Shade-Loving Perennial Seeds

Sow shade-tolerant perennials in your garden.

Shady garden spots can be tough to fill. Several perennial species thrive in the shade, however. When choosing perennial seeds for shaded areas, look for varieties that grow in shade to partial shade, prefer moist soils and can tolerate drought.

Herbs

Perennial herbs can add fragrance to your garden and many have culinary uses. While most herbs prefer sun, several varieties can thrive in partial shade. These include anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), catnip (Nepeta cataria), chives (Allium schoenoprasum), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) and lovage (Levisticum officinale).

Flowers

Most perennial flowers only bloom for a few weeks, but perennial foliage can enliven shady spots in the garden through the spring, summer and fall. Choose shade to partial shade species such as astilbe (Astilbe spp.), false spirea (Astilbe biternata), fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra Formosa), goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus), leopard plant (Ligularia przewalskii), milky bellflower (Campanula lactiflora Prichard's Variety) and queen of the meadow (Filipendula ulmari).

Full Shade

Few perennials can tolerate full or deep shade. Sow these shade-loving varieties in dark, moist spots: bugleweed (Ajuga reptans), plaintain lilies or hosta (Hosta sp.), lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) and old-fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis).

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Gardening in the Shade
• North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension: Growing Requirements and Uses of Biennials and Perennial Herbs
• University of Illinois Extension: Hort Answers
• University of Minnesota Extension: Shade Tall Perennials

Resources

• North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension: Gardening in the Shade
• Texas A&M University, East Texas Gardening: Made in the Shade