Dry shade can feel like a gardener's nightmare. After all, you don't have enough sunlight for plentiful blooms, and the dry soil makes it hard for plants to get a toehold. Happily, though, there are some perennials that can succeed in dry shade. Ground covers are typically the easiest perennials to grow in the toughest of these spots, but you can expand your palette if the site offers a little moisture and sunlight.
Spotted Deadnettles
Spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum; USDA Zones 3–9) is a beautiful ground cover that offers eye-catching foliage and colorful, bee-friendly blooms even in full shade. Plus, the deer avoid it. You can choose among cultivars with green, silver or bicolor leaves that form a dense carpet six to nine inches tall. You’ll also find a choice of flower colors, including purple, pink and white.
A favorite deadnettle of mine is 'Purple Dragon'. This vigorous cultivar features silver foliage and deep purple blooms that brighten a shady corner. Other good varieties include 'Chequers’, with pink-purple flowers and silver-striped leaves; and ‘Red Nancy’, noted for its red stems and taller-stemmed flowers.
Spotted deadnettles can overrun weaker perennials, but their shallow roots are easy to pull if they venture too far. They grow in moist to dry soil and require good drainage.
Solomon’s Seals
The architectural look of Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) is reason enough to grow this plant, but it's super durable too. This perennial creates clumps of arching stems that produce white, bell-shaped, down-hanging flowers in spring. In late summer, the stems yield attractive small black fruit that birds enjoy eating.
If you're looking for a tall ground cover, the smooth Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum; Zones 3–9) is a North American species that forms wide colonies with stems usually reaching three to four feet tall.
Variegated Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’; Zones 3–8) remains more compact at 18 to 24 inches tall, with a brush of white highlighting each leaf edge.
Solomon’s seals slowly spread by rhizomes. They prefer moist conditions but can easily handle dry soil once established. Mulching with leaves will create the humusy, rich soil of their native woodlands.
Related: Learn to make the most of plants like Solomon’s seals in “Using Foliage Texture in the Shade Garden.”
Hardy Geraniums
Hardy geraniums are represented by many species and cultivars that offer a long season of interest. Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum; Zones 4–8) is an outstanding plant for filling large spaces in dry shade. It has attractive foliage and charming pink blooms in early summer. You can find the species and several cultivars, among which 'Ingwersen’s Variety' is a good choice, with lighter pink flowers and orange to red fall foliage.
Another great option among hardy geraniums for dry shade is the award-winning 'Biokovo' (Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo'; Zones 5–8), a hybrid with smaller, deeply lobed foliage and pink-tinged white flowers accented by rosy stamens.
Hardy geraniums are simple to please. They grow in sun or shade and moist to dry soil topped annually with compost or mulched with leaves. Trimming them after their flowers fade can prompt a new flush of blooms.
Barrenworts
We can’t talk about dry-shade plants without touching on barrenwort, or bishop’s hat (Epimedium; Zones 5–8). This foliage plant is known for its ability to handle very low light and arid soil, including the space under shallow-rooted or evergreen trees. In spring, sprays of small blooms rise up to contrast the vibrant new growth. As the flowers fade, the dense carpet of heart-shaped foliage takes over and looks good through fall.
Among the many species and cultivars, E. grandiflorum 'Rose Queen' (syn. ‘Yubae’) is a superb choice, with rosy pink blooms that look beautiful against its leaves as they emerge red. They fade to light green for the summer. The hybrid E. x rubrum 'Galadriel' stands out with rich red flowers and leaves that bear a red cast in both spring and fall.
Epimediums are known for their tolerance of dry shade. Flowering will be heaviest with some morning sun. They grow best in rich soil, matching that of their native woodlands.
Related: Find more plants tolerant of shade and dry soil in “Alternatives to Mulching Around Trees.”
Image credits: Lamium 'Chequers' by Patrick Standish/ CC BY 2.0; Variegated Solomon's seal courtesy of Walters Gardens; Bigroot geranium by cultivar413/CC BY 2.0; 'Biokovo' geranium by Meghan Shinn; Barrenwort by brewbooks/CC BY-SA 2.0
