Perennials for Sun-and-Shade Beds: 20+ Plants That Thrive in Both Conditions

Versatile Perennials for Mixed Light

The following tolerate full shade to full sun, making them ideal for beds with variable exposure:

• Astilbe — feathery plumes, moist soil
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) — spring blooms, goes dormant in heat
• Bugbane (Cimicifuga) — late summer spikes, shade-tolerant
• Campanula — bellflowers, adaptable
• Columbine (Aquilegia) — spring blooms, sun or part shade
• Coral Bells (Heuchera) — foliage color, part shade best
• Foxglove (Digitalis) — biennial/perennial, part shade
• Goatsbeard (Aruncus) — large, astilbe-like, moist shade
• Helleborus — winter/spring blooms, deep shade OK
• Daylilies (Hemerocallis) — sun best, tolerates part shade
• Hosta — shade staple, some sun-tolerant cultivars
• Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia) — spring ephemeral, shade
• Ferns (all kinds) — texture, shade lovers
• Monkshood (Aconitum) — late summer, part shade
• Phlox (divaricata, paniculata) — sun to part shade
• Primrose (Primula) — spring, moist part shade
• Lungwort (Pulmonaria) — early bloom, shade
• Cardinal Flower (Lobelia) — wet sun/part shade
• Siberian Iris — adaptable, moist soil
• Veronica — sun to part shade, long bloom

Design Tip

Group 3–5 of each species for impact. Place taller plants (goatsbeard, foxglove) at back; shorter (coral bells, lungwort) at front.