Shade Tolerant Plants with Large Flowers

I have a garden that once received full sun and produced beautiful roses. As my trees have grown the garden has become shaded. Now I am looking for some tall shade tolerant plants with large flowers.

Consider a combination of perennials that provide a variety of bloom throughout the summer. Astilbes come in a variety of colors, heights, and summer bloom times.

The plume type flowers put on quite a show. Snakeroot and Meadow Rue are tall plants that flower in the shade. Black snakeroot (Actaea racemosa formerly Cimicifuga racemosa) can reach heights of 4 to 7 feet and blooms in mid summer. The Autumn snakeroot (Actaea formerly Cimicifuga ramosa or simplex) looks similar but flowers in the fall. Meadow Rue (Thalictrum) is a summer bloomer that grows 3 to 5 feet tall. Pick a hardy cultivar with the size and flower color of choice.

Goat's beard (Aruncus) and Rodgersia are large perennials that look like shrubs. Goat’s beard will give you early blooms of white followed by the later blooming Rodgersia.

A shorter long flowering perennial is Corydalis lutea. This twelve inch high plant is covered with yellow flowers from June to frost. It does reseed so you will need to do a bit of weeding to keep it in line.

All of these mix well with hosta, wild ginger and ferns which create a nice textural backdrop for the shade garden.

Don’t forget to include some daffodils, grape hyacinths or other shade tolerant spring bulbs for an early burst of color.