50+ Herbs That Grow in Shade • Homestead Lady

If you’re looking to start a homestead-based herb business or simply want to grow more useful plants in the shady parts of your garden, here’s a great list of herbs that grow in shade! There are variations of shade – light shade, part shade, full shade, etc. How do you know which herbs to grow where? We’ll cover some common sense rules for planting herbs in shade and how to make the most of these underappreciated parts of your garden!

Herbs That Grow in Shade

First of all, it’s important to know that “herbs that grow in shade” is a relative term. Which means that:

If a nursery plant tag says that it will grow in part shade, it usually means it needs some shade from afternoon sun in the summer. Not always, but often that is what that phrase means.
Some herbs that grow in partial shade can also grow in light shade and sometimes in full shade. In full shade, the plant will grow slower. In light shade, the plant may struggle with heat or sun stroke.
A very few plant need full shade, which usually means they naturally grow in the understory of a forest. Often, these plants will actually be damaged or outright killed by direct or even partial exposure to sun.

Bottom line, shade is different from growing zone to growing zone, from neighborhood to neighborhood, from garden to garden, from permaculture zone to zone.

More Herby Articles for Later:

How to Harvest Herbs

How to Grow Unusual Herbs – Winter Sowing Instructions

Take an Herb Walk to Learn About Herbs

Disclaimer

Whenever I talk about herbs, I always talk about their wellness actions. Consequently, I also always include my standard herbal disclaimer.

What is Shade?

There are various types of sunlight exposure that is pertinent to gardeners. Here they are:

Full Sun = 6-8 hours of direct sun exposure.
Partial Sun = 4-6 hours of direct sun exposure.
Partial Shade = 2-4 hours of sun, but probably morning sun exposure. Sometimes, this is called dappled shade, which indicates that the plant gets very little light directly from the sun (All plants need the sun in some measure, though). Usually, these plants are safe from heat and harsh winds under trees or around perennial bushes and plants.
Full Shade = No more than 2-3 hours of sun per day and none that is very direct except maybe in the first part of the morning. Full shade requiring plants usually do well under trees, like with a fruit tree guild. They are also typically plants that prefer a slightly moist soil.

So, when we’re looking for herbs that grow in shade, we need to be flexible on what we plant and where we plant it. We shouldn’t be afraid to experiment by planting herbs in various amounts of shade and then TAKING NOTES!

To help you take notes in the garden, I recommend the garden planner that I use, which is from Angi at Creative Simple Living below.

Aside from taking good notes, my biggest piece of advice is to not overthink this! If you plant an herb in shade and it ends up struggling, simply dig it up and move it to a place with more or less shade according to your notes.

Learn to trust your gardening gut, too. If you feel a certain something tell you that a plant is struggling and would do better in a different location, listen to that feeling.

What Kinds of Notes Do I Take on Herbs That Grow in Shade?

Aha, great question! Follow all the cultural requirements like what kind of soil it likes, how much water it needs, etc., and then get started observing and interacting with your herbal plant.

Write down the herb’s name and where you’ve planted it. I like to draw a picture in my notes of where the plant is located.
Walk by it once a week for the first few months after it’s been planted and write down any change in the color of its leaves or stems.
Also note any bug damage, wilting, or parts dying off.
Likewise, note if the herb looks vigorous, is putting off new growth, and has great color.
If your plant is really struggling, water it well, dig it up, and move it to a shadier spot if you feel it’s been suffering from light or heat damage. If the spot is merely too windy, remove the herb to a more sheltered position or plant a windbreak shrub.
Write all that down in your notebook and begin observing again.

The best time to plant a new herbs varies. If the herb has as softer stem in the spring (like basil or columbine), you can transplant it anytime the soil isn’t frozen between spring and fall. Transplanting in the summer means you need to water the plant consistently if you have high temperatures.

If the herb is woody stemmed (like rosemary or bay laurel), the best time to transplant it is in the early spring or late fall when the plant has gone dormant and the weather is cool.

You can transplant it during the warmer months but you’ll need to baby it quite a bit with good water and maybe some extra compost or compost tea.

