8 Pretty Shade Garden Ideas That Don't Need Lots of Light to Thrive

Brighten shady spots with bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis). Its heart-shaped flowers and blue-green foliage thrive in part to full shade and medium moist, well-drained soil. 

Bleeding Heart

Fuchsias flourish in cool, shady areas, forming small shrubs or annuals in hanging baskets with vibrant flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. They prefer part to full shade in evenly moist soil

Fuchsia

Essential for any shade garden, astilbe offers feathery flower heads and mounded foliage. These long-blooming perennials thrive in part to full shade with evenly moist soil

Astilbe

Toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta) surprises with its late summer white flowers speckled with purple. Ideal for part to full shade in medium to wet soil, it reaches up to 3 feet tall and is hardy

Toad Lily

These impatiens provide large, colorful blooms in part shade, thriving in containers or gardens. Available in various colors, they grow up to 4 feet tall and do well

New Guinea Impatiens

Easy to grow and low maintenance, wax begonia (Begonia × semperflorens-cultorum) blooms continuously with clusters of colorful flowers. Suitable for full sun to part shade, it grows up to 1 foot tall

Wax Begonia

Perfect for shady spots, impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) transform dark corners into vibrant displays. They grow up to 2 feet tall in part to full shade, thriving

Impatiens walleriana

Violas add cheer to shady border gardens with their perky spring blooms. They prefer part shade in evenly moist soil, growing up to 9 inches tall

Viola