Often found flourishing in the midst of a sunny border, finding the perfect perennials to plant in the darker corners of your garden can require a little more thinking. Read on for eight of our favourite, shade-loving perennials.

Find flowers for shade when you browse all our perennial plants online.

Each of our recommended perennial plants can be potted, enabling you to plant them directly into your garden, and enjoy a beautiful display merely a matter of weeks later.

Perennials for Deep Shade

Deep shade exists when walls or trees shelter the ground from sunlight for the majority of the day.  

Polemonium ‘Northern Lights’

A good styling tip for your garden’s darker corners is to incorporate some light blue flowers; light blue is wonderful for bringing brightness to spaces lacking in colour. Polemonium ‘Northern Lights’ is particularly ideal for this, as this variety will introduce these delicate blue tones, yet will thrive in shade and tolerate most soils. The golden staminodes offset beautifully against each petal, and the ladder-like stems act as a platform from which each flower can project; creating excellent structure.

Hosta ‘Snake Eyes’

Aside from boasting beautiful greenery, hostas will relish the shade. A useful guide to follow is that the darker the hosta’s foliage, the darker its location can be. With each leaf sporting a deep, muted green shade, and a variegated, emerald centre, ‘Snake Eyes’ will add a unique edge to shaded areas. 

Belonging to the lily family, hostas are suited to damp conditions, so this variety will thrive in a bog garden.

Perennials for Dappled Shade

Dappled shade is created when trees and shrubs partially block sunlight via their leaves, resulting in small speckles of sun reaching the ground.

Campanula ‘’Iridescent Bells’

Bearing pale lilac, trumpet-shaped flowers that gracefully nod from their delicate stems, this campanula variety will add charming movement and shapes to spaces shadowed by trees and shrubs.

If the planting location you have in mind presently has no other perennials, the tall height of this campanula will effortlessly forge beautiful structure, making this plant a clever choice.

Geum ‘Mai Tai’

Bearing sumptuous, apricot-toned blooms, Geum ‘Mai Tai’ will grace your garden with subtle hints of peach, bronze, and yellow; perfect for adding some summary warmth to the shadier spots of your garden.

Perennials for Partial Shade

Anemone ‘Wild Swan’

A great way to bring a touch of radiance to darker corners is to use white and yellow; these shades will also evoke a calming feel with your garden. Sporting crisp white petals that harmonise with the yellow stamens they encircle, ‘Wild Swan’ will appear radiant in the sun, and will illuminate your garden’s shaded corners. 

With a lengthy flowering period spanning from May through to November, this Anemone will prove an unfailing perennial for your garden.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Relishing shaded areas, and each presenting unique foliage, brunneras are a wonderful choice areas receiving partial shade. 

Just like ‘Wild Swan’, this beautiful brunnera will shine under the sun, yet bring lustre to shadier spots. A rosette of large, heart-shaped leaves will rest not far above the ground, and during spring, delicate purple blooms will emerge. Nevertheless, ‘Jack Frost’ owes its commended distinctiveness to its stunning silver sheen, decorated by intricate, muted green veins.

Dianthus ‘Memories’ 

If you are seeking to add a luxurious touch to shaded corners, pale, ruffled blooms will create graceful silhouettes and movements within your garden. Free-flowering, and offering a spiced fragrance, Dianthus ‘Memories’ will ornament darker spaces with white double flowers, and will happily grow within a container.

You can find more in our selection of evergreen perennials and perennial collections.