Plants that prefer Partial Shade …

Aconitum,     Pronunciation:   ack-oh-NYE-tum

Part sun. Prefers cool, moist soil with added leaf mold or compost. Plant crowns just below the surface, 1 ft. apart. Do not divide or move. Doesn't need staking, but deadhead to renew bloom. Common names:   Aconite, monkshood, or wolfsbane.
Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1
Graphic from: Diggingdog Nursery
Caution: POISON! This plant should not be ingested as it is toxic, can also be absorbed through the skin and may cause severe poisoning. Liniments containing aconite should never be used on wounds or abraded skin.   Since this plant has become more popular, we thought you should be aware of it's dark side.   Nearly all the species are worth growing as ornamental garden flowers, the best perhaps being A. Napellus, both white and blue, A. paniculatum, A. Japonicum and A. autumnale. All grow well in shade and under trees.
Deadheading:   Cut off spent florets, then back to a side branch to promote long bloom; cut to the ground to stimulate short second flowering and new foliage.

Propagation: It can be raised from seed, but it will take 2 or 3 years to flower.   Propagation is usually by division of roots in the autumn. The underground portion of the plants are dug up after the stem has died down, and the smaller of the 'daughter' roots that have developed at the side of the old roots are selected for replanting when dormant to form new stock, the young roots being planted about a foot apart each way. The young shoots appear above ground in early spring. Although the plants are perennial, each distinct root lasts only one year, the plant being continued by the off-shoot roots.

Anemone,     Pronunciation:   ah-NEM-oh-nee

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1
Common name: Windflower. Ranunculaceae - buttercup family.
Despite being known as Japanese anemones, (A.x hyrida, often sold as Anemone japonica) three main species - A. hupehensis, A. vitifolium and A. tomentosa - actually come from China.

A Herbaceous perennial with graceful, branching stems 2-4 feet high from a clump of dark green, 3-5 lobed leaves covered with soft hairs. Flowers 2-3 inches across, semi-double in white, pink, or rose.   A large family of more than 1500 species of mostly herbaceous plants in the Northern Hemisphere.

Comments:   My favorites are both white: 'Honorine Jobert' and 'Whirlwind'. They are the least demanding, but most satisfying perennials in my garden, and they bloom in late summer through autumn, normally lasting several weeks. I don't usually deadhead this plant, as they are sturdy flowers well-suited to cutting to bring into the house. They require a rich, well-drained soil for optimum results. Water generously during active growth but keep on the dry side over winter. I managed to kill off a few by planting them in an area that stayed too wet.

Propagation:   Anemones spread by fibrous underground roots that send up new shoots from tiny buds. This makes them ideal for taking root cuttings in autumn and replanting the following autumn when the ground is moist, either after rain or a thorough watering. (They don't like to be divided and I have had most success digging the new growth around the edges of the main clump to transplant in early spring).

Aquilegia     Pronunciation:   a-kwil-LEE-gee-uh

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1
Common name: Columbine. Ranunculaceae-buttercup family.
Easily grown in average, medium wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Wide range of soil tolerance as long as drainage is good. Prefers rich, moist soils in light to moderate shade. Freely self-seeds and will naturalize to form large colonies in optimum growing conditions. Snip off spent flowers to side stems to keep columbines blooming then entire stem to the ground when finished; allow some seedheads to ripen to ensure replacement plants. They bloom from early spring to mid-summer!

Propagation: Sow seeds in the summer, when the plants normally go to seed. Sow the seeds just where you want them to grow in the garden, and be sure to mark the spot so you don't forget. The plants will grow that summer and fall and then bloom the next spring.

Astrantia major,     Pronunciation:   uh-STRAN-tee-uh

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-7
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 7-1
Common name: Masterwort.
Astrantia major belongs to the apiaceae family. Silver to rose cushions of flowers, surrounded by a stiff ruff of ray-like bracts of a similar hue. It blooms late spring through summer (most varieties are low growing in full shade) but it's flowers last a long time in the garden (deadheading keeps blooms coming for most of the summer), cut and enjoy them in a vase, or you can dry them to keep in dried arrangements through the winter.
Growing guide: Cut off the old flower stems and foliage when the plant starts to die back in late autumn. Does best in partial to light shade but tolerates full sun in cooler climates. Must have humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil.

