Bronze-purple foliage with blue spikes. Fills bare shade in one season.
Enormous snowball blooms on a native species. Blooms on new wood, so prune hard in spring.
Feathery plumes that light up shady, moist spots like nothing else can.
Explosive spring color in every warm hue. Acid-loving woodland classic.
Arching sprays of heart-shaped flowers for shady woodland gardens.
Repeat-blooming azalea with waves of color spring through fall. Evergreen in mild climates.
Massive blue-gray leaves up to 18 inches long. One of the largest and most slug-resistant hostas.
Massive suckering shrub with foot-long white flower candles. Showpiece for large shade gardens.
Graceful cascading white plumes on dark stems. Luminous in a shady corner.
Clouds of tiny forget-me-not blue flowers over heart-shaped leaves. Thrives in dry shade once established.
Glossy evergreen with rose-like blooms in the depths of winter.
Screaming scarlet spikes. The most vivid red in the native plant world.
Grown for kaleidoscopic foliage, not flowers. Pinch blooms to keep energy in the leaves.
Delicate, spurred flowers that dance on wiry stems. Hummingbird favorite.
Grown mostly for dramatic foliage, but the tiny bell flowers are a bonus.
Iconic spring bloomer with fall berries and winter bark. Four-season beauty.
The world's largest hosta. Individual leaves can exceed two feet. A bold statement in any shade garden.
Spring blooms plus a full fall encore. Multiple color options in the Encore series.
Reblooms on old and new wood, so you get flowers even after a harsh winter. Color shifts with soil pH.
Delicate fairy-wing flowers above leathery foliage. One of the toughest dry shade groundcovers.
The deepest garnet-red of any astilbe. Dark bronze foliage makes those plumes glow.
Stately spires of spotted, bell-shaped flowers. Cottage garden royalty.
Checkered, nodding bells with an otherworldly pattern. A collector's favorite.
Giant creamy plumes like an astilbe on steroids. Native woodland giant that anchors a shade border.
Nodding tubular flowers in soft lavender shades brighten moist woods of the Gulf Coast.
The bluest hosta you can grow. Thick, heavily textured leaves resist slugs better than most.
The Lenten Rose. Elegant nodding blooms that thrive in deep shade.
The undisputed queen of shade gardening. Foliage in every green and blue.
Massive mophead blooms that shift color with soil pH. Showstoppers.
The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.
Annabelle's bigger sibling with stronger stems that don't flop. Blooms the size of basketballs.
Hooded green-and-brown striped spathe sheltering a hidden spadix. Woodland curiosity followed by red berries.
Graceful, swaying blooms on tall stems. Elegant in partial shade.
Arching variegated leaves form graceful cascades and brighten shady spots.
Small flowers are modest but foliage is the star. Hundreds of cultivars from laceleaf to upright. The connoisseur's tree.
Silver and burgundy fronds unlike any other fern. Foliage plant that earns its keep on color alone.
Gold center streaked with blue-green margins. Color shifts through the season. A collector's favorite.
Nodding flowers in late winter when nothing else is blooming. Evergreen foliage adds year-round structure to shade gardens.
Bold, dinner-plate leaves with daisy-like flowers. Loves wet feet and will wilt dramatically if dry.
Flowers open pink and turn blue on the same stem. Silver-spotted foliage looks great all season.
Fluffy puffs of bloom on tall, airy stems above columbine-like foliage. Light and ethereal.
Exquisite geometric buds open to cupped flowers. A native evergreen gem.
Pale pink petals with a darker pink bar down the center. Prefers some shade to prevent color fading.
The classic blue mophead. Rich, true blue in acidic soil. A cottage garden essential.
Oak-shaped leaves turn burgundy in fall. White cone blooms age to pink. Four-season native shrub.
Holly-like evergreen with yellow flower clusters followed by blue berries. Tough, shade-loving native.
Tall vase-shaped fronds that unfurl from fiddleheads in spring. Spreads to form dramatic colonies.
Western native that blooms much longer than its eastern cousin. Ferny foliage all season.
Dark green leaves with crisp white margins. Classic variegated hosta that brightens shady spots.
Big, bold trusses of bloom over glossy evergreen foliage.
Huge textured leaves resembling horse chestnuts with fluffy plumes. Architectural shade statement.
Leathery evergreen groundcover of Pacific Northwest forests. Urn-shaped flowers lead to edible berries.
Mossy cushions dotted with dainty flowers. Tucks into rock crevices where little else will grow.
Carpets of brilliant blue that naturalize under trees with zero effort.
Nodding flowers with swept-back petals resemble tiny shooting stars in spring meadows.
Delicate nodding bells that bloom fearlessly in late winter cold.
Arching stems hung with dangling white bells. Pairs of leaves create graceful, layered architecture.
Camellia-like white flowers, exfoliating bark, and crimson fall color. The four-season tree professionals love.
Chartreuse giant that can take more sun than most hostas. Heart-shaped leaves grow enormous.
Orchid-like spotted flowers when everything else is done. A late-season shade garden gem.
Three leaves, three petals, pure elegance. The jewel of eastern woodlands.
Snapdragon-like flowers shaped exactly like a turtle's head. Loves wet feet.
Evergreen mat with periwinkle-blue flowers. Tough shade ground cover.
Woodland ephemeral with sky-blue bells. Disappears by summer, returns faithfully.
Compact and more drought-tolerant than most astilbes. Dense, rosy-pink plumes.
Glossy leaves and nonstop flowers in sun or shade. One of the most reliable bedding plants anywhere.
Soft pink blooms over deeply-cut foliage. A woodland edge staple.
Buttercup-yellow blooms that push through frozen ground before the crocuses.
Clusters of pink buds open to white, intensely scented blooms in late winter.