Finding the right plants for those shady spots in your garden can be a real head-scratcher, especially in zone 7. Let me guide you through some of my favorite picks that thrive beautifully without much sunlight.

1. Add a Splash of Color with Coral Bells

Coral bells add a pop of color in shaded areas.
Coral bells add a pop of color in shaded areas.

Coral bells are my go-to for adding vibrant color to my shady spots. Their rosy foliage and delicate blooms make them a standout feature without needing much sunlight.

A few things you might like:

  • Coral Bell Plant Seeds: Transform shady areas with vibrant Coral Bells; watch your garden come alive with color.
  • Organic Potting Soil: Boost Coral Bells growth with nutrient-rich soil, ensuring a thriving, colorful display.
  • Garden Hand Trowel: Easily plant Coral Bells with this durable trowel, perfect for precise garden work.

2. Hostas: The Shade Garden Essential

Hostas thriving in a shaded garden bed.
Hostas thriving in a shaded garden bed.

Every shade garden in zone 7 deserves a touch of hostas. They thrive with minimal care and their lush, leafy appearance adds a classic charm that I never tire of admiring.

A few choices to try:

  • Hosta Seed Packets: Add lush greenery to your garden with easy-to-grow hosta seeds. Perfect for shady spots!
  • Decorative Garden Stones: Enhance your hosta garden with stylish garden stones. Create beautiful borders effortlessly.
  • Shade-Tolerant Garden Soil: Boost hosta growth with premium soil blend ideal for shade-loving plants. Nourish your garden today.

3. Toad Lily: A Hidden Gem

Toad lily adds intrigue and exotic charm to the shade.
Toad lily adds intrigue and exotic charm to the shade.

The toad lily is an underappreciated gem in the shade, with its exotic, spotted flowers that always catch the eye and add intrigue to garden nooks.

Some ideas to consider:

  • Shade-Tolerant Bulbs: Enhance your shade garden with easy-to-plant bulbs that thrive and bloom beautifully in low light.
  • Ornamental Garden Lights: Add ambiance to your garden with solar-powered lights that highlight your plants at night.
  • Decorative Plant Markers: Organize your garden by labeling your toad lilies with stylish plant markers for easy identification.

4. Siberian Bugloss for Texture

Siberian bugloss provides lush ground cover in shade.
Siberian bugloss provides lush ground cover in shade.

With its heart-shaped leaves and tiny blue flowers, Siberian bugloss provides beautiful ground cover in shaded areas, making garden beds look lush and full.

A few helpful options:

  • Organic Shade Garden Soil Mix: Enhance your Siberian bugloss growth with nutrient-rich soil designed for shaded areas.
  • Decorative Garden Edging: Create a tidy, structured look around your Siberian bugloss with stylish garden edging.
  • Automatic Drip Irrigation Kit: Ensure consistent watering for lush Siberian bugloss growth with an easy-to-install irrigation kit.

5. Virginia Sweetspire for Fragrance

Virginia sweetspire brings fragrance and fall color.
Virginia sweetspire brings fragrance and fall color.

For a fragrant garden experience, Virginia sweetspire offers scented blooms and brilliant fall color in the shade. It’s a treat for the senses!

These products might be useful:

  • Virginia Sweetspire Shrub Starter Plant: Enhance your garden with a beautiful Virginia Sweetspire that offers enchanting fragrance and foliage.
  • Organic Fertilizer for Flowering Shrubs: Boost the growth of your sweetspire with nutrient-rich organic fertilizer designed for flowering shrubs.
  • Gardening Gloves for Plant Care: Protect your hands while tending to your sweetspire with durable gardening gloves.

6. The Timeless Beauty of Ferns

Japanese painted ferns creating a whimsical garden corner.
Japanese painted ferns creating a whimsical garden corner.

Filling a shady corner with Japanese painted ferns adds a touch of whimsy and elegance. Their unique colors and textures create a serene garden retreat that always impresses visitors.

These products might help:

  • Japanese Painted Fern Live Plant: Enhance your garden’s elegance with live Japanese painted ferns, perfect for shady spots.
  • Organic Potting Soil for Ferns: Nurture your ferns with premium, organic soil, designed to promote healthy growth.
  • Decorative Planters for Shady Gardens: Add style to your garden with decorative planters suited for shade-loving ferns.