To get all this information, plus so much more on starting your own herb garden this year, please grab your copy of our newest book, The Everyday Herb Garden! Learn how to gather information about your site, brainstorm basic designs, prepare your soil naturally, as well as how to start your own herbal plants to save money and ensure quality. Bonus information includes how to harvest, preserve, and use your herbs. Click below to learn more and get your own copy of this useful little herb book!

Herbs That Grow in Light Shade A-C

Again, light shade is a relative term, so bear in mind that these are herbs that can take some shade and still produce well. It also means they will need some sun exposure throughout the day to perform at their best.

Often, this will mean they prefer morning sun but afternoon shade, especially if you live in hot summer areas.

Angelica – An unusual culinary herb with edible leaves and a stem that can be crystallized with sugar much like sugared violets. You can also add the chopped stems to fruit jams and chutneys, sort of like rhubarb.

Catnip/Catmint – like most of the mint family, catnip has a decent amount of Vitamin C and makes a great tea for a sore throat. It is, indeed, a favorite of cats when dried and stuffed into a toy.

Chervil – needs the hot sun protection shade provides. Both the leaves and seeds are edible, with both often being made into a tea for digestion. Chervil is famously classed as one of the Fine herbs of French cuisine.

Chicory – has a gorgeous periwinkle wildflower and delicious roots that can be dug, cleaned, roasted, and ground to use as a delicious coffee substitute.

Cowslip/Primrose – aka Primula veris and vulgaris respectively. The flowers and roots of both have a lovely fragrance and can be used in potpourri. Primrose is often used as a tea for coughs and cowslips leaves can be used in salads, soups, and stuffing.

Herbs That Grow in Light Shade H-P

Hyssop – an aromatic herb for teas and cooking, though it is suggested that it not be used when pregnant. Hyssop makes a worthy addition to a fruit tree guild for its blooms that attract pollinators. You can also prepare an hyssop oxymel to aid in healing from bronchitis and other throat complaints.

Nasturtium – edible flower and seed pods that love sun but wilt in direct sun/heat; nasturtium will grow wonderfully under and to the side of tomato plants. Grouping plants together for mutual benefit is often called companion planting. In permaculture parlance, we call it guild planting.

Oregano & Marjoram – both benefit from morning sun and a little shade in the hot sun of afternoon*. Both are popular culinary herbs but each have wellness properties, too. If you have clay soil, be sure to build a rocky mound for planting in since herbs like oregano require fantastic drainage. Rocky soil isn’t always bad!

It’s interesting to note that most of my herb books say oregano can take full sun, with one or two exceptions. I’ve tried planting oregano in many, many exposures over my years of gardening and paid attention to how they perform. In my hot summer climate, my oregano does better with a little shelter from afternoon sun. Books are essential guides, but always get your own experience, too!

Parsley – a common culinary herb that can be added to salads, sandwiches, or soups. The leaf is also chewed to freshen your breath after a meal. With its dark, green foliage, it is a worthy addition to any healthy smoothie.

Herbs That Grow in Light Shade “S” Herbs

Sage – a valuable culinary herb that is also great for digestion, as well as being antiseptic and antifungal! There are several kinds and colors and many can take a bit of shade, though they’re primarily sun-loving herbs. It’s primarily used as a culinary herb but you can make sage tea for helping with a sore throat.

Soapwort – as the name implies, the leaves of this plant can be made into a natural shampoo or mild detergent for delicate fabrics. The flowers also happen to be lovely with a pleasing scent.

Sorrel (Polygonacae) – famously culinary with a lemony bite that does well added to salads and soups. Use judiciously and taste test!

Sweet Cecily (Osmorhiza longistylis) – also sometimes called aniseroot, this plant’s leaves, stems, and roots all have a delicious anise scent and flavor. The whole plant can be prepared as a tonic, and the leaf can be used like stevia leaf to slightly sweeten.

Joe Pye Weed – An astringent herb with a seed head that produces a pinkish dye, depending on the variety (of which there are several). This herb has long been a favorite in butterfly gardens.

Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) – both the leaves and flowers are great in salads, though the leaves should be young and used sparingly. The flower does well in potpourri, as well as recipes like our wildflower popcorn, which is featured in our book, Herbal Flower Recipes.

Herbs That Grow in Light Shade T-Y

Tansy – can also grow in direct sun and is known for its abundance of growth during the season, making tansy a great crop to grow up to produce compost for the garden. Cut back the seedheads before they dry or this plant will spread like crazy.

Valerian – a powerful nervine (calms the nervous system) and most often used in herbal sleeping formulas. (Be sure to consult your herbalist before taking!) Learn to make a valerian tincture for ease of use. It also makes a worthy garden inclusion for its lacy flowers and nutrient-rich foliage for the compost pile.

Yarrow – A meadow herb that can also be found at the edges of forests. Popular for many wellness uses. According to The Complete Book of Herbs, by Leslie Bremness, yarrow is also helpful in speeding decomposition in the compost pile. Try making a delicious tea or even a simple soap to get to know yarrow!

Herbs That Grow in Part Shade A-B

Ajuga – a fantastic herbal ground cover for shady spots that will reliably protect bare ground, suppressing weeds, and keeping the soil cool and moist.

Alliums – from chives to onions to garlic, this is a whole family of delicious herb that are full of vitamins. It can also be many ways to use bee balm.

Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) – is a smaller, fragrant cousin of the garden strawberry. The fruit is delicious and the leaves are an astringent for skin. Strawberries in general are one of my most favorite ground cover plants and Alpines are definitely included in that group!

Bee Balm – aka bergamot, bee balm is a powerfully fragrant wild herb with flowers that can be added to salads or tea. The leaf is also made into a tea to help soothe an upset stomach. There are many ways to use bee balm!

Boneset – an unassuming herb in appearance, boneset has been used for centuries to relieve pain as it contains salicylic acid, which is the active ingredient in aspirin. It was also used regularly to combat the severity of colds and flus.

The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia tested boneset and found that it contains low levels of potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which is a fancy way of saying that it can have a toxic effect on the liver. If this causes concern and you’d prefer not to ingest it, but you’d still like to use boneset in a topical application for pain relief, you can make an herbal infused oil with it to rub on effected areas.
You can also skip boneset altogether and make an arnica oil or salve. We’re blessed with so many different herbs!

Borage – one of my favorite flowering herbs for honey bees as well as people! The flowers are edible, as well as the young leaves. This herb also produces a large amount of leaf matter, or biomass, during the year making it a great composting crop.

Herbs That Grow in Part Shade C-F

Calendula – super easy to grow, especially for children and new gardeners. The petals are a favorite in salads and salves and soaps!

Chamomile – a slightly apple-scented herb with tiny, daisy-like flowers that does well in baked goods like chamomile cookies, homemade lotions and cosmetics, as well as teas to calm the nervous system. Don’t forget homemade chamomile soap!

If you need to learn how to make soap, do yourself a favor and visit Jan at The Nerdy Farm Wife. I have all her books and recommend her courses. No nonsense soap making for every homesteader!

Cilantro – place it in part shade to keep it from bolting, especially in hot summer areas.

Daylily – one of my favorite plants for its tolerance of both soggy and dry soils. However, it’s also very edible from shoots to roots to flowers.

Dill/Fennel – both herbs have edible leaves and seeds and both are used in the kitchen in a wide variety of ways. The seeds are also useful infused as a tea to aid digestion; you can simply chew them or add them to a recipe like this sauerkraut with dill and carraway seeds from Nitty Gritty Life.

Foxglove – with their tall spikes of bell-shaped flowers, these biennials are worthy of inclusion in the herb garden simply for their color and beauty. Digitalis purpurea foxglove was traditionally used as a heart medicine but its no longer recommended for consumption. Learn to grow foxgloves from seed to save money on nursery plants.

Herbs That Grow in Part Shade H-M

Horseradish – prefers sun but will grow, literally, anywhere. Horseradish root is traditionally diced and used as a digestive aid in the form of a condiment (much like mustard). Make a fermented horseradish sauce with A Farm Girl in the Making.

