The longest blooming shade flowers include coral bells and astilbe. Both of these plants give you weeks of flowers plus stunning foliage that carries your shade garden through the entire growing season.
I tracked bloom times in my shade garden for five years to find the true winners. My coral bells surprised me the most. Their delicate flower spikes lasted six to eight weeks some seasons. The colored foliage gave me visual interest from spring frost through fall without any gaps at all.
My 'Palace Purple' coral bells beat every other plant in my testing. The dark purple leaves looked stunning even in deep shade where other plants faded. When the flowers came up on thin wiry stems they added another month of color on top of the foliage. That single plant gave me nine months of visual appeal in my yard.
Astilbe came in as my second pick for extended bloom shade perennials. The feathery plumes hold their color for 4-6 weeks in early to mid summer. Even after the flowers fade they dry into attractive seed heads that look good through winter if you leave them standing in your beds.
The real trick to a continuous color shade garden lies in foliage as much as flowers. Coral bells come in dozens of leaf colors from lime green to deep purple to silver. These leaves look amazing all season long even when the plant has no blooms at all. You get color for eight months or more just from the foliage alone.
You can extend your bloom season by choosing varieties that flower at different times. Early coral bells varieties start in late April. Late ones push flowers into July. Pick three or four varieties and you can have coral bell blooms for nearly three months straight in your garden beds.
Astilbe works the same way for you. Early varieties like 'Fanal' bloom in June. Mid-season types flower in July. Late bloomers like 'Superba' carry on into August. Plant all three types and your astilbe show runs for 10-12 weeks with no gaps in color.
Combine coral bells and astilbe with spring bulbs and fall bloomers for year-round interest in your shade garden. Your hellebores and bleeding hearts cover early spring. Coral bells and astilbe handle summer. Toad lilies finish the season in fall. This layered approach keeps something in bloom from March through October.
Feed your long-blooming plants in early spring with compost to fuel all those flowers. Water during dry spells since plants making blooms need extra moisture. Deadhead coral bells to encourage more flower spikes throughout the summer months.
Read the full article: 20 Best Shade Loving Perennials for Gardens