Propagation: Divide the rootball, seed propagation. Self-sown seedlings often appear around the parent plant which can be transplanted to another part of the garden or given to friends.
A charming perennial which has branched heads of neat pincushion flowers surrounded by a ruff of greenish white bracts in summer. It does best in a moist soil and will make good ground cover if planted as a group. European herb with aromatic roots and leaves in a basal tuft and showy compound umbels of white to rosy flowers.

Centranthus,     Pronunciation:   sen-TRAN-thus

Cold-hardy USDA zones 5-8
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 8-1
Common names:   C.ruber, known as Jupiter's beard, red valerian or keys of heaven.

I'm always attracted to plants with different foliage and this one offers blue or grey to contrast with darker green perennials or evergreens. The other lure is the large, showy spires of small, fragrant red, pink, or white flowers. These are excellent for cutting and attract butterflies as well. They are an excellent choice for borders, in front of a rock wall or rock gardens.

Propagation: Division, seed, stem cuttings.

Chelone,     Pronunciation:   kee-LOH-nay

Part shade to full shade.   Prefers moist, fertile, organic soil. Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-9
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9-1
Common name: Turtlehead. Scrophulariaceae - figwort family; C.glabra is White or rose-tinted flowers, grows 3 ft tall and 2 ft wide, C.lyonii is Pink and found in higher elevations with dark green, broadly lance-shaped serrated leaves; C.obliqua is a Rose (deeper rose than the lyonii) and found in the Wetlands of eastern North America. Best grown in moist to wet, rich, humusy soils in part shade. Appreciates a good composted leaf mulch, particularly in sunny areas.
Comments: Pinch back the growing tips in the spring for best growth habit and flowering, brings color to the garden in summer and fall, a good companion to other fall-blooming plants.
Deadheading: No need to deadhead because this late-bloomer has seed pods that add winter interest; deadhead if you don't like the seed heads.

Propagation: Division, seed, stem cuttings.

Dicentra     Pronunciation:   dye-SEN-truh

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-9
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9-1   Part shade. Needs fertile, well–drained soil and steady moisture.
Common name: Bleeding heart (D.eximia is Fringed bleeding heart) (D.spectabilis is Common bleeding heart). Fumariacea - fumitory family.
Comments: Wonderful for the shade garden, both large and small bleeding hearts are with their unique flowers and fine-textured, blue-green foliage.   Partial to full shade. Humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil. Provide summer mulch to keep the soil cool and moist.
Deadheading: Cut the flower stems down to basal mound of foliage after they're finished blooming. D.exima (Eastern U S) and D.formosa (native to Pacific Northwest) may rebloom.

Propagation: Divison, seed. Some self-sowing but not invasive.

Digitalis,     Pronunciation:   dij-i-TAH-lis

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1   Part shade; avoid hot afternoon sun. Needs fertile, well–drained soil and regular watering.
Common name: Foxglove. Scrophulariaceae - figwort family.
Comments: A necessity for cottage gardens, open woodlands, shady beds and borders. They are also long-lasting as cut flowers.
Deadhead: Pinch off individual flowers along the stem; later remove stems to the ground when most of the flowers are finished; may rebloom later with smaller flowers; may reseed.

Propagation: Division, seed.

Hemerocallis, hybrids     Pronunciation:   Hem-er-oh-kal-is

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 2-10
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones ?
Common name: Daylily. Liliaceae - lily family. The botanical name for daylily means in Greek 'beautiful for a day'. Each flower only opens for one day. After it is spent, it is succeeded by the next day's blossom. Established clumps bloom vigorously for weeks and weeks.
Photo from Ellen, a member of the gardenclub.net
Comments: There are now thousands of hybrid daylilies… 40,000 plus cultivars, so I would recommend a color or type you like! Most all daylilies do best in full sun, but tolerate partial shade. Some of the paler cultivars may not flower unless they get long periods of direct sun. Some of the dark purple and red cultivars do better in partial shade, especially in subtropical climates. The soil should not be allowed to dry out completely during the growing season.
Deadheading: Snap off spent flowers as they will keep the later flowers as large as possible; once a stem is finished, cut it to the ground; some cultivars rebloom, others do not.

