For flowering maybe kalmia, if position is moist enough. Otherwise maybe a holly. Or a yew. Something with small, dark leaves would contrast with the hydrangeas.

Shelley, I've tried spraying a concoction of garlic which they supposedly hate, but as with anything sprayed, they seem to know that the rain will take the scent of those items away. They came when we were having a solid day of rain this week with thunder and lightning, so even the dogs couldn't hear/sense them in the gardens. The dogs are scared of thunder anyway... Glad to hear I could add to your gardens! Sharon, Thanks for the list. I do have some of those plants in other gardens, but they need to get bigger before I divide them. I might start hitting the end of season sales at the garden centers/nurseries. The deers have eaten the primulas and the Pulmonarias in the spring in another garden, so they are no-gos. I just started some new cuttings of Bleeding Hearts so there's an option, and I have a huge Monkshood I could split this fall after it flowers. I also have a young Aruncus Doicus - would it do well in such shade? If yes, then that's a perfect spot! My neighbour installed one of those sprinklers to try and stop them from going in her veggie garden but they got used to it quickly. The population has really increased here as we live on a peninsula and no hunting is allowed as gunshots would be too close to homes. The winters have also been mild. Usually 45% of the population is culled by the cold, but their survival rate during winter has been in the 90 percentile. I started changing the sunny gardens last year since they found those first. I was so hoping they wouldn't discover the hostas. Silly me!! LOL!

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!

jlhart76 May I aske which direction does this strip run? I ask because I have a 2-ft wide bed on the east side of the house under the eaves. Even though there are neighbors to the east, this spot gets much more sun than identical beds on the north side of the house. With the trees in your yard, the conditions may be more like the north side of my yard. The east side of the house has tarragon, arum lilies, iris, daylilies, dianthus (like Sweet Williams), celery (a challenge to grow), Naked Ladies, Spider Lilies, and chives. Plants which truly need full sun do NOT do well here. Plants which like cooler conditions often do best in this spot compared to the rest of the yard. There are no trees to compete for water. The north side of the house has iris, day lilies, columbine, forget-me-nots, galanthus nivalis, hostas, arum lilies, sedums, comfrey, and lovage. There used to be Naked Ladies and Spider lilies- which I think need a little more sun, but did very well here. Ivy covered both beds at one time. It had to be regularly cut back, but stayed green in OKC all year long. My next door neighbor has a rose bush that is doing very well on the north side of the house. Other plants to consider: creeping phlox, lily of the valley, hydrangeas, thyme, and if you are not worried about it's incredible invasiveness, maybe mint. If there is light under the trees before they leaf out in the spring, consider early bulbs like daffadils and hyacinth. I am considering alpine strawberries and hardy kiwi for the east side of the house. The kiwi needs lots of water especially the first years while getting established. The male plants have pink/red foliage and maybe it could be grown on the ground instead of trained on a wall. Consider growing 2-3 plants for a year or two. Chose plants which run the spectrum from full shade to 3/4 shade to 1/2 shade requirements. See which ones do the best in this spot and then pick plants which having matching shade requirements. But don't forget that shade can the a relative term. Directly under a tree may get great sun early in the morning and late in the evening, but be full shade only in the middle of the day. Get to know how the light really falls in the area and it will be easier to choose plants. Hope this dissertation helps. There really are a lot more plants that will grow in shade than we think.