Spring is a perfect time to add new plants to your garden. As the weather warms up, many plants begin to grow and bloom, bringing color and life to outdoor spaces. You don’t need to be an expert gardener to enjoy beautiful spring plants.
Low-maintenance plants are ideal for busy people who want a lovely garden without spending hours on upkeep. These hardy varieties can thrive with minimal attention, surviving through various weather conditions while still looking great. From perennials like hostas and coneflowers to shrubs and herbs, there are plenty of options that will brighten your yard without demanding constant care.
In this article, we'll cover
1. Hosta
Hostas are a favorite for low-maintenance shade gardens. These hardy plants offer beautiful foliage from spring through fall with minimal effort from you.
Available in many leaf shapes, sizes, and color combinations from bright green to blue-green, hostas provide lasting beauty to your landscape.
While they don’t need much care, hostas benefit from spring fertilizing to help them produce new growth. They pair wonderfully with spring-flowering plants like allium, daffodils, and Solomon’s seal.
2. Fernleaf Bleeding Heart
Fernleaf Bleeding Heart adds a touch of romance to your spring garden with its unique heart-shaped flowers. This compact plant grows in clumps about 8-10 inches tall and blooms from late spring to early fall.
You’ll love how low-maintenance this beauty is! It’s winter hardy, disease-resistant, and even keeps rabbits away.
Plant your Fernleaf Bleeding Heart in fertile, humus-rich soil that drains well. It thrives in partial shade – morning sun with afternoon shade is perfect.
3. Japanese Forest Grass
Japanese Forest Grass, also known as Hakonechloa, is a standout low-maintenance plant for your spring garden. It’s one of the few grasses that actually thrives in shade!
Plant it in a spot with partial to full shade and moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. You’ll want to water it regularly, especially when getting established.
This beautiful grass adds wonderful texture to your garden with its graceful, arching form. Once established, it becomes fairly drought tolerant, making your gardening life easier.
4. Heuchera
Heuchera, also known as coral bells, is a perfect low-maintenance plant for your spring garden. These colorful perennials offer beautiful foliage in shades of purple, orange, lime green, and more.
You’ll love how versatile coral bells are in your garden. They thrive in partial shade but can handle full sun in cooler climates with about 4-6 hours of sunlight daily.
What makes heuchera truly special is their year-round interest. Their dainty flowers rise above colorful leaves on slender stems, adding charm to both garden beds and containers.
5. Epimedium
Epimedium, also known as fairy wings or barrenwort, is a perfect choice for shady spots in your garden. This spring-blooming perennial forms a weed-smothering carpet of heart-shaped leaves.
The dainty, columbine-like flowers come in many colors and appear in early spring. They’re great for dry shade areas and deer won’t touch them!
You’ll love how easy Epimedium is to grow. It thrives under deciduous trees and can be an excellent groundcover for those tricky shaded parts of your yard.
6. Solomon’s Seal
Solomon’s Seal is a graceful perennial that loves shady spots in your garden. It emerges in spring with arching stems and dangling white bell-shaped flowers.
This low-maintenance plant thrives in USDA Zones 3-9 and prefers rich, well-drained soil. You’ll find it grows beautifully under trees or in woodland garden settings.
Solomon’s Seal transforms quickly each spring, making it perfect for those shady areas where other plants struggle. It’s both showy and easy to care for in your shade garden.
7. Astilbe
Astilbe plants are perfect for adding color to shady spots in your spring garden. These low-maintenance perennials produce feathery, plume-like flower spikes in pink, red, white, or purple.
You’ll love that astilbes are deer-resistant and can tolerate heavy shade. They bloom for up to three weeks, bringing elegance to areas where other plants struggle.
Choose from early or late-season varieties to extend their display in your garden. Astilbes need little care once established, making them ideal for busy gardeners looking for beautiful, reliable plants.
8. Coral Bells
Coral Bells, also known as Heuchera, are colorful perennials perfect for your spring garden. These low-maintenance plants offer attractive foliage in an array of colors.
You’ll love how versatile they are in your garden. They thrive in partial shade but can handle full sun in some cases, needing about 4-6 hours of sunlight daily.
Coral Bells prefer moist, well-drained soil. You’ll enjoy their pretty bell-shaped flowers that begin blooming in late spring.
9. Brunnera
Brunnera is a wonderful plant for shady areas in your garden. It’s a slowly spreading perennial that needs very little care once established.
You’ll love its pretty heart-shaped leaves and the sprays of blue spring flowers that look like forget-me-nots. This plant prefers moist soil with good drainage.
After its first year, Brunnera becomes quite drought-tolerant, making it perfect for dry shade areas. It’s truly low-maintenance as long as you give it enough water when first planted.
