The butterfly flitted between the buildings looking for flowers. But here, where there were so many buildings, there wasn’t much sun and not much grew. The butterfly landed on the wall of one of the buildings to rest and around the corner she spied a yard with asters and echinacea, which didn’t mind the shade. The butterfly alighted on one of the asters and drank the sweet nectar. With increased urbanization, many species of birds, butterflies and bees have far fewer sources of food and nesting sites and several are facing population declines as a result. However, planting flowers and shrubs which can provide needed food and cover for many of these species as well as adding color to the yard. Whether it’s buildings or a lot of trees gardening in shaded areas can be a challenge. Nonetheless, there are a variety of flowers shrubs, and trees which can tolerate shade and, in some case, event prefer it. The following are some of the plants which are shade tolerant as well as being important plants for wildlife.

Part Shade: These plants can tolerate shade, so long as they get some sun for part of the day.

White wood Aster (Aster divaricatus)

These flowers are hardy to zones 3-8, prefer moist soil, produce white flowers from July to October and are very tolerant of shade. They are native to New Hampshire, southwest Quebec, southern Ontario to southern Ohio, northern Georgia, and eastern Alabama. Two similar species include the blude heart leaved aster (Aster cordifolius), which has blue-violet flowers from June to November and the big leaved aster (Aster macrophyllis), which grows 1-2 feet and blooms from September to October.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

This flower is hardy to zones 3-9, prefers moist soil, grows from 26-36 inches, and flowers from June to October. It is native to southern Michigan, Ilinois, Iowa, eastern Oklahoma, and south to northeastern Texas and Geogia. It attracts many species of butterflies and its seeds are also good for birds in the fall. In addition, its leaves can be made into a tea which is good for sore throats and congestion.

Bee balm (Monarda didyma)

This flower is hardy to zones 3-9, prefers moist soil, grows 36-48, and produces beautiful red flowers in July. It is native to Maine and Michigan south to West Virginia, Ohio, and northern Georgia. It lives up to its name and is one of the best for bees and is also popular with hummingbirds. Its leaves can also be made into a tea and was a Native American remedy for sore throats.

Wild blue phlox (phlox divaricata)

This flower is hardy to zones 3-9, prefers moist soil, grows 12-14 inches, and produces violet or lavender blue flowers in the spring. It is native to northwestern Vermont, Quebec, and Minnesota south to Georgia and Texas.

Creeping phlox (Phlox stonifera)

This plant is hardy to zones 4-9, prefers moist soil, grows 6-10 inches tall and produce blue lavender or white flowers. It is native to the Appalachian region, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Georgia.

Spicebush (Lindera bezoin)

This shrub is hardy to zones 4-9, prefers moist soil and can grow up to 10 feet. It has clusters of yellow flowers from March to April, red fruit in summer, and has bronze to yellow leaves in autumn. It is native to Maine and Michigan and south to Florida and Texas. It is an important larval food source for the spicebush swallowtail.

Cinnamon clethra (Clethra acuminata)

This shrub is hardy to zones 5-8, prefers rich moist soil and grows to 15 feet. It has white flowers in July and August with yellow foliage in autumn. It is native to Pennsylvania, Kentucky, western Virginia, Tennessee, and south to Georgia.

Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)

This tree is hardy to zones 4-9, prefers well drained soil, and can grow to 25 feet. It has white flowers, red-purple fruit in late spring to early summer with orange and yellow foliage in autumn. It is native to Maine, New Brunswick, and southern Quebec, and Michigan south to Florida, Louisiana, and eastern Oklahoma. (There are several varieties of serviceberry, many of which have been included in previous gardening articles, but this is the one that is shade tolerant).

American Holly (Ilex opaca)

This tree in hardy to zones 5-9, prefers moist soil, and can grow up to 50 feet. As is generally well known, it is an evergreen with red fruit through the winter. It is native to Maine and south to Kentucky, Virginia, southern Missouri, Florida, and Texas.

Full Shade: These plants can tolerate shade for a significant part of the day.

Yellow trout lily (Erthronium americanum)

This flower is hardy to zones 3-9, prefers moist soil, grows 3-6 inches and has yellow flowers in early spring with mottled leaves. It is native to Nova Scotia, western Ontario, Minnesota, and south to Florida and Alabama. The white trout lily (E. albidium) is very similar, except is has white bell shaped flowers, often tinged with lavender. It is native to Ontario, New York, South Dakota, Minnesota and south to Georgia, and Texas.

Wild stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)

This flower is hardy to zones 4-9, prefers moist soil, grows 4-8 inches and has small white flowers in late spring. It is native to New Jersey, Iowa and south to northern Georgia and Arkansas. It is also good for several species of butterflies.

Mountain winterberry (Ilex Montana)

This tree is hardy to zones 5-7prefers moist soil, can reach up to 30 feet and has white flowers in late spring with red fruit in early winter. It is also very shade tolerant. It is native to New York, south to Tennessee, Georgia, and eastern Alabama.

Shadier yards, balconies, and plots are more of a challenge for growing. Nevertheless, there are still several plants which can tolerate shade as well as provide much needed food sources for wildlife. An increasing number of bird, butterfly and bee species are endangered or facing population declines. Having places to rest and refuel is also a major boon to migratory species, such as monarchs. In addition, eliminating pesticides and fertilizers is also an important step. Other good resources for wildlife gardening include Native Plants of the Northeast by Donald J. Leopold and the National Wildlife Federation. At http://www.nwf.org you can go to plant finder, put in your zip code and the site will provide several suggestions well suited to your area. And of course, there are my previous wildlife gardening articles, which include topics of plants that bloom at different times of year(2020), plants that are suited to smaller spaces (2021), and plants that can be food for both wildlife and people (2022). Happy Spring!

Bee balm at my garden at the Elmwood Community Garden in Barre, VT.