7. Astilbe: Feathered Elegance

Astilbe adds soft, feathery elegance to gardens.
Astilbe adds soft, feathery elegance to gardens.

Astilbe is perfect for adding a soft, feathery texture to your garden. Its plume-like flowers are an elegant feature that thrives without direct sunlight.

Explore these options:

  • Shade Garden Soil Mix: Enhance your Astilbe’s growth with nutrient-rich soil designed for shady garden areas.
  • Plant Fertilizer for Perennials: Boost your Astilbe blooms with balanced fertilizer crafted specifically for perennial plants.
  • Moisture Retentive Mulch: Keep your Astilbe hydrated and healthy with this moisture-retentive mulch for shady gardens.

8. Leopard Plant: Bold and Beautiful

Leopard plant adds bold texture and color contrast.
Leopard plant adds bold texture and color contrast.

The leopard plant boasts large leaves and striking yellow flowers, providing bold texture and color contrast in the shade that’s hard to miss.

A few relevant products:

  • Shade Garden Fertilizer: Boost your leopard plant’s growth with this optimal blend designed for shade-loving flora.
  • Decorative Planters: Enhance your garden’s appeal with stylish planters perfect for leopard plants.
  • Garden Soil for Shade Plants: Improve soil conditions for leopard plant with this specialized shade plant soil mix.

9. Winter Begonia for Year-Round Beauty

Winter begonias bring year-round beauty to deep shade.
Winter begonias bring year-round beauty to deep shade.

For year-round charm, winter begonias keep my garden lively with their wide green leaves and delicate pink flowers, thriving even in deep shade.

You might like:

  • Winter Begonia Seeds: Cultivate vibrant begonias in your garden, adding a splash of color to shaded areas.
  • Shade Plant Fertilizer: Boost your begonias’ growth with this fertilizer, perfect for maintaining lush, healthy leaves.
  • Decorative Garden Pots: Enhance garden aesthetics with stylish pots, ideal for displaying your winter begonias.

10. Spiderwort: Easy and Colorful

Spiderwort adds easy color to shady garden patches.
Spiderwort adds easy color to shady garden patches.

Don’t let the name fool you; spiderwort is a lovely, low-maintenance plant that brings a splash of color to shady garden patches.

Items that may come in handy:

  • Perennial Shade Garden Flower Seeds: Enhance your garden with spiderwort seeds for vibrant blooms in shaded areas. Easy to plant.
  • Organic Plant Fertilizer for Shade Plants: Boost the growth of your spiderwort with natural plant food formulated for shade dwellers.
  • Decorative Flower Pots for Garden Borders: Add charm with stylish pots to showcase your spiderwort’s colorful appeal in any garden.

11. Bleeding Heart: A Romantic Touch

Bleeding hearts add a romantic touch to shaded gardens.
Bleeding hearts add a romantic touch to shaded gardens.

The delicate heart-shaped blooms of bleeding hearts are like little love notes throughout my garden, and they do so well in those harder-to-fill shady spots.

Might be a good match:

  • Shade-Loving Perennials Seeds Collection: Grow a thriving garden in shady spots with these easy-to-plant shade-loving perennial seeds.
  • Organic Plant Fertilizer for Shade Plants: Boost your bleeding hearts with this gentle yet effective organic fertilizer for lush, vibrant growth.
  • Decorative Mulch for Garden Shading: Enhance your garden’s beauty while retaining moisture with decorative mulch made for shaded areas.

12. Rhododendrons: Evergreen Elegance

Rhododendrons offer evergreen elegance and spring blooms.
Rhododendrons offer evergreen elegance and spring blooms.

For year-round greenery, rhododendrons are a fantastic choice, with their evergreen leaves and stunning spring blooms brightening up any shade garden.

May just do the trick:

  • Shade-Tolerant Fertilizer: Nourish your rhododendrons with this shade-loving plant fertilizer to ensure vibrant, lush growth.
  • Mulch for Acid-Loving Plants: Enhance soil moisture retention and acidity with this mulch, perfect for your rhododendron garden.
  • Pruning Shears for Shrubs: Keep your rhododendrons neat and healthy with these durable, easy-to-use pruning shears.