Lady’s Mantle – astringent herb used as a face wash, as well as a compress herb for wound care and inflammation. Learn more about lady’s mantle with Nitty Gritty Life.

Lamb’s Ear – is a an effective antiseptic herb that also make a great alternative to toilet paper in a pinch!

Lemon Balm – Ah, my favorite tea herb! Fragrant leaves of lemon balm can be used in cosmetics, wellness combinations, and even desserts like Lemon Balm Poppyseed Cookies.

Lemon Verbena – very frost sensitive, so more suitable for zones 7-9 but it can be dug and brought inside for winter weather. This is one of my most favorite herbs! I love it for its sweet lemony fragrance and the soothing tea that can be made from its leaves. You can also make this lemon verbena syrup from Life Currents and use it to make natural homemade soda all summer.

Lovage – like a wild celery, lovage is a reliably part shade edible herb. I wouldn’t eat it raw with peanut butter like I would celery but I do love it in soups and stews! Also, try this lovage garlic vinaigrette from Sarah’s Cucina Bella.

Meadowsweet – is a lovely shrubby herb with frothy cream colored flowers that are sweet enough to dry for potpourri. The leaves and stem produce a blue dye according to The Complete Book of Herbs. Nitty Gritty Life can teach you how to make a soothing heartburn relief tea with meadowsweet.

Herbs That Grow in Part Shade N-S

Nettle – is one of the most nutritive herbs and though it has stings, they can be worked with if you’re careful. One easy way to use nettle is to dry it and powder it so that you can incorporate it easily into recipes.

Parsley – is a helpful digestive herb, which is why it’s traditionally served up at dinner time! It also contains vitamins K, A, and C. It even helps with bad breath! Learn to dehydrate parsley from Purposeful Pantry.

Sweet Cicely – loves dappled light and damp soil. The seed, leaf, and root of sweet cicely are all edible and chopped leaves can be a valuable “sweetener” substitute for diabetics; unripe seeds, too, which can be added to cottage cheese and fruit salad.

Sweet Woodruff – does well in the understory of trees and produces a sweet white flower. The leaves are used in potpourri and tea.

Stevia – also called “sweet leaf” is a popular sugar substitute and can even be found commercially. If you live in cool summer areas, stevia can grow in full sun. However, if you live in a hot summer area, dappled shade will serve the plant better. Common Sense Home can teach you how to grow and learn stevia.

Herbs That Grow in Part Shade T-W

Tarragon – a delicious culinary herb that pairs well with fish. Full of vitamin A and C, as well as iodine, tarragon is a great inclusion for infused herbal vinegar.

Thyme – delicious culinary herb that is also helpful for relieving symptoms of colds. It is also simply delicious when used in recipes. Add it to herbal butter and then melt it over mashed potatoes – yummy!

Violet – is a reliable herb to grow in part shade and the blooms are so lovely. Flowers can be used in sweet dishes like violet gelatin and cookies. You can also learn the traditional preservation method of making sugared violets. Violet leaves are also useful in herbal preparations like salves and violet leaf and honey cough syrup.

Wintergreen – a shrubby, low-growing herbal groundcover that prefers acidic soil. The leaves can be infused into oil and used topically as an aid for rheumatism. The leaves can also be made into a tea to help with sore throats. Susan, from Learning and Yearning, uses it to make her famous tea-berry wintergreen ice cream.

Herbs that Grow in Full Shade A-D

Agrimony – Gardner’s Path says the following: “A. gryposepala, also known as tall hairy agrimony, and A. striata, or roadside agrimony, both thrive in partial or full shade in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9.”

Black Cohosh – is a great understory plant that love rich, damp soil. It presents as a bit of a drama queen with long, flowering branches of frilly flowers that shoot to the sky – sort of like a magic wand with fairy dust on it. Black cohosh has historically be used for a number of female complaints.

According to The Herbal Academy, “it is widely used in addressing menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, heart palpitations, sleep disturbances, and irritability.”

