Gardening in the Shade: Using Container Gardening to Add Color

Adding color in shady areas can be difficult. When it comes to shade perennials many rely on foliage color and many flower in white. Pretty but not a lot of color. Container gardens with annuals can add a much needed color boost to shady areas. As an added bonus, container gardens can be rotated in and out of a shady area where other things might not grow.

It seems people equate shade with impatiens and for good reason. They are incredibly colorful, reliable bloomers and they grow well. I personally love them but even so I like a little variety. In the spirit of other very well loved and ubiquitous plants, rather than scrapping impatiens altogether, I suggest using them in new ways. Instead of using them alone or as the focal point, use them as fillers in your container combinations. Grow with coleus, upright fuchsias and shade tolerant grasses like King Tut.

Other plants that do well in the shade are tuberous begonias, lobelia, pansies and violas, torenia (both upright and trailing varieties) and upright or hanging fuchsias. With the exception of the upright fuchsias, most of these plants stay fairly small. Alone, they make look frail but planted together they have quite an impact. My daughter has planted container combinations using pansies, violas, torenia and lobelia outside her window for years and the effect has been outstanding. Colorful and robust.

One of the best shade plants is, of course, coleus. This plant has come a long way. I remember planting tiny little things from 4 packs that never got very big. They were colorful all right but not really that spectacular. With the Kong Series all that’s changed. Color and size! In the shade! In addition there are many, many, many varieties of coleus that do well in shade or sun in sizes from 14 inches to 3 feet.

My new favorite plant is the upright fuchsias. I’ve always been drawn to their beautiful flowers but am not generally a fan of hanging baskets so tend not to use them. However, there are several upright fuchsia varieties on the market. Most of them, including ‘Santa Claus’ and ‘Winston Churchill’ have the unique bi-color blooms traditionally associated with fuchsias. However, ‘Gartenmeister’ has a tubular bloom in a unique pink-orange color. These plants are wonderful in combinations. Be mindful, however, that these plants are grown as annuals in zone 4 so will not get to the shrub-size proportions reported in plant descriptions. In my experience, they will be 12"-24" at best.

So go ahead and add some color in your shady areas with container gardens. Use traditional shade plants in new and surprising ways while trying out new cultivars of coleus and fuchsia. With a little creativity and a few containers, your shade gardens will really shine.