I think you would be fine with hydrangeas there. If salvias are too floppy, try some veronicas or agastaches. You might even be able to grow baptista (false indigo). I have a similar exposure in my zone 5 Iowa yard. Trees along one side, and then it slopes too, so it is a bit of an odd long bed. It used to be grass and mostly invasive Asian honesuckle shrubs. I have only been gardening at this house for 1 1/2 years, so I am still experimenting; plus I am new to this zone and previously lived in zone 9. I first considered this area part shade and planted accordingly. Now I see there are pockets of more and less sun. In this area the plants doing best are: Hostas--This surprised me, but I see them in full sun around town now that I have started looking. Not sure if it is the same for zone 6. Foam flower--this looks GREAT right now with tidy foliage and is still blooming. I had some red tulips behind the foam flower and they looked lovely. Columbines--flowering nicely with airy foliage. Agastache--the one I have has short white flowers, but blues are common I think. Overwintered and re-sowed abundantly. My soil drains well so may be why they like it there. Garden phlox--were small plants last year from Bluestone spring sale. SO far they are growing nicely but will see if they flop. Today the whole area seemed to be in so much sun! Daylillies--will see how they do this year Foxglove--sowed last summer, getting ready to bloom, seems to be good for them in this spot. Monarda, bloomed last summer and no flopping. Soloman's seal--in a shadier pocket, but still gets some afternoon sun. Doing really well right now. helleborus--one little helleborus which has been doing great so far this spring, to my surprise. When I realized how sunny the spot was, I thought I'd move this little plant, but it is doign well. Toad lily--these are growing nicely and had attractive late flowers last year. Lobelia--there are some nice blue lobelias available. low growing veronicas--doing very well and blooming profusely. Happy planting. :)

I just happened to do a search that found your posting. I sounds like you might live near me - Cedar Hill? We have a couple things in common: we put Buffalo grass sod down around a new house here, and it is doing great - even better in light shade than in full sun, contrary to much that I read. I did have some compost tilled into my hard clay soil, but found when I planted that they missed lots of areas. nevertheless, I have a huge perennial garden that is doing well with minimal watering. I have several varieties of cannas in the ground all year - but none variegated. They look great in early summer, but get too dry and stop blooming. They are 6 feet and more. In my previous house I had dwarf cannas that were about the height you want. I just bought 2 Texas star hibiscus plants. I hope they make it - yours sound great! I have one variegated miscanthus or maiden grass that is beautiful - you might like that. But I'm not sure why you want something variegated in front of the hibiscus? Anyway, it's more than a year later - let me know what you did! PS I'm a granny too.

I can't speak for your zone, but here in my zone (7b) its very hardy, just as much as the non-variegated kind. My variegated liriope stays nicely in clumps but the non-variegated tends to spread outside the clumps more readily, although not in any way invasively. Planted in full sun, either kind will need to be cut back to about 1" every late winter/early spring. Planted in shade it can sometimes go 2-3 years before needing the annual cut back.

Hostas and ferns will be okay on the north side against the foundation. I have Azaleas planted against my foundation on the north side, and Hostas actually in my Southern exposure, which has mature trees to the East, South, and West of me, so not a lot of direct sunlight, some filtered, and some pretty dark shade. Another good shrub that gets large, but you can get smaller versions if you want, is Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I recommend it to everyone in Oklahoma because it does so well here compared to other Hydrangeas. The leaves are very large, oakleaf shape as name indicates, huge conical white blooms in mid to late spring, that gently turn to a pink shade. The foliage turns red in the fall, and the winter branches are interesting, too, because they peel to a rusty red shade. It is pretty much an all around outstanding plant for Oklahoma. Doesn't require as much water as the other Hydrangeas either, once it is established. I planted it the first summer I lived in my house in 1999, and I have never regreted it. Some say it is slow to establish, but mine grew very quickly. Maybe because I purchased it in a 5-gallon container so it was pretty good size to begin with. It can grow to about 7' tall by 9' wide in fabulous conditions, but will generally run about 7' side and 5' tall. You can place some medium size hostas in front of it, perhaps variegated to add some interest, and small hostas and ferns in front of them. Japanese Painted fern is very pretty. I grow a few Hostas, 'Sum and Substance' which is a monster and has lime green foliage with leaves up to 18-24" long. It can take more light than the Blue Hostas and variegated hostas. Anything with the bolder lime green colors can generally tolerate more light. I also have 'Blue Angel' which is also a monster with powdery blue foliage. The leaves aren't as big as S&S but the plant itself gets huge. Give this one a pretty shady place as with all blues. There are hundreds and hundreds of Hostas available. Check out Plant Delight Nursery which has a nice selection, just to give yourself an idea of different textures, sizes, and colors. I don't really grow ferns except for the Holly fern which has done so well for me for about 10 years also. Doesn't need as much water. Hellebores, Epimediums, variegated Solomon's Seal, Jack in the Pulpits, Campanulas, Meadow Rues, Heucheras, Tiarellas, Toad Lilies, some Clematis, some lilies, will all do well in part shade. The only problem with shade around a lot of homes is tree roots. Hard to dig and prepare soil - amend, amend, amend with compost, chicken or cow manure, etc. But, the roots will eventually grow back. The plants I've mentioned will likely co-exist just fine with some tree roots. Your Elephant Ears will take some sun very nicely. More than a lot of folks think. They are Colocasias in the Aroid family. A better bet is Alocasias which look very similar but have a more upright habit, sold in many of the nurseries as Upright Elephant Ear. The foliage is a bit shinier, and they get every bit as big without needing as much water. Generally speaking, in a southern exposure you will get more sun, in the West you will get a good amount of sun along with heat. The north and east sides offer more protection from our relentless summer suns. However, that can change with things such as how large your trees are, how much shade they cast, the closer you plant to your house will afford more shade. Dawn suggests that you have your soil tested to see how much you need and what your soil needs, Consider mulching your plants, too. Fertilizers? I'm a lazy gardener so I use Espoma fertilizer products which you can just add at planting time or sprinkle on top in the spring. Some needs to be added monthly and some will last 2 or 3 months. If you want to add some butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants, let me know, What fun! You have pretty much a blank slate to work with. And.....welcome to the forum! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Oakleaf Hydrangea