13. Lungwort: A Touch of the Unusual

Lungwort adds an unusual flair to shaded gardens.
Lungwort adds an unusual flair to shaded gardens.

For something a bit different, try lungwort. With its spotted leaves and early spring flowers, it’s a unique plant that’s surprisingly easy to care for in shade.

Consider these options:

  • Organic Shade Plant Fertilizer: Enhance lungwort growth with specialized fertilizer designed for vibrant blooms and healthy foliage.
  • Garden Kneeler and Seat: Comfortably tend to your lungwort with a versatile garden kneeler that doubles as a seat.
  • Decorative Plant Markers: Label your unique lungwort easily with stylish plant markers for organized and beautiful gardens.

14. Japanese Anemone for Late Blooms

Japanese anemones bring late blooms to shaded gardens.
Japanese anemones bring late blooms to shaded gardens.

When most plants are winding down, Japanese anemones are just getting started, offering beautiful blooms well into the fall in shady areas.

You might give these a try:

  • Organic Flower Fertilizer: Boost your Japanese anemones with nutrient-rich fertilizer for vibrant fall blooms.
  • Shaded Garden Soil Mix: Enhance growth with ideal soil mix for shade-loving Japanese anemones in zone 7.
  • Plant Support Stakes: Support your tall anemone blooms with sturdy stakes ensuring upright growth.

15. Hydrangeas for a Classic Touch

Hydrangeas bringing classic elegance to the shade.
Hydrangeas bringing classic elegance to the shade.

In zone 7, hydrangeas are a must for anyone looking to add that classic, lush look to their garden. Their large blooms are a true showstopper in any shaded setting.

Products that could assist:

  • Hydrangea Fertilizer: Enhance your hydrangeas’ blooms with this specialized fertilizer, ensuring vibrant colors and healthy growth.
  • Garden Pruning Shears: Keep your hydrangeas neatly trimmed with precision garden pruning shears, ideal for maintaining lush shrubs.
  • Shaded Area Gardening Book: Explore best practices for shaded gardens, perfect for enhancing your hydrangea planting strategies.

16. Ground Orchids for Tropical Flair

Ground orchids add a tropical flair to the garden.
Ground orchids add a tropical flair to the garden.

If you’re dreaming of a tropical vibe, ground orchids can bring that exotic touch to your shade garden in zone 7. They’re easier to care for than you might think!

Some handy options:

  • Orchid Potting Mix: Enhance your ground orchids with this specialized potting mix for optimal growth and vibrant blooms.
  • Shade Garden Fertilizer: Provide essential nutrients for your shade plants with this balanced fertilizer, boosting health and color.
  • Orchid Planter with Drainage: Choose this stylish planter with drainage for healthy watering and display of your orchids.

17. Hellebore: Early Bloomers

Hellebores bring early spring blooms to the shade.
Hellebores bring early spring blooms to the shade.

I love hellebores for their early blooms, often one of the first signs of spring in my garden. They’re tough, reliable, and perfect for shaded spots.

Possibly helpful picks:

  • Hellebore Seed Pack: Start your garden early with these reliable hellebore seeds, perfect for shaded spots.
  • Garden Shovel Set: Equip yourself with this durable garden shovel set for effortless planting in shaded areas.
  • Organic Flower Fertilizer: Enhance your hellebores’ growth with this organic fertilizer, designed for vibrant early blooms.

18. Foxglove for Vertical Interest

Foxglove provides vertical interest in shaded areas.
Foxglove provides vertical interest in shaded areas.

Tall and stately foxgloves add height and elegance to any shaded garden corner, and their bell-shaped flowers are always a conversation starter.

A few suggestions:

  • Foxglove Seeds: Transform shaded spots with foxglove seeds; enjoy stunning blooms season after season.
  • Garden Plant Stakes: Support your tall foxgloves with durable stakes, ensuring upright and elegant displays.
  • Organic Plant Fertilizer: Boost foxglove growth in shade with eco-friendly fertilizer for vibrant, healthy blooms.
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Author Olivia Lee