Propagation: Propagate daylily hybrids by dividing the fibrous, somewhat tuberous root clumps in early spring. Divide the cold hardy cultivars in spring or autumn, and the evergreen ones only in spring. Occasionally a small plantlet, called a "proliferation" will develop on the scape. This can be rooted to produce another plant.

Heuchera, hybrids     Pronunciation:   HEW-ker-uh

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1   Full sun where summers aren´t too hot; part shade otherwise. Needs well–drained soil and frequent watering.
Common name: Coral bells, Rock Geranium or alumroot. The genus Heuchera includes at least 50 species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. They have palmately lobed leaves on long petioles, and a thick, woody rootstock.   There is an extensive array of blossom sizes, shapes, colors and geographic tolerances.
Just take a look at what this wholesale nursery is offering!   Terra Nova Nurseries   Look for varieties that prefer Full Sun.   Cut flowering stems below the low mound of foliage as they finish; deadheading will extend the flowering and sometimes promote a smaller second flowering.

Propagation:   Seed or by leaf node cutting or division after established for 3 years, separating the new runners and dividing the original plant.

Lobelia,     Pronunciation: loh-BEE-lee-ah

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-9
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9-1
Common name: Cardinal flower. Campanulaceae - bellflower family.
Caution: Beautiful but deadly, this plant has been used as a medicine but is also very poisonous. It contains fourteen alkaloids similar to those in nicotine. Extracts of the leaves and fruit produce vomiting, sweating, pain and finally death.
Deadheading: Cutting down spent spikes 2 to 3 inches from the ground will sometimes promote a small rebloom; it is short-lived so allow some seedheads to ripen to ensure replacement plants.
Comments: Cardinal flowers can be grown in full sun or very light shade but probably grow best in filtered light. Mulch to keep the roots moist; this plant would be a good choice near a water garden or pond where you want a punch of red!
Propagation: By seed and by separating the basal offshoots. Cardinal flower will self sow in the garden under favorable conditions.

Lupinus hybrids,     Pronunciation: lew-PYE-nus

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1
Photo courtesy of Rob: Robs plants
Common name: Lupine (In the wild: Texas bluebonnets) but can be found in colors ranging from yellow to purple, either solid or bicolored blooming in late spring or early summer.
They were hybridized in the 1890's by George Russell and easily grown in the English climate, but do best in cool-summer gardens in the US. Striking perfectly sculpted spikes of brilliant colors is the attribute of this plant in cottage gardens, carpeting a pasture or hillside, but even a single speciment can be stunning.
Deadheading: After spring flowering, cut stems to small emerging buds along stems to promote second flowering; reseeds but seedlings vary in color; cutting back also controls aphids.

Propagation: Stem cuttings or seeds, neither of which is easy. Don't play musical plants once established, may self-sow.

Monarda,  

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-9
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9-1
Common names: Bee Balm, Horsemint, Oswego Tea, or Bergamot Monarda is a genus consisting of roughly 16 species of erect, herbaceous annual or perennial plants in the Lamiaceae family, indigenous to North America. In all species, the leaves, when crushed, exude a spicy, highly fragrant oil. Of the species listed, M. didyma (Oswego Tea) contains the highest concentration of this oil.   Cut spent blooms back to side buds to prolong blooming; after it's finished flowering, cut stems down to 4 or 5 in. to promote mounds of clean, healthy foliage; rarely reblooms. Newer selections are avilable that are petite versions and also mildew resistant.

