I have a very very similar situation from a few years ago. Dry shade under a pine tree. I struggled to grow anything under it. What I learned was that plants that people complained were borderline invasive were some of the best and they didn't really act "invasive" under such restricted environment. After a LOT of trial and error (mostly error) and killing a lot of perfectly good plants, I have vinca minor, ajuga, arum italicum, solomons seal, and then in the winter hardy cyclamen which loves dry shade. The problem under trees is the dryness - lots of shade plants also need moisture and deep soil.

These aren't the exciting plants I wanted there, but dangit they are more than the bare dirt and barkdust I had been left with. I also put a little stone path and a tree swing in there to add some other interest (and kid entertainment) for when its looking more bare. A bird bath looked nice too when I had it there.

For some of your other areas - that seem perhaps less of a dry shade situation - hydrangeas may work in shade just not under the tree I don't think. The plants above work in shade, but also astilbe, hardy geraniums, coral bells, seem to work for me in more shade than sun. Impatiens, coleus and fuschias in pots fill in the rest for me in shady spots of which I have more than most.

We have a lot of dry shade. I've also had to experiment a lot. A shrub I have found successful in the area that is deepest shade very close to a 50yr old Silver Maple, is Cornus racemosa. It does get a little sun early morning. I don't like to recommend it because it suckers a lot, but it has filled a corner that was very difficult very quickly. It also provides white berries for the birds in a lot of shade which is hard to find.

Perennials in the same area that don't seem to have a problem, are bleeding heart, phlox divaricata, Epimedium and ferns.

I have another dark corner that receives basically no sun, under a large Maple and I've tried a lot of shrubs there and had to yank them out. I needed a screen for neighbor's yard. I wanted a Rhododendron there and I have one planted right now, but it's not doing well at all. I added a Kerria last year and I am impressed with the amount of vigorous growth this spring. Whether it will bloom remains to be seen.

I wanted something evergreen and tried Ilex glabra and that went downhill quickly. I tried a very small boxwood and took that out. Since it is about 3 ft from the trunk of a large Maple in deep shade, I can't dig a large hole to try a larger boxwood.

I have Oakleaf Hydrangea along the drip line of that same tree and it is doing fine. But it faces east and gets enough sun all morning to bloom. Oh, and a Clethra 'Hummingbird' is right next to it under the drip line and surprisingly does well there. It's supposed to prefer moist conditions but it tolerates the dry area just fine, but again, gets more sun than you have.

I also have a line of spruce 5ft away from my fence in a neighbor's yard, that are difficult to plant near, but that area faces South, so I have more sun then you. I had two Ninebarks in the yard, one on the foundation of the house and the other in this area near the line of Spruce trees and the difference in growth was amazing. I finally cut down the Ninebark near the Spruce trees this spring.

I have a Kolkwitzia that is planted north of a large Maple right at the drip line and it does well. It was there when we moved in and amazes me that it blooms every June. So I added a second Kolkwitzia to the area with the spruce trees and it has been taking off. It is the variety 'Dream Catcher' with golden foliage and I really like it. But again, it faces South and gets about 5 hrs of sun. But it is planted very close to the spruce trees and between two of them. Since my original Kolkwitzia grows and blooms in shade, that might be something that would work for you.

I've tried hollies in areas near Maples in deep shade and they are doing pretty well. They've been slow to grow but they have made decent growth to screen my neighbor's yard, along with a Taxus that is also growing and holding it's own.

Whatever you plant, definitely will need more fertilizer and water than other areas.

This post was edited by...

Could you try a grouping of pots with annuals, perennials and/or small shrubs along with a birdbath (I like the birdbath idea from above for dry shade since the birds can drink/bathe and have easy protection with the trees.)
Dry shade is tough under trees and you may not even be able to get a shovel in the ground. Although overwintering pots can be a chore........I guess I'm leaning more towards "decoration" along with plants to detract the eye from the utility boxes rather than trying to create a garden in the ground. PM2 has some great info above based on all of her trials. It also shows how difficult that type of situation is.

