Container Gardening for Shade

For the shadiest of spaces, consider planting:

Leather Flower (Clematis versicolor) 

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) 

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

Littleflower Alumroot (Heuchera parviflora)

For areas that receive at least some direct sun, you might try: 

Bee Balm (Monarda bradburiana)

Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna)

Calico Beardtongue (Penstemon calycosus)

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)

Purple Daisy (Symphyotrichum patens)

Sand Phlox (Phlox bifida)