Unique spring flowers for shade
By: Garden Gate staff
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Striking blooms for shade
Get color everywhere in your yard! Shade doesn’t have to be the exception, especially in spring. Whether buds are poking up through the last patches of snow or a branch is dotted with its first green leaves, spring’s flowers and foliage instantly brighten any spot.
Just keep clicking to find out more about 3 spring bloomers that transform shade.
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Sweetshrub Calycanthus spp. and hybrids
Also called “Carolina allspice,” sweetshrub has very fragrant, deep burgundy blooms from midspring to midsummer. Its glossy green, deer-resistant foliage turns bright yellow in fall, and dangling seedheads hang on through winter for a stunning year-round show.
Plus, its naturally rounded shape is easy to maintain — simply prune branches as needed when blooms finish.
Type Shrub
Blooms Deep burgundy or wine-colored from midspring to midsummer
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Humus-rich, well-drained
Size 5 to 10 ft. tall and wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
Source Whitman Farms
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Grecian windflower Anemone blanda
Since plants are short, Grecian windflower is easy to tuck under shrubs or perennials that bloom a little later in the season. There, they’ll add a dense mat of color and still get enough dappled light as the foliage and flowers above open.
While it’s in bloom, make sure soil stays moist, but after flowering is finished, keep the area as dry as you can.
Type Tuberous rhizome
Blooms White, pink, blue or purple daisylike flowers in midspring
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 3 to 6 in. tall and wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 8
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 8 to 1
Source Old House Gardens
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Bergenia Bergenia cordifolia
No matter where this perennial grows, its leaves take on a gorgeous bronze or red once the weather starts to cool in fall. In early spring, simply cut back any damaged leaves.
Although bergenia may have more blooms in more sun, its foliage does best in shade, where soil won’t quickly dry out and cause leaves to burn.
Type Perennial
Blooms Pink in spring
Light Part to full shade
Soil Well-drained, slightly acid
Size 8 to 24 in. tall, 12 to 24 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
Source Joy Creek Nursery
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