PM2, I have Kerria in deep shade and get bloom.

Typical problem of planting an evergreen tree in front of something to hide it when it is 3 feet tall. then when it grows and the lower branches are trimmed and or lost, the ugly whatever comes into view once again. It all goes down to right plant right place. I have made this error many times.
I would try something like sarcoccoca, skimmia, Buford holly, ilex crenata, dwarf nandina, buxus macrophylla.

I have had some success growing various ivyish types under thuja plicata - fatshedera lizei and fatsia japonica....and a remarkably lovely ivy called Buttercup. Some of the lamiums may work although will need extra irrigation (thinking with regret of the loss of White Nancy under my box shrubbery).....and there are, of course, those workhorses for dry shade - the epimediums and their cousins vancouveria sp.

Goody, new shrubs to try. I was just out looking at the Rhododendron I am still trying and it has about 4 inches of new growth on it. Yay.

Thyme, I planted a really small Kerria there from the Three Sisters Sale last year, glad to hear it blooms for you in deep shade. It was too small to bloom this year, but I look forward to next spring, when I might see a few blooms.

Linnea, what about a trellis with a vine? I have 10ft trellis I'm using for a screen, and wish I had tried that sooner. Doesn't climbing Hydrangea grow in the shade?

Back in the day, I grew several shrubs in a situation exactly like you describe which will give you some height and mass which is what is needed to cover ugly dry shade under shrubs trimmed high like that. I kept these trimmed up in a way I would never do today but it was neat and tidy. I had the added problem of a row of large trees to the west so this back area got very little sun. Here is what did quite well and gave some color and contrast:

Hollies of various types and heights
Eastern Redbud
Yew
Euonymus (variegated)
Nandina these do quite well especially if you get early spring or fall sun when the light situation changes.
Rose of Sharon keeps its shape & will bloom well in shade.
Ajuga
Moneywort (yellow)
In front where there is a bit more sun--Red Barberry

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 15:14

Here is a closer shot of the shadiest corner. Its bigger than it looks in the picture. Rose of Sharon will take intensely dry soil and shade for summer flowers so its a good choice. Boring but it works. Here is the tiny bit of very late afternoon sun this sorry, hard to garden area got. You name it, I tried it in there.

I have since ripped all this out....

Mealy Cup Sage also does well, I have that growing now along with Mistflower, Winecups, various natives and some big green cactus that do well in there (surprising but they do). I have others that are barely hardy in zone 7.

Sorry, there is no way for me to straighten the picture because it was shot with the camera turned sideways for a vertical shot. If you drag it off to your screen, you can see it right side up.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 15:25

I ripped it all out about 5 years ago and started over.....

ever done that? Changed your mind 100% on all of it? Here is a photo of it almost all gone for a restart, that hedge is now gone. Roundup treatment on grass. I still have that blasted dry shade area to deal with & am trying things.

What about liriope? I'm currently considering it for under some spruces where it would be bordered by grass and a driveway that's two cars wide (so I don't think it can spread under that).

Another plant I tried which worked surprisingly well was Silver King Artemisia --if there are a few hours of early morning sun it works amazingly well. You wouldn't think it would but it does-- since I had free rooted cuttings I tried it going against the 'rule book'. Its thick and upright and adds light, nearly white foliage to an otherwise dark area making a tall clump that fills in nicely by underground roots which can work their way through soil thick with tree roots quite well.

After this success, I now have a whole line of it planted in my dry shady area along the west side where it gets early morning sun only or some dappled sun. The only maintenance is a spring trim. Its growing in parts that get so little sun that I am impressed with what I always thought of as a full sun plant. This is unamended heavy dirt that is very dry all summer.

In the background you can see the Silver King making a white contrast in that dark shady area. A bit of very late afternoon sun comes in and it catches the light which is nice.

This post was edited by TexasRanger10 on Tue, May 27, 14 at 15:27