Most gardens have some dry shade, at the foot of walls where foundations draw water from the soil, or under eaves where little rain falls. Trees also create dry shade, as their roots take up a lot of water.
As a general rule shade-lovers with large leaves, such as rodgersia and hostas, are best avoided when planting in dry shade, as such lush foliage requires a continually moist soil.
Best Shade Plants for Dry Climates
When you are looking for plants to grow, you will find plenty of options for shade plants and plenty of options for dry climates—the key is going to be finding plants that fall into both categories.
Plants that grow in dry climates are generally considered to be drought-tolerant; therefore, this is a good category to start with when on the hunt for your plants. From there, you can start to investigate which drought-tolerant plants also grow well in shaded areas. While these search parameters will narrow down your results, you will still find a decent variety to choose from.
If you want more great shrubs, check out this list of the longest blooming trees and shrubs. You might also love these lists that the best pink flowering shrubs for your garden or the best purple flowering shrubs for your garden. So many gorgeous ways to add beauty to your space!
Hosta
Hosta plants are a perennial favorite among gardeners. Their lush foliage and easy care make them ideal for a low maintenance garden. Originating in the Orient and brought to the Europe in the 1700s, today there are over 2,500 cultivars with such variety in leaf shape, size and texture, that an entire garden could be devoted to growing hostas alone.
Bleeding Heart
If you’re aiming for a cottage garden vibe in the shade, try bleeding heart. Its heart-shape blooms appear in spring, then the plant will “play dead” once summer comes. No need to worry, it’s just resting and will come back next year. Plant bleeding heart with other colorful plants that can take the stage later in the year.
Hardy Ferns
You may think of ferns as plants that you’d find in a rainforest or tropical location. However, plenty of ferns will grow well in dry shade. For example, the Japanese painted fern (shown here) has beautiful silver and burgundy leaves, while the autumn fern takes on a gorgeous golden red color in fall. Other than the occasional slug, pests tend to leave ferns alone.
Ajuga
Along with pretty blue spring flowers, ajuga also has fantastically colorful foliage that makes a pretty groundcover in dry shade gardens. Some varieties like ‘Burgundy Glow’ grow so densely that its silvery-green leaves marked with pink, burgundy, and white can almost smother weeds. ‘Black Scallop (‘Binblasca’) features large purple leaves that have a unique shine to them; Chocolate Chip (‘Valfredda’) has small, narrow green leaves heavily flushed with burgundy purple.
Lungwort
Lungwort plants are most often grown for their interesting leaves, which are green with random white spots, looking as though someone liberally splashed bleach on them. The leaves also have a rough, hairy fuzz covering them. The lungwort flower appears in early spring and can be blue, pink, or white, and is frequently two or more colors on a single plant. Often the flowers on a lungwort will start out one color before eventually fading into another color as the flower ages.
Foxglove
Foxglove flowers are clusters of tubular shaped blooms in colors of white, lavender, yellow, pink, red, and purple. Growing foxgloves thrive in full sun to partial shade to full shade, depending on the summer heat. They are hardy in gardening zones 4 through 10 and in the hottest areas prefer more midday and afternoon shade for optimum performance. The hotter the summers, the more shade the plant needs.