30 Fab Foliage Plants for Shady Spaces
Flowers may come and go, but fabulous foliage is hard at work every single day bringing beauty and color to shady garden spaces. Some plants with fun foliage act as a backdrop for flashier flowering plants while others steal the show all on their own. Here are twenty of our best shade-tolerant annuals, perennials and shrubs that offer season-long color in containers and landscapes.
Click the pictures below to read all about each plant or series of plants.
FAB FOLIAGE ANNUALS FOR SHADE
These annuals deliver masses of color in a short amount of time in garden beds and containers. You won’t need many to make a big visual impact.
 Pegasus® Begonia Part shade to shade 12-18” tall x 16-18” spread |  Hippo® Hypoestes 3 colors in series Part shade to shade 16-22” tall x 8-14” spread |  Toucan® Canna 3 colors in series Sun to part shade 30-48” tall x 18-24” spread |
 Charmed® Wine Oxalis Sun or shade 6-16” tall x 10-12” spread |  ColorBlaze® Coleus 17 colors in series Sun or shade Size varies by cultivar |  Graceful Grasses® Baby Tut®, Prince Tut™, Queen Tut™ and King Tut® Cyperus Sun to part shade Size varies by cultivar |
 Lemon Coral® Sedum Sun to part shade 3-10” tall x 10-14” spread |  Proven Accents® ‘Golden Delicious’ Salvia Sun to part shade 3-4’ tall x 2-3’ spread |  Heart to Heart® Caladium 28 colors in series Sun to shade (varies by cultivar) 12-20” tall x 10-14” spread |
 'Coffee Cups’ Colocasia Sun to part shade 3-5’ tall x 2.5-4’ spread |  Illusion® Ipomoea 3 colors in series Sun to part shade 6-10” tall x 2-3’ spread |  Persian Shield Strobilanthes Sun to part shade 18-36” tall x 18-24” spread |
FAB FOLIAGE PERENNIALS FOR SHADE
 Dolce® Heuchera 6 varieties in series Sun to shade (lighter colored varieties require more shade) 8-14” foliage height x 16-22” spread Zone 4-9 |  Primo® Heuchera 5 varieties in series Sun to shade (lighter colored varieties require more shade) 8-16” foliage height x 26-30” spread Zone 4-9 |  Fun and Games® Heucherella 3 varieties in series Part shade to shade 6-12” foliage height x 18-24” spread Zone 4-9 |
 ‘Cutting Edge’ Tiarella Part shade to shade 8-10” foliage height x 16-18” spread Zone 4-9 |  Shadowland® Hostas 15 varieties in series Part shade to shade Size varies by cultivar Zone 3-9 |  'Dark Side of the Moon’ Astilbe Sun or shade 20-22” tall x 24-28” spread Zone 4-9 |
 ‘Crested Surf’ Athyrium Part shade to full shade 20-22” tall x 28-30” spread Zone 3-8 |  Heartleaf Brunnera Part shade to full shade 14-18” tall x 28-36” spread Zone 3-8 |
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|  ‘Heaven Scent’ Polemonium Sun to part shade 18-24” tall x 15-19” spread Zone 3-7 |
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FAB FOLIAGE SHRUBS FOR SHADE
 Tres Amigos® Abelia Sun to part shade 2-3’ tall x 2-5’ spread Zone 6-9 |  Cesky Gold® Betula Sun to part shade 2-4’ tall x 1.5-3’ spread Zone 2-7 |  Jazz Hands® Loropetalum |
 Lemony Lace® Sambucus |
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