Our Herb Garden Seed Bundle, shown above, includes all the herbs you need for a partially shaded herb garden!
Best Herbs for Partial Shade
Grow more food in your garden with a variety of annual and perennial herbs to expand your growing season and harvest! There are plenty of herbs that grow in partial shade.
Herbs that can grow in partial shade (3-6 hours of sun) include cilantro, parsley, garlic chives, and oregano. These are all more cold-tolerant herbs that grow great in early spring, and benefit from partial shade in the heat of summer which helps keep them from bolting as quickly. Basil, a wonderful summer herb prefers more sun, but can grow happily with 4-6 hours of sun (think morning and early afternoon sun, with late afternoon shade). Start Basil indoors and grow until all chance of frost has past before planting outside in the garden or in containers.
Here's some more details about each of these herbs that tolerate and can benefit from partial shade in the garden:
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Cilantro: Growing Cilantro in partial shade is an excellent strategy to prevent premature bolting (flowering) and ensure tender, flavorful leaves, particularly in hot summer climates. When the heat of summer comes, cilantro likes to go to flower (bolts) which will produce beautiful lacy white flowers that pollinators and beneficial insects love, followed by seed pods that can be used green or let fully mature to a dry brown seed, which can be used as Coriander spice or used to resow more cilantro. Sow cilantro often throughout the spring, summer and fall for a continual harvest. Direct sow seeds for the best results, as cilantro doesn't like to be transplanted. This is a must-have for salsa gardens! Read more about how to Stop Fighting Cilantro »
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Little Gem Lettuce: This delightful cross between butterhead and romaine, this variety is heat-tolerant & slow to bolt, but growing it in partial shade in the hot summer months will keep it happy for a longer harvest. The Little Gem Lettuce variety is a reliable choice for spring, summer, and fall harvests.
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Parsley: A wonderful herb that belongs in every garden, parsley is great for use in salad dressings, pestos, tomato sauces, tabbouleh, bean salads, you name it. Parsley can thrive both in full sun and partial shade, it prefers morning sun and some afternoon shade in the heat of the summer. This versatile biennial typically produces lots of leafy greens the first year, and then in the second year of growth it will bloom and make seeds. Parsley's white lacy flowers attract beneficial insects and swallowtail butterflies!
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Garlic Chives: While they prefer full sun for maximum production, they are versatile plants that tolerate, and can often thrive in, partial afternoon shade. Garlic chives are perennial, meaning they come back year after year. They are hardy, clump-forming perennials in zones 4–9, and are known for their flat leaves, garlicky flavor that are used in salsas, soups, stir fries, dumplings and other Asian recipes. Very easy to grow, these can be aggressive and spread via self-seeding and underground bulbs. The globe of white flowers are beloved by pollinators. Deadhead them to prevent spreading if desired – cut off flowering heads before the seed-heads dry and turn brown to prevent re-seeding. You can actually eat the unripe green seedpods (after the blooms fade) – throw them into stir fries or soups or pickle them like capers! They have a nice pop of garlic flavor.
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Oregano: This versatile, hardy perennial herb can grow in partial shade, especially in hot climates. This herb is wonderful as it comes back year after year! While oregano trives best with at least 4-6 hours of sunlight, it tolerates partial shade by adapting and slowing down it's growth. Oregano is delicious when added to Italian foods such as pizza, lasagna, and pasta sauces. It also adds flavor to fried eggs and roasted vegetables, or used in salad dressings. When in bloom, oregano attracts lots of pollinators and beneficial insects to boost your veggie garden's health and productivity.
- Basil: This must-have herb can live in partial shade, especially in hot climates where afternoon shade protects it from scorching. While it is a full sun-loving herb, basil thrives if given 4–6 hours of direct sun daily, morning sun is perfect with some afternoon shade. With more shade, Basil plants tend to grow slower and their aroma is not as intense, but they still produce usable leaves. Prune basil often to keep it bushy and use the leaves in tomato sauces, caprese salads, pestos (stems and all) and other recipes. Basil is a must have for every kitchen. Store-bought fresh or dried basil pales in comparison to fresh homegrown Basil's amazing flavors and aroma. You can also grow it on a sunny windowsill, ideally with some supplemental light, in the early spring until you can transplant out your summer veggies. Basil is very sensitive to frost, so unlike the other herbs listed above, you want to wait until it gets consistently warm (about 50˚F) at night and there is no chance of frost before bringing your basil outside to grow. Be sure to harden off seedlings, to get them adjusted, as Basil leaves can be sensitive to the sun at first! Know that Basil will eventually start blooming, if you prune it often you can keep the plant producing more leaves for a time, but eventually it will want to go to seed. Let it! Pollinators and beneficial insects love the many small Basil blooms on spikes, and it smells lovely. It's good to start more seeds halfway through the summer for a second flush of Basil later in theseason while your first batch are in their blooming phase.
All of thse herbs also make great companion plants for peppers and tomatoes.
Check out all of our herb and vegetable seeds for more culinary plants to grow in your food garden! Growing a variety of veggies increases your harvests, extends your season, and beautifies your garden!
