I agree on the torenia. How about fuschia, and mimulus (monkey flower)? Personally, I adore tuberous begonias. If you don't like the "garish" colors, there are some gorgeous apricot/champagne colored ones, or even white. There's always coleus and caladiums, although you may consider these common also. Lobelia does well for me in part shade, as does nemesia, and both cascade nicely. If you are open to perennials, that gives you a huge selection to work with. Hostas are wonderful in pots, and you can even have a mixed planting just with hostas - small, large, greens, blues, variegated. I know - common! - but there are several beautiful, more unusual hostas to work with. Columbines, lady's mantle, astilbe, geraniums, hechera/hecherella, tiarella, (these last two are great foliage plants), and daylilies all do well in part shade. BTW, what are you calling part shade - how many hours? I even have some roses in part shade that do quite well. :) Dee P.S Carex is a nice grass that does well in shade, and will give a nice spikey accent to pots.

aquawise, columbine sounds good. Mixed colors? What can I give to you? Margez, all of those sounds great. I can trade you one flower type for one lettuce type. What do you think? onedaylily, doronicum, anemone sylvestris, geranium macrorrhizum = yes! Trade for 2 packs of lettuce and one pack of orange pepper? Shoot me an email: muffypuffie@yahoo.com

Question:"Threedodsmom (waht a cute name!), what is the yellow flower in your fist picture? And I love the lush look in your second picture. I see some dark red in there. What are they?" Answer: standard button garden mum planted last fall, blooming now in July. A happy coincidence ! Dark red touches are Jacob Cline monarda, knockout rose new growth showing, and canna "Wyoming" leaves. Second Question: "Threedogsmom, I have those exact daylilies that are in your first picture - rust with bright yellow - a gift with no name tag. I always wondered but assumed they are just a variety of Ditch Lily. Is that right, or do you have some other name for them?" Answer: They are not the common ditch lilies - you can see a ditch lily in my second pic down, to the right, a tall scape towards the front/right of the bed. You can see more pics in the "poised for lily explosion" thread I started. I do not remember the name of the burgundy and yellow daylilies in the first pic, but they have multiplied very well in just 2 years ! Got at Lowe's.

Hi~ I was actually looking for something about annual lobelias when I came across this thread. I couldn't help but add my 2 cents... I totally agree with Paula about the fuschias...they're one of the most beautiful flowers in my large garden....and hanging from the edge of my shaded porch. I usually add various impatiens, tuberous begonias, and here's something I haven't seen mentioned....Kenilworth Ivy! It's gorgeous! Even here in the Interior of Alaska, I've had many patches of it spring up in the ground underneath a planter with it in it. It actually does the best in shade. A lot of people consider Creeping Charlie an invasive weed, but it's everywhere in my garden, choking out the much-detested chickweed! Yes! It mounds and FLOWERS! It creeps all over the place, filling in all the spots between my neglected paver stone walkway, and all I do to start a new section of growth is rip out a handful, dig a hole or a trench, lay it in, water, and in a matter of days,it's taking off like crazy! It's gorgeous for filling in hanging baskets or window boxes, and it absolutely thrives in the deepest,shadiest corners, underneath the Lily-of-the-Valley, which thrives underneath the Ostrich and Lady ferns. One more thought...I usually keep my Amaryllis on the back porch for the summer...they stay much healthier and get so much bigger than in the sun. They also add a fabulous, exotic look to the area when fanning out from behind something with flowers. So now....can anyone describe the differences in growth habits between the various lobelias for me? Julianne