Bill, Gardenia and 4 o'clock would probably not do well unless they get enough sun. Otherwise they will be leggy and not bloom.
In some shady area of my garden I grow ferns,ivy,impatience,
elephant ears,caladiums.
Felix

You might try certain varieties of coleus,
or low-growing cultivars of camellia or azalea.
You could let some confederate jasmine trail around and keep it clipped to your preference.

good luck!

How about variegated cast iron plant? I love the color of the leaves, though it might be a bit tall. There are tons of ferns that hit the height requirement, like button fern or Fl. ruffle fern. How about calathea, some of these even flower.

What about bromeliads? There are tons of those to choose from.

Hi Bill! How about caladiums and trailing coleus? The only drawback is you will lose them in the winter.

nova

variegated artemesia.

add in some orchids (oncidiums) in pots. or maybe some terrestrial ones, in the ground.

shrimp plants -- i have some peaches and cream ones that bloom all year round. easy to start from cuttings or divisions.

i can give you some nice broms, if you want to go that route.

If you want to add a palm that can just about grow in darkness consider a ZZ Palm placed every so often for variety. Mine havent gotten all that tall and even thrive indoors in dimly artificially lit rooms.

Here is a link that might be useful: ZZ plant info with pics

Tony,
Very interesting plants and unusual. I have seen them in
garden centers before but we have never been introduced.
I think that I'm going to try it. Thanks for the info.
Felix

Thanks to you all for the sugggestions! I'm getting lots of ideas. I'm still thinking it out but now I have lots of possibilities to work with. I really like the idea of doing a kind of old fashioned "grandmother's garden" mix of all sorts of low shade plants (most of which you all mentioned)--caladiums, impatiens, begonias, coleus, and so on--but I'm wondering how to fill the bare spots in winter. Winter shade is difficult.

Susan, did you ever find a solution for your caladium bed in winter?

Thanks again.

Bill

Felix,

I have been trying to start some ZZ palm leaves and they have surely rooted, I know this for sure, but I havent seen any top growth just yet. I will save one for you should it decide to send up some growth.

Tony

I like the look of Mondo with Rain Lilies planted in it. A new palm that is just getting notice is Dwarf Lady Palm "Super Dwarf". It only gets about 18" tall.

Jerry

Bill, I stuck some impatiens and coleus in but my caladium bed has really odd light, full shade in the summer and full sun in the winter, so they didn't do well. I will have to try something different next year as I am doing caladiums in that bed again this year. I am thinking about annuals that I can direct seed since I know I hurt some of my caladium bulbs when I planted the new plants.

Susan

I say bromeliads too!

I say bromeliads three!

Susan, your spot sounds ideal for growing johnny jump ups in the winter. I love those things.

While searching for impatient varieties, I found one I've never heard of--Balsam. It's an old fashioned, upright, re-seeding variety that has rose-like blooms. I've read it attracts hummingbirds and bees too. It was supposedly THE Impatient before the hybrids took over in the 50's. I'm going to give it a shot, though I've never seen it growing before.

I'm also trying something called "browallia americana."

I have some mondo under the palms now. It's about the only thing that's doing well. But will rainlilies bloom in such shade?

Bromelliad people: I have some pineapples in pots. Do those count??

Thanks again,

Bill

You could try Polka Dot plants. They come in shades of pink and green, red and green, and white and green. They do go to seed if you let them and will spread on their own. I have them under the oak tree behind my pool sreen where ferns once grew. They make a nice groundcover and mine have made it now through two winters here in Lakeland. I just cut them back and found that they are spreading at the base nicely. You can find them in 18 paks at HD and Lowes in the spring.

I grow the balsam impatients and find them somewhat weedy, but a pretty flower. For me it has been one upright stalk, few leaves and then the flower. I thought that they needed to be grouped together to look attractive. Maybe you'll have better luck with them.

A small growing camellia callled Shi-shi Gashira would do very well. It can take sun or shade, is slow growing, and can be kept at two or three feet. They have beautiful foliage and bloom profusely once a year. They may be taller growing than you want, but they are worth looking into.

I've had the same issues with planting under and around my palms. I started planting some camellias and love the look so far. Eventually, I'd like to mix a few other shade loving plants among these also.

Sandy

I have impatiens, caladiums, variegated liriope, calla lilies, colocasia, philodendrons (including a xanadu) and some variegated dracaenas. It's my tropical shade bed and is gorgeous come warmer weather. However, I do lose things in winter. I also have a couple of broms hanging from trees.

In another slightly sunnier bed I have spathoglottis, polka dot plants, more broms, a hanging staghorn, cast iron plant and oyster plants. Yeah I know, most hate them, but I find they fill the space quite nicely.

I too was looking for 'unusual' plants but found few options I liked, so I opted for more of a variety instead

You know crown of thorns will do fine in shade and bloom continuously. I have the one with red flowers. It will grow anywhere - shade or sun and bone dry or sitting in water. The only thing is the thorns.

Shrimp plants do quite well with a little shade, and bloom much of the year. The salmon colored one spreads nicely.
Browalia, (amethyst flower) previously mentioned is a very sturdy flowering groundcover.
I kinda like pepperomia too.
And I know I've mentioned dwarf acalypha (chenille) before.