• Red currants are an ideal food crop for shaded garden areas.Kathy Collins/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Even the most well-landscaped yard may feature bare, unplanted areas under shaded tree canopies and other areas with low levels of light. In these areas, choosing the right type of plants is highly important in order for plants to thrive. Under shade trees, plants compete for nutrients in the soil and must be well-adapted for poor air circulation, according to the University of Missouri. In order to landscape lightly shaded areas, choose plants adapted to the growing conditions. Pruning the branches of a shaded tree canopy helps increase light and improve air circulation for understory plants.
  
  

Ground Covers

• Many ground cover plants are ideal for planting in lightly shaded areas. When planted in a natural area of the yard, such as under a tree canopy, ground cover plants spread quickly, creating an attractive alternative to grass. Some recommended ground covers for areas of light shade include periwinkle, bee balm and bleeding heart. Periwinkle, features semievergreen foliage and blue, lavender, purple or white flowers throughout the spring and early summer. It favors well-drained soil and can be invasive if left unattended. Bee balm is a tall, flowering ground cover that spreads rapidly, according to the National Garden Association. In the summer, it blooms with bright red flowers, which naturally attract hummingbirds. Bleeding heart features spike-like growths that blossom with bell-like pink flowers from late spring through the summer. It requires well-drained soil and should not be planted in areas where animals may graze, as it is poisonous.
  
  

Shrubs

• Certain varieties of flowering and evergreen shrubs also thrive in shaded areas of the yard. Planting shrubs in the shadows thrown by a home helps create an attractive living border. Some recommended shrubs include Japanese barberry, fothergilla, and five-leaved aralia, according to Purdue University. Japanese barberry is generally about 5 feet tall, blossoms with yellow or white flowers in the spring and features red berries throughout the summer. Fothergilla adds color and texture to a garden space with white, spring-time blossoms and scarlet leaves throughout the autumn. Typically the Fothergilla shrub reaches a height of 10 feet. The five-leaved aralia is also well suited to shady gardens. It features thick growth and thorns and is ideal for creating a living hedge. It features variegated leaves that are both green and yellow in color.
  
  

Food Crops

• While most fruits and vegetables prefer full-sun conditions, some thrive in lightly shaded gardens, according to the University of Missouri. When selected plants for a shaded food garden, plants such as cool-season vegetables and berry thickets. Some ideal cool-season vegetables are those commonly used in salads --- lettuce, spinach, radishes. In fact, these veggies prefer some shading from the hot summer sun. Other crops that grow in the shade include broccoli, potatoes, beets, cabbage, peas and rhubarb, though the amount of crops produced will be less than those planted in sunny areas. Also consider planting thickets of gooseberries or currants in shaded areas of the yard.