Shade Tolerant Flowers for Gardens

Bulb Flowers

• Caladium (Caladium bicolor) is a bulb plant that is desirable primarily for its colorful leaves, although it does also produce flowers. This short plant thrives in warm, shady areas and features bi-colored, heart-shaped leaves. If you live in areas that have freezing temperatures, dig up the bulbs and store them for the winter, or plant new ones each year. Tuberous begonias (Begonia tuberhybrida) are also tender bulb plants that thrive in the shade. In fact, their colorful blooms will wilt under hot, sunny conditions. Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) will grow in light, dappled shade and will spread year after year to cover the area with cheerful yellow flowers.

Annual Flowers

• Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) are perhaps the most popular shade annual. These small, vibrantly colorful flowers are very hardy and will grow and spread all summer long. They come in almost every color except blue and range between 8 and 24 inches in height. Browallia (Browallia speciosa) is not as well known as impatiens, but it is an attractive choice, especially if you are looking for something blue. The flowers, which sit stop 12-inch stalks, come in shades of white and blue.

Perennial Flowers

• Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) thrive in shady areas and are often found growing wild in temperate forests, tucked under deciduous trees. The plant features distinctive, hanging flowers shaped like hearts. Too much heat will cause the plant to stop blooming, so this is a good choice for areas that have cool summers. Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) is an outstanding choice for deep shade if you don't have children or pets. This poisonous but showy plant grows tall -- up to 4 feet -- and blooms all summer long. The flowers come in shades of pink, white and purple.

Foliage Plants

• Most shade-loving plants produce flowers, but for some of them, those flowers are insignificant compared to the foliage. Hostas are one example of this. Although these plants do produce flowers, they are more desirable for their attractive and variegated foliage. Coleus (Solenostemon hybrids) is another foliage plant. Unlike hostas, coleus plants need warm weather to thrive and will brighten up your shady areas with leaves of purple, gold, orange and even pink. The flowers are small and overshadowed by the foliage. The plants can be grown in containers and brought indoors for the winter.