4 Shade-Loving Annuals To Plant

Do you wish you had a garden full of vibrant blooming flowers, but your backyard or patio doesn't exactly have an abundance of sunlight? That doesn't mean your garden dreams can't come true. You just need to know the right varieties to plant. The good news is that shade-loving annuals check this box perfectly.

One way to approach planting this type of flower is to create a color theme and then keep the green once the blooms die off. “You can plan a full sweep of glorious color plans, sometimes bleeding into one another,” says Bouquet Box's founder Courtney Sixx. “Start with white, light pinks, magentas, blues, yellows, and then consider holiday themes like July 4th, Easter pastels, or even favorite colors for birthdays and other celebrations.”

Not sure where to start? Here are four shade-loving annuals to add vibrancy to your garden.

Impatiens

Kaylyn Hewitt, lead floral designer and senior content manager for The Bouqs, tells me impatiens are her favorite shade-loving annuals to grow. “I love how they grow in window boxes, how they trail and add so much color to a garden.”

So, if you have a small garden, or you’re trying to grow a garden on a city balcony, you’ll likely have good luck with impatiens. 

Balsam

Plant artist and landscape designer, Michael O’Brien of Hommes + Gardens, tells me it’s pretty hard to go wrong with balsam. “Balsam emerges as a standout choice for its ability to add height and diversity while attracting beneficial pollinators like hummingbirds and bees. Planted in a shaded area near your vegetable garden, it not only enhances the garden's visual appeal but also promotes pollination of your vegetables.”

To ensure its vibrant blooms remain prominent, he advises regularly removing obstructing leaves as part of your maintenance plan. “Balsam's self-seeding nature means that with minimal disturbance, you can enjoy its colorful presence year after year. Look for varieties with striking colors such as deep pink, purple, and white.”

Violas

O’Brien loves violas because they have a wonderful range of bi-colored blooms in hues like purple and yellow, blue and white, or even red and orange. “Thriving in partial to full shade conditions, they provide continuous color from late spring through fall, outlasting many other annuals that struggle in shady areas as autumn approaches,” he explains.

If their aesthetic appeal wasn’t reason enough to buy some viola seeds to plant—these gorgeous flowers are also edible. So go ahead and enhance your cakes and salads this summer with the addition of these bright-colored blooms. You won’t regret it.

Just keep in mind that these flowers require a little bit of maintenance. “Regular deadheading, combined with a balanced fertilizer application every four to six weeks during the growing season, will promote continuous blooming and healthy growth,” notes O’Brien. 

Rex Begonias 

O’Brien tells me rex begonias are a must-grow with their stunning variety of leaf colors, patterns, and textures. “From vibrant shades of silver, green, pink, and burgundy to patterns like spirals, swirls, and spots, these begonias offer endless possibilities to enhance any garden's aesthetic. While they occasionally produce small clusters of inconspicuous flowers in shades of pink, white, or red, it's their foliage that steals the show year-round.”

To maintain their beauty indoors during colder months, he advises transplanting rex begonias into pots. “Fertilize them lightly with a balanced liquid fertilizer every four to six weeks during the growing season to support their foliage development and overall health.”