10. Lungwort
Lungwort (Pulmonaria) is a perfect low-maintenance option for your spring garden. This early-flowering perennial thrives in part shade areas where other plants might struggle.
Pulmonaria offers pretty pink, blue, and white flowers that bloom when winter ends and spring begins. The plant’s attractive spotted foliage adds interest even after flowering ends.
You can grow lungwort in moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil. It’s generally pest-free and only needs dividing every few years in spring to keep it healthy and control its size.
11. Ajuga
Ajuga, also known as Bugle, is a fantastic ground cover plant that’s super easy to care for. It thrives in both full and partial shade areas of your garden.
You’ll love its attractive glossy leaves that come in deep green, bronze, and chocolate-brown colors. Plant new ajuga 10-15 inches apart in rich, slightly acidic soil during early spring.
This low-growing perennial is nearly impossible to kill, making it perfect if you’re looking for low-maintenance options for your garden space.
12. Lenten Rose
Lenten Rose, also known as Hellebore, is a low-maintenance perennial that blooms in late winter through spring. You’ll love how these plants add color to your garden when little else is flowering.
These hardy plants thrive in partial to full shade, making them perfect for woodland gardens or shady spots. They’re evergreen in most climates and can live for decades with minimal care.
You can enjoy their beautiful, nodding flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, and even black. Once established, Lenten Roses are drought-tolerant and don’t need much attention to keep looking great.
13. Virginia Bluebells
Virginia bluebells are beautiful spring flowers that bloom in blueish-purple colors. They grow best in moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter.
These low-maintenance plants thrive in partial to full shade, making them perfect for woodland gardens. You can plant them 10-18 inches apart in fall or after the last frost in spring.
They’re hardy in USDA zones 3-8 and can handle some morning sun. As a spring ephemeral, they’ll add early color to your garden without needing much care from you.
14. Moss Phlox
Moss Phlox, also known as Phlox subulata, is a stunning low-maintenance plant that brings a pop of color to your spring garden. This evergreen ground cover produces bright blue, purple, or white flowers in late winter through spring.
You’ll love how this adaptable plant thrives in less than ideal conditions. It grows well in sunny to partly shaded areas and prefers dry soil.
For added visual interest, plant Moss Phlox near the top of retaining walls where its stems can beautifully cascade downward. It returns year after year with minimal care, making it perfect for busy gardeners.
15. Siberian Iris
Siberian Iris plants bring beautiful color to your garden with minimal effort. These hardy perennials bloom elegantly in June with striking purple, blue, or white flowers.
They’re incredibly adaptable, tolerating both drought and wet soils once established. You’ll appreciate how they thrive in consistent moisture but don’t mind drying out occasionally.
After blooming, their attractive vertical foliage continues adding interest to your garden. Plant these low-maintenance beauties in spring from potted nursery plants or by dividing roots from established plants.
16. Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob’s Ladder is a low-maintenance woodland plant that thrives in spring gardens. It produces clusters of pretty bell-shaped flowers in spring or early summer.
This plant does best in partial shade with soil rich in organic matter. You’ll appreciate its ability to spread by seeds, especially in bright shady spots with moist soil.
For best results, apply a balanced organic fertilizer in early spring. You can also tidy up your Jacob’s Ladder by cutting back the previous year’s foliage before new growth begins.
17. Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley is a charming, low-maintenance plant perfect for shady spots in your garden. This fragrant beauty thrives in moist, slightly acidic to neutral soil.
You can plant Lily of the Valley pips (rhizomes) in early spring or fall. Once established, these plants require almost no maintenance.
They prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. Don’t worry about moving them once planted – they’re happiest when left undisturbed.
18. Tickseed
Tickseed (Coreopsis) brings sunshine to your garden with its bright, cheerful blooms. This perennial is perfect if you’re looking for a low-maintenance option that delivers big results.
Tickseed thrives in full sun, needing at least six to eight hours of direct light daily. You’ll love how drought-tolerant it is, requiring minimal watering once established.
What makes this flower even better is its resistance to pests and diseases. You can enjoy its gorgeous blooms throughout a long flowering season with very little effort on your part.
19. Lamb’s Ear
Lamb’s ear is a fantastic low-maintenance plant for your spring garden. Its soft, fuzzy, silver-gray leaves feel just like a lamb’s ear, making it a fun tactile addition to your garden space.
This drought-tolerant perennial serves as an excellent groundcover in sunny spots. You’ll love how it suppresses weeds while requiring minimal watering and care.
Some varieties like ‘Helen von Stein’ rarely flower and won’t become weedy through reseeding. In spring, certain types produce delicate pink and purple flower spikes for added visual interest.