Ten easy care plants I use in my shade gardens:

1. Hosta Paul’s Glory - wonderful plant, one of the larger varieties, beautiful foliage that seems to glow in shade.
2. Sweet Woodruff - delicate white flowers in spring. Does well even in dryer shade. Good spreader and groundcover.
3. Astilbe - I have various cultivars handed down from my grandmother’s gardens. They are all great for foliage and late spring color.
4. Liriope - Most people consider this a sun lover, but it survives and even thrives in dappled shade.
5. Bleeding Hearts - If you use the fern leaf varieties, you will have 3 season interest.
6. Solomon’s Seal - I have the beautiful variagated variety in all of my shade gardens. The charming little flowers dangling below them in early spring are an added bonus.
7. Toad Lily (Tricyrtis) - The delicate flowers echo the coloring of the Heuchera and the upright foliage adds interest.
8. Hellebores - These guys bloom in February and March. What more can I say?
9. Hardy Geranium - Try Johnson’s Blue for a less invasive variety, but any of the hardy geraniums are useful for groundcover in dappled shade.
10. Purple Palace Heuchera-Needs dappled shade. The big purple leaves are very striking.

For added color in shade gardens, I use the following annuals:

Caladiums
Coleus
Gerbera Daisies (actually do better in part shade than full sun)
Impatiens