Here in zone 4, with the tall bearded iris long finished as well as the peonies, in all the beds I do have echoed plantings - or at least variations on a theme. My daylilies (other than Stella d'Oros which have just finished their first big flush) are now cranking up and blooming with the last of the Asiatic lilies, Walkers Low nepeta, blue platycodon, pink baby's breath, sedums yet to show color, and feverfew. I don't like anything to overtake the peonies; the Walkers Low could, but it has such a lovely wispy aspect, you can see the peony blooms through it. Annual fill ins carry me through until the first killing frost - get a lot of bang for the buck with petunias, statice (Limonium Sinuatum), osteospermum, alyssum, impatiens, pansies, dianthus Chinensis... Our season is pretty short for the "ever blooming" daylilies - do get another light round or two on the Stellas. And might get the same kind of repeat if I had the Happy Returns, Happy Ever Appster, Ruby Stella, etc. etc. Ever bloomning is kind of a joke for me, but I suppose a scape or two each with a bud or two counts. :-) The tall garden phlox haven't started yet and the scattered stands of Lilium Tigrinum are just about to explode - both those carry well into September.

Thanks for everyone's offers! Ontnative - We might still be able to arrange a pick up if your offer is still good. We have quite a few people who live outside of the city, so it might still be an option. Please let me know if you are still interested in donating and if so, please let me know what is most convenient for you in terms of time(s) and place(s). You can post another message for me here or email me via "My Page". Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to email you personally, so i had to post this message here! Thanks again, Kat

Assuming that you purchased a variegated BEARDED iris, and not one of the beardLESS types, you may be both overfertilizing and overwatering it. Bearded irises require little or no supplemental water once they are established, and in fact may rot if overwatered. Manure and other high nitrogen fertilizers are not recommended for bearded irises because nitrogen tends to promote foliar growth at the expense of blooms. Also, nitrogen is another thing that can promote rot in bearded irises. That said, it is not at all uncommon for bearded irises to take two or more years to settle into a new garden before resuming their bloom cycle, so you may not get bloom this year. This is especially true for variegated plants that are slower growers. I recommend you read through the FAQs (link at top of forum page) for more information about the proper care and culture (and troubleshooting) of bearded irises. Laurie

Well, I don't know much about shrubs or vines that grow in shade except for English ivy but that tends to take over so I really wouldn't recommend it for near a flower bed. Oh, there is climbing Hydrangea, is that the same as false Hydrangea? I do have some experience in planting in the dry shade beneath a maple (mine's a Norway). I'm in zone 5 in southern Wisconsin. I do get some sunlight where I've planted at the base of the tree but it's always in the morning or evening as the sun comes in under the leaves at an angle. Just enough in the late afternoon to fry the ferns I tried planting there. :) I have to really keep an eye out for the hostas and keep them well watered or their leaves get singed too. Those maples really suck up all the water. Not to mention that they act like giant umbrellas so anything I plant there has to be watered a once or twice a week (very deep watering). I currently have had success with Hostas (what else do we plant in shade :)), Columbine (blooming right now and still going strong after 4 years with many babies all around), Stella de Oro daylilies (probably not as many blooms as it would in full sun but I'll take what I can get. I just had to divide it after 4 years), Sweet woodruff (just finishing blooming but the foliage has a very light, airy feel so it's beautiful even without flowers), Allium bulbs(which look great blooming right now coming up in the middle of the Hostas), the kind of groundcover phlox (stoniferous... or something like that I think. I know there are two different kinds of that low phlox and only one likes shade) and some Cranesbill geranium. Oh, and I just planted some Astilbes so we'll have to see how that does. I also just planted some spiderwort and the Siberian iris that I planted just last year survived the winter and is about to bloom. I do have one bush there but it's at the far end of the tree canopy so it gets a touch more sun than the rest. It's a white Rose of Sharon bush called Althea. It never grows much though. Whatever growth it manages to put on during the summer seems to get broken off during the winter when snow gets dumped on it. (This is all planted on the sidewalk strip that runs next to the street.) I just planted some Lady's mantle, lungwort (tiny spring flowers but great spotted foliage, tiarella (I think the common name is foamflower) and Heuchara. I don't know if I spelled that right but the common name is Coral Bells. Really great puplish foliage on some of the varieties which is nice for a shady spot. I didn't want just a mass of green so I tried to mix it up with the types of foliage. I have some Hostas with the white edging on the leaves, a few that have that bluish/green edge, and a goldish one. They are all mixed in with everything with the spiky or tall plants (daylilies, iris, columbine, spiderwort, and the alliums) acting as kind of accents here and there. It worked out kind of nice but unfortunately I underestimated how big the hostas were going to become so I'm going to have to do some rearranging. *sigh* And I just finished digging up all of the lily-of-the-valley. Very great for shady areas but it's a garden thug. Plant one or two and they send out underground runners and next thing you know, they are everywhere!. I moved them to underneath my evergreen bushes. The grass is so sparse there anyway, let's see what they do. Maybe I could have a lily-of-the-valley lawn. :) Well, I really rambled on here didn't I? Hope it helps. I have some pictures of my dry-shade area but I have no idea how to post them. If anyone is interested, tell me what to do and I'll give it a try. Kimberly