Possibly some type of Veronica ? Linked below is one type. Here is a link that might be useful: Veronica

Stressbaby great name! It may be cliche but oh my my it is a great grouping. I was really loving my yellow leaved Acorus with purple leaved ajuga tucked underneath it and light blue and white violas coming up through the Acorus. I also loved my climbing rose Dublin Bay with a purple clematist climbing up into it with Panicum 'Heavy Metal' and Salvia uliginosa hiding its base and weaving through the tangled mess.

Here's a welcome from me to Becky! Sorry, I got confused, too, about how many new members we had. I now have you added to our member list. I hope you want to join in on the October Swap. Let me know. I was re-reading the posts and found I called Anita "Annie" back when she was talking about planting her bulbs. Sorry, Anita. You mentioned Annie in your message and I got confused there for a minute! LOL It happens every now and then. Anyway, I am posting the list one more time so you can recheck it. I will be looking to see who you sent to in September so it will be different for October. It's 47 degrees outside here this morning. The temperatures just dropped like that all of a sudden. Maybe fall will make a mad dash and arrive here making us forget all about summer! OUR MEMBER LIST - And those signed up for this swap Amybabyboy Beth_b_Kodiak Brittneysgran - yes for October Cedarnest Debbya - yes for October dieg01991 - yes for October Dirtundermynails - yes for October Earthly Delight Hazelnutbunny - yes for October Swap Ilovefarac lil green thumb LLbean Lunamoon margaret_2007 - Yes for October Mellen - Yes for October Missg - No for October Momcat Nyvoices99 - No for October proudgm_03 Raggedyann - No for October Remy - yes for October Sandlapper Rose - yes for October Squanzon - yes for October Skohler - yes for October Susandonb Theresa24 - yes for October Veeja11 - yes for October Wynative - no for October Jeanne

One of my favorite things to do in the French Quarter was to walk by these tiny courtyard gates and get a glimpse of some shady oasis w/ a beautiful white sculpture or fountain as a focal point! You can have something pretty like that! Ferns will give you greenery and will love your shade! Caladiums will also do well. I have the 'Christmas' variety planted for the white color against my dark green shrubs. Impatiens and begonias also do well in the shade and will give you color. You can look for varigated things like vinca that will also look pretty. I second the idea of the mirror. I saw that in a garden featured on Central Texas Gardener (PBS) and it was really, really cool looking! They just took a big long mirror and hung it horizontally on their fence. It almost looked like a window through the fence! If you are interested in attracting birds, you might want to consider a 'Pride of Houston' Yaupon Holly. This is a small tree that will stay evergreen. It grows pretty slow, so you will have time to prune it to the shape you want. It has a pretty red berry in the winter that the birds love. It is good that you are considering where you will place things like your bbq now. If you have a small patio set, get that set up too so you can feel out how you will be moving through the space. I also agree with testing out how slowly the areas drain water. From your photos, it looks like the dirt could be compacted. You could just invest in a pitchfork and see how hard it is to turn the soil. And look for earthworms while you're doing that. If you don't find any, go buy some at a bait shop and set them free at your place. Be sure to feed them w/ coffee grounds, leaves, grass clippings, etc. If they are happy, your plants will be happy! Congrats on your new place! Post back with photos!