• Shade-loving bleeding heart blooms throughout summer until frost.Bleeding Hearts image by ssquared from Fotolia.com
  
  There is a difference between flowers that tolerate shade and those that thrive in it. Nurseries and garden centers often place little plastic spikes in potted plants with symbols that designate full sun, partial sun and full shade. Usually only the plants designated with the full shade symbol prefer, grow and thrive in full shade. Others require at least some direct sunlight during the day or will grow slowly in dappled shade. In zone 5, minimum winter temperatures drop to 20 degrees below Fahrenheit and perennials must be hardy to this temperature to survive.
  
  

Lungwort

• Lungwort grows best in full or dappled shade and flowers in late spring or early summer. Heights range from 6 to 18 inches depending on the species. Flower colors are pink and purple set against green foliage with light-colored freckles or blotches. The perennial often is used for edging the woodland garden or as a patch of groundcover by itself. Lungwort keeps its foliage through the winter, but sheds it as spring approaches to make room for new growth.
  
  

Bleeding Heart

• Bleeding hearts can handle a little direct sun if the soil is kept moist. Classified as a woodland plant, bleeding heart prefers full or dappled shade. The tiny heart-shaped flowers in red, pink and white hang beneath a stalk that emerges from wispy, fern-like foliage and bloom beginning in early summer until the first frost. Bleeding hearts work well in shady border and rock gardens. The foliage dies back in the fall to regrow in the spring.
  
  

Hellebore

• A woodland perennial, the hellebore prefers full or dappled shade beneath mature trees and grows from 8 to 12 inches tall, depending on the species. The flower is often dubbed the Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose because it flowers beginning in midwinter to very early spring. Hellebore grows best in gardens sheltered from the wind to protect the evergreen leaves from drying out.
  
  

Wild Ginger

• Wild ginger flowers in early May and the tiny, almost insignificant, bell-shaped flowers often persist for several months. The plant is grown mainly for its heart-shaped, glossy, deep green foliage; some species have variegated leaves. It spreads slowly in the shade to make a 6-inch high groundcover carpet. Some species are evergreen. These plants are ideal for inter-planting with bleeding hearts and other woodland flowers. Wild ginger prefers full or dappled shade but will tolerate some direct sun.
  
  

Ghost Fern

• The ghost fern is a beautiful, hardy fern that grows 1 to 3 feet tall with silvery-green leaves and silvery-red ribs. The ghost fern is a woodland plant that thrives in the deep shape and requires protection from direct sunlight. In the woodland or deep shade garden, plant it behind the hostas as an accent planting. These plants require little care other than keeping the soil moist. Ferns lose their stems and leaves in the fall to be replaced the following spring.
  
  

Coral Bells

• Although primarily grown for their brightly colored and large, lobed foliage, coral bells flower in mid-spring with tiny, white, bell-shaped flowers standing on tall stems that emerge from the foliage. The plant's foliage grows to 7 inches high but the flower stalks may reach 16 inches. The foliage may be green, silver, bronze, red or peach-colored, often darkening throughout the summer. Coral bells are mainly evergreen, but some species lose their foliage over winter.