Propagation:

Nepeta,     Pronunciation: NEP-eh-tah

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-9
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9-1
Common names: Nepeta, catnip, or catmint. Full or part sun. Tolerates heat, dry soil, and neglect. The long-lasting spikes of Dropmore (N.faassenii, often, but erroneously, sold as N. mussinii) will billow upward in a dense lavender-blue cloud. Sometimes they drape themselves over a neighboring plant or spill over the walkway, but that's just part of catmint's informal charm, give it room to grow.   Cut plants back halfway afterblooming, for a second flush of flowers.  Best in full sun to partial shade,  hardiness zones: 3 to 8.  It's growth habit is 24" high, 18" wide, but if planting a mass, space 12–16" apart. Blue flowers, aromatic, gray-green fine foliage.

Propagation: Division, stem cuttings. You usually can divide the second year if you want to grow a meadow effect, otherwise it will form a nice mound with age.  Prune it back after flowering to maintain vigorous condition and encourage a second blooming, just don't make the mistake I did by cutting the whole thing back to the ground,  I found that 1/2 the length of the tallest spike is the safest for a happy looking plant.   It does not spread like so many of the ´mint´ plants, but keeps a mound form.

Nepeta subsessilis

Nepeta Mussenii

I had this variety in my old backyard, it tolerated a lot of shade but bloomed just great. I trimmed it back after it's first bloom in June and it was a repeat performer!   These catmints should not be confused with catnip… or mint (both of which are pretty aggressive in the garden).

Phlox paniculata,

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1   Full sun to light shade.
Called Summer Phlox, or Garden Phlox is a must for most cottage gardens. These were just planted last fall. In the early morning they look blue and when the sun comes up they change to a bright magenta.

Comments:   The rabbits ate all the white ones but didn't touch the Baptisia or the Black-eyed susans.   Next spring I´m protecting them with wire cages before they´re eaten to the ground!   ´David´ has been the best white variety, and offers resistance to mildew problems.
Deadheading:   Snip off spent flower clusters; flowering side branches develop; deadhead to the ground when it's finished blooming.

Wayside Gardens   has a better picture of colors available… just type in PHLOX in their search box, they were offering a collection of six different colors the last time I checked. Propagation: Seed, division, and it self seeds, but seedlings will revert to less desirable colors.

Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group),   Spiderwort

Veronica spicata,   Common name: Speedwell

Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3-8
Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8-1
Veronica is a dependable bloomer, and has grown in popularity. The petite veronica is one of the overachievers, offering purple mini-spikes from May to frost. It has a growth habit of about 10 inches high, 12 inches wide, and blooms from Spring through fall.   Good to plant in the front or second row of a border.

A low, spreading plant bearing lance-shaped gray-green leaves and conical spikes of small blue, tubular flowers. The shorter V.incana has hairy leaves, V.spicata has white and rose cultivars as well as blue ones.  Prefers full sun but will tolerate some partial shade. Hardiness zones: 4 to 8.  Mulch during winter in cooler climates.
If you can't find the ´Blue Carpet´ or ´Goodness Grows´ variety at your local nurseries, and you just gotta have it try:   Bluestone Perennials ,   a reliable mail order nursery and once you order from them they will probably send you their annual catalog (worth at least the price of a few plants) … and you'll receive the new catalog each year before the garden centers get any of their inventory.
Deadheading: To prolong the bloom, cut spent flower spike back to side branches; once finished, cut entire stems down to the ground; may produce a small rebloom later.

Water garden plant

Can you name this plant?
The blooms only last a day or two, but one plant produces many flower plumes in the heat of summer.

Requires very little care… no fertilizers or fussing over this one, this plant can quadruple in size to produce many blooms but remains only 6 inches high. I enjoy it's multi-colored petal with the yellow dot on a blue background, only one petal is like this on each flower. While it enjoys full sun, it bloomed in a water garden I had under trees and they bloomed fine with only morning sun and the frogs loved to hide within the roots.

This is a water hyacinth, and you just need to buy one… as they are quite prolific and will try to cover your entire water garden, no matter how big or small.   Just remove the surplus!