Perennials & Shrubs

Best shade perennials for Minnesota

The short answer: hosta, astilbe, and coral bells are the backbone, and a dozen more we grow fill in every layer. Everything below is hardy here, shade to part shade, and grown on our own benches in East Bethel — heights are from our own tags.

The backbone three

Hosta (8–36″) is the workhorse — we grow five, from the gold August Moon to the crisp white-edged Minuteman. One honest caveat: deer browse hostas, so in deer country pair them with the deer-resistant picks below or see our deer-resistant guide. Astilbe (10–36″) is the bloom engine of the shade bed — feathery plumes in June–July, seventeen varieties on our benches, and deer usually pass it by. Heuchera / coral bells (8–18″) carries color without needing flowers at all — caramel, black-cherry, peach, and lime foliage from our eight varieties.

Height for the back

Bleeding heart (24–36″) is the classic May romantic — old-fashioned pink or white hearts; it may nap in late summer, so give it a hosta neighbor to cover the gap. Ligularia (24–36″) brings big, bold leaves and gold late-summer spires for moist shade where nothing else looks tropical.

The middle layer

Brunnera (12–18″) opens sprays of tiny forget-me-not blue over silvered leaves that stay handsome all season — and deer leave it alone. Jacob's ladder (12–24″) pairs ferny foliage with blue May bells. Pulmonaria (8–14″) blooms with the daffodils and keeps spotted silver foliage after; foamflower (8–14″) sends up soft white spring spires; primrose (6–10″) is pure early color for a cool, moist corner.

Groundcovers to knit it together

Lamium (6–10″) lights dark ground with silvered leaves and pink or white bloom; ajuga (4–8″) lays down burgundy-bronze carpet with blue spring spikes. Both fill the gaps between bigger plants and shade out weeds while they're at it.

Want this picked for you? Run the plant picker, tap "shade," and it filters to exactly what suits your spot.