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

Are you saying you have a Wisteria growing next or against your Garage? I hope not, if you do I would move it. Wisteria roots are extensive. They have been known to break right though one's foundation,even break waterpipes. Rule of thumb is to plant wisteria very,very,very far from any building, it's roots travels for long distances. I go 4 ft all the way around mine with an edger and cut the roots and it's at the far end of my yard. As for shade Clematis, take a look at Paradise Queen (pink-white) or CW Dowman (white with pink stripes)

Hi Natureperson, You have quite the menu of options! What do you want to see? Flashy flowers, reliable flowers, or just something that generally looks really nice, flowers or not? You can have a mix, and I'm sure you'll get lots of good suggestions from others, but for my money, you can't go wrong starting with some nice coleus (probably not from Lowe's... go a little more high-end for something really nice), and a couple of sweet potato vines (ipomea). For flowers, I personally like fuchsia (do be careful how you pronounce that!), although begonias might do well in the situation you're talking about, and then you can get something really flashy going if you want to. There's always impatiens: personally I'm a fan of the "new guinea" strains... their foliage tends to be more interesting that the more regular types, which helps to carry you through when the bloom is less prominent. Personally, I'd also try to weave some silver foliage into the mix - dusty miller or artemisia - but that's just one of my personal likes. When I put together a planter such as that you're talking about, the bottom line is I'm effectively trying to create a living bouquet, and contrasting foliage is a big part of that for me. I like the look that you end up with (it's typically busy, but using foliage means that you're not so reliant on getting flowers). Different strokes for different folks, though... there are so many options that it really comes down to a matter of personal taste, and what "look" you're going for. Regardless, remember that it's just for this year... try some things, see what works and what doesn't, and keep note. Next year, you can keep the favorites and try different things to replace what you didn't like, or you can start over again completely. One other thing... depending on how big the urns are, and how they're placed, you might also want to think about tucking a small trellis into the back (or the center) and getting some climbers involved. The extra height never seems to disappoint! Have fun, and I hope they turn out to your satisfaction!

more tall perennial suggestions: crocosmia Lucifer Japanese anemone meadowrue, Thalictrim find a native flowering/fruiting shrub or tree in your area to attract birds add a bubbling fountain or bird bath Remember on the other side of a fence can be a cold pocket especially on the north. Do not feed them after August. Mulch well to overwinter them. Hosta & Astilbe will do fine. Lamium might not, but usually bounces back from roots. Several plants with snow on mtn common name, so not sure which one. I hope you didn't plant Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum' because it is a spreading thug only suitable for a place by itself. I've removed it from a garden when I realized the spring planting was a bad idea. I do have it in another area and have to keep an eye out for blooms to prevent reseeding and shovel prune the edges to keep it in bounds. Another way to give height is to mound the bed or add graduated size boxes made from fence wood. The center would be tallest and can be offset. If your bed is 5-6 feet wide you won't be able to mound it much, but some helps. I try to middle mound all my beds for that berm effect that I prefer.