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These shade lovers will make your garden complete.

A shade garden is just as lovely as a garden filled with sun-loving plants. While perennials, which return for many years, should be the backbone of any garden, annuals have a place, too! Annuals live for only one season, but they allow you to shake things up and change your planting plan every year so it never gets boring. With a vast number of sizes, forms, and colors, annuals often bloom from spring to frost for a season-long show. Bonus: some annuals drop seeds, so baby plants often pop up next year on their own (yay!).

Before choosing your plants, observe your garden at different times of day. How many hours of direct sunlight does it get? Does it only receive shade in the morning then blazing hot afternoon sun? This is an important thing to assess so you don't put a shade lover in a spot that's really not that shady after all. Make sure to read the plant tags or descriptions, too, to learn which annuals will tolerate a little part sun (up to 3 to 4 hours per day), or full shade, meaning no direct sunlight. And be sure if you plant in box containers or pots that you water flowers frequently. Pots can dry out very fast in the summer's blazing heat even if they are located in shaded areas of your dazzling space.

Read on for our favorite annuals that will add vibrants pops of color to your shade garden.

Begonias bloom continuously until a hard frost, and you never have to fuss with pinching off spent blooms (called “deadheading”) to keep them going. They come in an array of gorgeous colors from palest pink to hot and spicy orange.

This hardy vine is grown for its beautiful leaves in shades of burgundy or chartreuse. Give it plenty of space because this vigorous grower tends to take over the pot when planted with other annuals.

These purple, white, or pink annuals, which resemble snapdragons, attract hummingbirds. They’re perfect for window boxes! Plant them alone or in a mixed container to drape over the sides.

Coleus comes in every imaginable color ranging from lime green to deep burgundy with flat or frilly leaves. They're available in many different heights, and some will take a little sun, too.

This silvery, cascading plant doesn't mind the heat, and it looks amazing tumbling out of baskets and window boxes. It will take part sun.

A favorite in Victorian gardens, this flower's sweet scent will show you exactly why it was once so popular! It's not easy to find as plants, so you likely will have to grow from seed.

This type of impatiens is more disease resistant than other kinds of impatiens, which have succumbed to powdery mildew in recent years. The upright plants with large flowers do best in shade, though they will take a little sun if you keep them watered.

Fun spotted foliage in shades of white, red, or pink make these heat-tolerant plants a winner for dressing up shady spots. They’re great potted alone or in a mixed container for a splash of color. Bring them indoors for winter as a houseplant in cold climates.

The pure white or brilliant blue flowers on this plant bloom profusely and love the heat. They look best in hanging baskets or mixed with other shade-lovers in containers.

Blue, purple, or white lobelia is so pretty cascading over the sides of containers or hanging baskets. It likes part shade and blooms best before nighttime temperatures get too warm; if it starts to look shaggy, trim it back and it will revive when cool weather returns.

Huge heart-shaped leaves make this a favorite accent plant. The colors are so brilliant that they almost don't look like real plants! You can enjoy caladiums as annuals, or dig up the tubers before a hard freeze, store them in a cool, dry place, and save them to plant again next spring after all threat of frost is past.

These adorable plants look like teeny orchids. Nemesia likes sun, but when nighttime temperatures stay in the 70s, they’re not happy. Give them afternoon shade to keep them blooming from spring to frost.

This heirloom flower was well-loved by the Victorians. They bloom early and profusely. Masses of flowers on sturdy stems make this a lovely cut flower, too, and they look right at home in cottage or country gardens.

This low-growing annual will tolerate part sun and is beautiful planted in masses. It has a slightly sweet fragrance and will keep going until frost. Some types self-sow, so it may return next year. Pollinators love it!

Tiny blue, white, or pink flowers trail along this plant spring to fall. Mix it with other annuals for a beautiful display in containers or window boxes.

These plants have stunning flowers in eye-catching shades of purple, red, or pink. They’re gorgeous draping over hanging pots. Hummingbirds and butterflies adore them. SHOP NOW

Even though they’re technically annuals, most types of violas drop loads of seeds, so they often pop up again next spring. They do fine in spring sunshine, but by summer, the heat’s too much for them. Plant in the shade if you want them to make it past June. Bonus: They're edible and gorgeous on salads and cakes! SHOP NOW

More often seen as a houseplant, this shade-lover blooms in brilliant blues, reds, and pinks with white accents. They drop lots of seeds, so they may return next year. SHOP NOW

Also known as flowering tobacco, this pretty annual drops lots of seeds so it will return next year. Its sweetly-scented flowers open in the evening or during cool times of day.

Grown for its pretty foliage, this plant is often seen as a houseplant. But you also can plant it in shady outdoor gardens, too! In warmer climates, it's a perennial.