Finding the right plant for a shady spot takes some experimentation. I can give you a list of plants for shade, but that doesn’t mean they’ll like your shade.  If you want color all summer in a really shady spot, you’re pretty much stuck with impatiens! Not much will bloom nonstop from May to September in dense shade.  If, however, you’re willing to try plants that have interesting texture and foliage colors, you have some other options.  Here are the lists for you to consider:

Shade Lovers

Ajuga reptans                                                                                       BUGLEWEED

Aegopodium podograria                                                                    BISHOP’S WEED

Alchemilla mollis                                                                                 LADY’S MANTLE

Aquilegia hybrida                                                                                COLUMBINE

Dicentra                                                                                                 BLEEDING HEART

Digitalis spp.                                                                                         FOXGLOVE

Euonymus fortunei ‘Colorata’                                                         PURPLE WINTER CREEPER

Ferns                                                                                                      FERNS

Galium odoratum                                                                               SWEET WOODRUFF

Geranium spp.                                                                                      GERANIUM

Helleborus orientalis                                                                           LENTEN ROSE

Heuchera spp.                                                                                      CORAL BELL

Hosta spp.                                                                                             HOSTA

Lamium spp.                                                                                        DEAD NETTLE

Prunella laciniata                                                                                 PRUNELLA

Pulmonaria spp.                                                                                   LUNGWORT

Sagina subulata                                                                                   IRISH MOSS

Viola spp.                                                                                              VIOLET

Vinca minor                                                                                          PERIWINKLE

For Dry Shade

Antennaria spp.                                                                                   PUSSYTOES

Digitalis lutea                                                                                        STRAW FOXLGLOVE

Galium odoratum                                                                               SWEET WOODRUFF

Hedera helix                                                                                         IVY

Helleborus foetidus                                                                             GREEN HELLEBORE

Jamesia americana                                                                            WAX FLOWER (Shrub)

Lamium maculatum                                                                          DEAD NETTLE

Mahonia repens                                                                                 CREEPING GRAPEHOLLY

Origanum spp.                                                                                      OREGANO

Penstemon virens                                                                               PENSTEMON

Sedum spp.                                                                                           SEDUM

Sempervivum spp.                                                                              HENS AND CHICKS

Stachys bysantina                                                                               LAMB’S EARS

Thymus pseudolanuginosus                                                              WOOLLY THYME

Vinca minor                                                                                          PERIWINKLE