5 Beautiful Plants for Your Shaded Area
Once you’ve created an outdoor oasis that protects you from the heat of the Texas sun, you have a new challenge on your hands: landscaping. Whether you plan to maintain a shade garden in a bed bordering your patio or just want a few hanging baskets to brighten up your outdoor room, choosing plants that are built for shade is crucial.
Try these hardy, attractive shade plants for your shaded area:
Hosta
Also known as plantain lily, hosta is America’s favorite shade plant for a reason. It’s heat tolerant, drought resistant, and can stand up to full shade, all while coming in a remarkable rainbow of variegated leaf patterns. Fragrant sprays of pale purple flowers appear in summer, but the leaves look great throughout the growing season.
English Ivy
Another carefree plant for deep shade, English ivy makes a great ground cover, but it also works well when allowed to cascade over the sides of containers. It can be invasive, though, so don’t try to pair it with another plant in your garden bed, and be sure to trim it back if it starts to spread beyond its borders.
Ferns
Ferns naturally grow in the woods beneath tall trees. They enjoy cooler temperatures and require a fair amount of moisture, so they are a more challenging landscape plant. Ferns are great for areas with intermittent sunlight or dappled shade.
Fuchsias
To add a bright burst of color from a hanging basket, nothing beats fuchsias for warm, shady conditions. These plants will appreciate daily watering in hot weather, but will reward patient gardeners with a curtain of colorful blooms over a long growing season.
Impatiens
If you prefer bedding plants to hanging baskets, try impatiens for color instead. These bright, flat blooms glow against a backdrop of glossy leaves and come in shades of pink, orange, and white. They thrive in deep to partial shade.
For a shaded outdoor area with welcoming greenery, add some of these shade-tolerant plants to transform your space. They will brighten up the border of your patio and thrive in containers beneath your awning for months of enjoyment.
