such as the Celandine poppy and the yellow archangel. Emphasize the sunny tones with a carpet of carefree orange impatiens. The rose-like blossoms and bronze-colored foliage add color and texture to shady spaces from spring through autumn.

Cool colors, such as blue and lavender, recede planting areas and make them seem further away than they are. They are not easily seen from a distance, but they give the garden a restful, soothing feel. Many cool-colored flowers flourish in shady spaces. Annuals such as the pansy and the wishbone flower fill the garden with color from spring until frost, while perennials, such as Virginia bluebells and woodland forget-me-nots, cover the ground in flowers and foliage, turning shady nooks into wondrous places each spring.

Whites and pastels brighten shady spaces and seem to jump right out of the shadows, glistening and glowing in the dusky light. The ivory flowers of sweet woodruff make a lovely flowering carpet for shady spaces, blooming in the late spring and filling the yard with beautiful, sweetly-scented blossoms for weeks. The hosta adds visual interest and splendor to almost any setting, but is particularly well-suited to a shade garden where its showy white blooms and variegated leaves brighten dark shadows from early spring through fall.

Fill dark corners with a riot of color by mixing and matching contrasting colors and complementary textures. Plants with white or cream-colored flowers can be used to separate brighter blossoms that might otherwise clash. A combination of columbine, shasta daisy, violet, larkspur, monkey flower, baby's breath, snapdragon and coneflower turn troublesome shady spaces into eye-catching patches of wildflowers that draw butterflies and bees into the yard all season long.