Dandelion – is probably the most widely recognized “weed” in the world! The leaves of dandelion are a great bitter digestive green to add to salads. The flowers can be used to make everything from gelatin dessert to cookies to candy. The roots of dandelion are a powerful liver tonic and cleanser. Aaaaaand, dandelions will grow in the shade!

Dead Nettle – is another common “weed” that has great value in the garden and you don’t need to cultivate it if it already grows where you live. Gathering useful weedy herbs is called foraging and it provides you with free food! Visit Grow, Forage, Cook, Ferment to learn more about how to use dead nettle.

Herbs that Grow in Full Shade G-L

Ginseng – must have shade as the direct sunlight will kill it. It would be of benefit to grow it because, like Goldenseal listed below, it is in danger in the wild of being over-harvested. Long used as a tonic for mental and physical health and vigor, this unassuming herb can help with everything from stress to appetite. You can toss powdered ginseng into almost anything, if you’re not using the root. You can even sneak it into sweet treats as with this tropical ginseng smoothie.

Goldenseal – grow these to bring them back because they’re overharvested! If you’re planting a woodland garden for your own benefit or for a homestead side hustle, goldenseal should be in it if you’ve got the right environment.

Lungwort – The perfect shady groundcover both for its willingness to grow under trees, as well as for its lovely variegated leaves. Like borage, lungwort also has lovely flowers that change color as they age (from pink to violet blue). The leaves are often used as a treatment for cough and sore throat because of the soothing goopy texture they produce. In herbal circles, this property is called mucilaginous.

Herbs that Grow in Full Shade R-W

Ramps – one of the spring ephemeral plants, which means they appear early in the season and delicately fade once the summer begins. They need sun in the spring while they’re maturing, so plant under deciduous trees because they’ll like cool shade as they die back in summer. Ramp pesto is a particularly delicious recipe to make with this culinary herb.

Solomon’s Seal – grows readily under trees in shady, damp corner and spreads easily. Often called the friend of athletes, Solomon’s seal is often used to aid and strengthen muscles and joints and aid in recovery from injury.

Stinging Nettle – you can grow stinging nettle in full shade too, but it will get tall looking for some light. Nettle is full of Vitamin C and A, not to mention iron, and is incredibly nutritive. It can be used for many things from basketry to herbal supplements to delicious nettle ice tea.

Wild Ginger – makes a reliable groundcover in your garden’s shady spot but you’ll also find it in the wild (like all these “woodland” shade herbs). The leaves and the roots have a ginger smell and taste. Though wild ginger does have wellness properties, it can be mildly toxic in small doses so consume with caution.

A Few Other Worthy Shade Inclusions

Especially if you have moist, rich, hummusy soil, try:

Bloodroot
Jewelweed (will withstand lots of water!)
Mayapple
Trillium

If you have dry soil, try:

Oregon Grape – it may not flower as heavily in full shade, but it will grow!

Alkanet is notorious hard to germinate but, when it does, it requires full shade to reach transplantable size. Then, oddly enough, it’s planted in full sun!

Which Herbs Will Grow for You?

It’s worth repeating that many of these herbs can grow in a wide variety of shade cover, so don’t hesitate to experiment. Remember to take good notes so that you can make better decisions moving forward if changes need to be made.

Take what you read about sunlight exposure with a grain of salt simply because situations vary so widely. For example, the summer heat is more intense because the earth is closer to the sun during that season.

However, elevation, humidity, and wind are only some of the factors that can make a huge difference in how a particular shade-tolerant or even a shade-loving herb is performing.

Herbal Resources

Some herb books referenced and used for research by me include:

Medicinal Herbs, by Rosemary Gladstar
Midwest Medicinal Herbs, by Lisa Rose (If you’re somewhere else in the U.S., there are books in this series for each region either completed or in the works.)
The Complete Book of Herbs, by Leslie Bremness
The Cook’s Herb Garden, by Cox and Moine
The Herb Bible, by Peter McHoy
The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbooks, by James Green

If you’d like online courses to round out your herbal education, I highly recommend Herbal Academy!