Shade-Loving Perennials

These beauties are a must-have in the shade garden! They bloom earlier than any other perennial and their flowers dry beautifully, lasting through spring and even into early summer. Their foliage stays evergreen year-round, providing fantastic winter interest in addition to their early season blooms. Their leathery texture makes them an excellent deer resistant option. View our online collection of Hellebores (aka Lenten Rose) varieties, and shop in store for the full selection.

Astilbe provides gorgeous color and unique texture to the landscape. Commonly referred to as False Spirea, this shade-loving perennial produces vibrant colored, panicle flowers in shades of pink, purple, red, and white over fern-like foliage. If you’re looking to attract pollinators to the shade, Astilbe is a great option. Bonus? It’s deer-resistant, which is perfect for Northeast Ohio gardens!

One of our favorite early-season bloomers, Columbine, is shade and moisture tolerant, making it a perfect companion with woodland flowers like Astilbe and Lenten Rose. Their delicate foliage and profuse, multi-colored blooms add a unique element to the shade garden. Blooms can be found in multiple color combinations including pink and white, purple and white, dark and light purple, light pink and red, and soft blue and white among others.

Also known as Coral Bells, Heuchera has become a staple in many Northeast Ohio landscapes. This gorgeous perennial is commonly grown for foliage color and texture but it also produces tiny bell-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds to the shade garden. Similar to Coral Bells, Foam Flowers (Tiarella) and Heucherella (a combination of the two) add unique bloom color and texture to the shade garden.

Hostas are one of the most commonly used shade garden plants we grow here at Petitti’s and they’re available in a wide range of sizes and foliage color combinations. This diverse perennial family consists of clump-forming, bold foliage plants in shades of yellow, green, blue, and white with stripes, mottling, and numerous variegated patterns. Though they’re most commonly grown for their foliage, their tall spikes of trumpet-shaped blooms attract hummingbirds to the shade garden.

Beloved for its iconic, bicolor, heart-shaped blooms, perennial Bleeding Heart is a fantastic early-season addition to the shade garden. Japanese Bleeding Heart, D. spectabilis, develops into a bushy, bold and attractive plant with tall, arching stems of hearts, but will yellow and go dormant in summer. The native Fernleaf variety, D. eximia, is a more petite plant, but is more sun tolerant and will continue to bloom into fall if kept moist. All bleeding hearts show good deer resistance and complement most shade garden plants.

If you’re looking to add late summer/early fall blooms to the garden, look no further than Chelone. Also referred to as Turtlehead, this beautiful perennial produces snapdragon-like flower spikes that resemble a turtle head. The tall flower spikes of Chelone add bold texture and color when many other perennials are beginning to fade. It’s an excellent deer-resistant selection for woodland settings and shady containers. View our online selection of Turtlehead, and shop in store for the full selection.

Lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.) is a unique perennial, sporting semi-evergreen leaves spotted in silver. These shade-loving plants produce early spring blooms in various shades of blues, pinks, and purples. Similar to Brunnera, Lungwort is a fantastic, deer resistant alternative to Hosta. When planted in mass, they become a fantastic groundcover. They perform well in rock gardens as they prefer rich, moist but well-drained soil.

What’s not to love about perennial Ferns? These shade-loving garden staples provide striking texture in various colors. From the coppery-pink to peachy-bronze fronds of Autumn Fern to the darker red stems and finely fringed leaves of Lady Fern, there’s no shortage of unique varieties amongst perennial ferns. If you’re in need of something a little more sun and heat tolerant, look for Ostrich Fern. And, if you need a slow-growing variety for smaller spaces in the landscape, check out Japanese Painted Ferns.