16 Colorful Shade Garden Pots & Plant Lists

Create beautiful shade garden pots with easy shade loving plants & flowers. 16 colorful mixed container plant lists & great design ideas for shade gardens!

Most of us have some kind of shady spots around our homes and gardens. A few garden pots filled with lush and colorful plantings can really brighten up these shade area and add splashes of happiness.

There are many beautiful and easy to care for plants that thrive in the shade. Some have striking and showy foliage, some have beautiful and fragrant flowers.

If you have a sunny garden, try these: 24 colorful container garden plantings for sunny areas.

Let’s look at 16 gorgeous shade garden pots. I made a plant list for each one of them so you can take them and go shopping! For more, here are 52 Best landscaping ideas & designs for front & backyard garden.

1. Shade pots with beautiful mixed foliage

Recipe 1: Start from top right – Coleus ‘Sedona’, Heuchera ‘Spellbound’, ‘Gartenmeister’ Fuchsia, Oxalis ‘Iron Cross’, Golden Feverfew, Fuchsia ‘Autumnale’, Setcreasea pallida ‘Purple Heart’, Lobelia ‘Techno Blue ’ ( Source: 1 )

Before we start, I want to share a super cool trick! Even if you don’t have a yard, you can check out how to grow lots of these shade loving plants indoors in glass bottles and water!

2. Tropical planter shade garden ideas

Recipe 2: Zantedeschia aethiopica / Calla Liliy, Alocasia lutea, Caladium ‘Sweetheart’, Adiantum tenerum / Maidenhair Fern ( Source: 2 )

3. Lush green shade garden pots filled with patterns and textures

Recipe 3: Caladium ‘White Christmas’, Adiantum tenerum / Maidenhair Fern ( Source: 3 )

4. Ferns and flowers for shade gardens

Recipe 4: Begonia Mocca Yellow, Impatiens walleriana ‘Musica Pure White’, Adiantum tenerum / Maidenhair Fern ( Source: 4 )

5. Tropical and exotic colorful container garden ideas for shade

The classic garden planter formula: thriller – filler – spiller is a great way to create layers in container gardens.

Recipe 5: Colocasia esculenta / Diamond Head, Purple Huechera, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, Hedera helix ‘Variegata’ / Variegated English Ivy ( Source: 5 )

6. Beautiful shade loving flowers

Recipe 6:  Diffenbachia / Leopard Lily, Caladium, Adiantum tenerum / Maidenhair Fern, Begonia “Angel Wing” ( Source: 6 )

7. Evergreen shade plants

This beautiful patio planter is designed with all evergreen shade loving plants.

Recipe 7: Aspidistra elatior / Cast-iron plant, Nephrolepis exaltata / Boston fern, Hedera helix ‘Variegata’ / Variegated English Ivy ( Source: 7 )

8. Showy shade planter design ideas

Choose a variety of foliage plants with different sizes, colors, and textures to create an artfully mixed planter!

Recipe 8: Nephrolepis exaltata / Boston fern, Begonia ‘Silver Angel’, White Impatiens, , Hedera helix ‘Variegata’ / Variegated English Ivy ( Source: 8 )

9. Shade garden ideas with mixed color foliage container plants

Recipe 9: Actaea racemosa, Caryopteris ‘White Surprise’, Cimicifuga atropurpurea, Hosta ‘Brenda’s Beauty ‘, Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’ or similar ( Source: shadyoaks.com, no longer active)

10. Easy foliage plants for shade garden designs

Recipe 10: Coleus mixed varieties, White Impatiens, Margarita Sweet Potato Vine ( Source: 10 )

11. Colorful shade garden ideas

Recipe 11:  Diffenbachia / Leopard Lily, Hypoestes phyllostachya / Polka Dot plant, Tradescantia pallida / Wandering Jew plant, Lobelia ‘Techno Blue ’, Begonia “Red Dragon Wing” ( Source: 11 )

12. Colorful foliage shade loving plants

Recipe 12:  Coleus mixed varieties ( Source: 12 )

Coleus comes in so many beautiful colors and patterns! Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to easily propagate and care for Coleus!

The next few shade garden pots are planted with single variety plantings. You can always add some trailing plants to create more layers, but sometimes less is more, don’t you think? 🙂

13. Simple and elegant shade flower pots

Recipe 13:  Hydrangea paniculata “Limelight”:  large, dense clusters of lime green flowers fade to cream and finally to pink in autumn. ( Source: 13 )

14. French country garden shade planter pots

Recipe 14:  Hydrangea macrophylla : globe-shaped flowers with so many shades of pinks and blues to choose from! ( Source: 14 )

15. Colors and fragrance in shade gardens

Recipe 15: Clivia miniata, a beautiful winter bloomer with sweet perfume, looks lovely with trailing plants such as Creeping Jenny or Dichondra. ( Source: 15 )

16. Sweet fragrance in a white shade garden

Recipe 16: Trachelospermum jasminoides / Star Jasmine, an evergreen vine that produces highly fragrant, white blossoms. Smaller shade loving ground-covers such as Heucheras  or English Ivy are perfect planting companions. ( Source: 16 )

You may also love: 20+ easy to grow and beautiful flowering vines for arbor, fence, and pergolas

Or 21 DIY trellis and vertical garden structures

Happy spring and happy growing! =)