Many, many plants are poisonous. Azaleas, laurel, lily of the valley, larkspur, bleeding heart, daffodils, the foliage of cherry and apple trees, leaves of tomatoes and potatoes, lantana, mayapple, baneberry,, all parts of the horse chestnut, columbine, jack in the pulpit, hellebore, elephant ears, iris bulbs,ivy, passion flower leaves, and calla lilies as well as monkshood, and foxglove to list just a few. The deal is that the poisonous parts also taste terrible. And a single bite, even if swallowed, is not going to hurt a child, cat or dog. It takes eating 100 to 200 grams of azalea leaves to poison a 55 lb child. A whole salad of them. And remember those leaves taste awful. And think about how many houses have a row of azalea and/or rhododendren bushes. Perhaps just put in plastic flowers and rubber mulch. Oops, rubber mulch is toxic and pine needles can act like fis bones. Better use a sand mulch.

If you want aggressive groundcovers that spread quickly - but don't invade or affect your larger plants - I have a few I like to use, which are common, easy to find and well-known: Ajuga reptans var. 'Bronze Beauty' - nice dark-leafed groundcover (a mottle of dark purple and olive green leaves) that is very shade-tolerant for the areas closest to the house. Short blue flower spikes in the spring. It will survive droughts but if there's water available it will grow very dense, to make it absolutely impossible for weed seeds to sprout from within it. But it's shallow-rooted so won't compete with your plants, nor will it shade them because it never grows more than 3 inches from the ground. It's easy to spread around by digging small bits that take well even in heat. Sedum spurium 'Red Carpet' - A very attractive red-leafed sedum that will really stand out in contrast to those varigated irises if planted right next to and among them. It is also very low-growing, drought-tolerant so it will not take water that could be going to your other plants, and this particular variety grows pretty slow. Sedum spurium 'Tricolor' - similar to 'Red carpet' but grows more quickly, has a green/white leaf that has a very visible pink blush over it when it's exposed to direct sun; it also turns more pink in the winter, and has pink flowers. Cerastium tomentosum ('Snow In Summer') - spreading silver-leafed ground cover that is also reliably less than 4 inches high, gets absolutely covered in white flowers in the early summer, and would pop against the ajuga and red-leafed sedum. It wouldn't contrast as well against the iris so I wouldn't plant it right there, but because it's the most drought-tolerant, I'd put it right up against the edge of the garden.

Hostas and ferns will be okay on the north side against the foundation. I have Azaleas planted against my foundation on the north side, and Hostas actually in my Southern exposure, which has mature trees to the East, South, and West of me, so not a lot of direct sunlight, some filtered, and some pretty dark shade. Another good shrub that gets large, but you can get smaller versions if you want, is Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I recommend it to everyone in Oklahoma because it does so well here compared to other Hydrangeas. The leaves are very large, oakleaf shape as name indicates, huge conical white blooms in mid to late spring, that gently turn to a pink shade. The foliage turns red in the fall, and the winter branches are interesting, too, because they peel to a rusty red shade. It is pretty much an all around outstanding plant for Oklahoma. Doesn't require as much water as the other Hydrangeas either, once it is established. I planted it the first summer I lived in my house in 1999, and I have never regreted it. Some say it is slow to establish, but mine grew very quickly. Maybe because I purchased it in a 5-gallon container so it was pretty good size to begin with. It can grow to about 7' tall by 9' wide in fabulous conditions, but will generally run about 7' side and 5' tall. You can place some medium size hostas in front of it, perhaps variegated to add some interest, and small hostas and ferns in front of them. Japanese Painted fern is very pretty. I grow a few Hostas, 'Sum and Substance' which is a monster and has lime green foliage with leaves up to 18-24" long. It can take more light than the Blue Hostas and variegated hostas. Anything with the bolder lime green colors can generally tolerate more light. I also have 'Blue Angel' which is also a monster with powdery blue foliage. The leaves aren't as big as S&S but the plant itself gets huge. Give this one a pretty shady place as with all blues. There are hundreds and hundreds of Hostas available. Check out Plant Delight Nursery which has a nice selection, just to give yourself an idea of different textures, sizes, and colors. I don't really grow ferns except for the Holly fern which has done so well for me for about 10 years also. Doesn't need as much water. Hellebores, Epimediums, variegated Solomon's Seal, Jack in the Pulpits, Campanulas, Meadow Rues, Heucheras, Tiarellas, Toad Lilies, some Clematis, some lilies, will all do well in part shade. The only problem with shade around a lot of homes is tree roots. Hard to dig and prepare soil - amend, amend, amend with compost, chicken or cow manure, etc. But, the roots will eventually grow back. The plants I've mentioned will likely co-exist just fine with some tree roots. Your Elephant Ears will take some sun very nicely. More than a lot of folks think. They are Colocasias in the Aroid family. A better bet is Alocasias which look very similar but have a more upright habit, sold in many of the nurseries as Upright Elephant Ear. The foliage is a bit shinier, and they get every bit as big without needing as much water. Generally speaking, in a southern exposure you will get more sun, in the West you will get a good amount of sun along with heat. The north and east sides offer more protection from our relentless summer suns. However, that can change with things such as how large your trees are, how much shade they cast, the closer you plant to your house will afford more shade. Dawn suggests that you have your soil tested to see how much you need and what your soil needs, Consider mulching your plants, too. Fertilizers? I'm a lazy gardener so I use Espoma fertilizer products which you can just add at planting time or sprinkle on top in the spring. Some needs to be added monthly and some will last 2 or 3 months. If you want to add some butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants, let me know, What fun! You have pretty much a blank slate to work with. And.....welcome to the forum! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Oakleaf Hydrangea

Thanks to all. As for placement, I have several places, ranging from part sun to part shade to full shade, but I'm not looking at any deep shade areas right now. Some of my full shade areas are along the driveway and behave as a woodland edge, but the trees on the other side of the area make it dappled sun most of the day so it is shady. But, having some under canopy things right along that edge would be beautiful. Before this year shade=hosta. This summer the world of shade opened up and I'm so excited about all the options. I think I've also become very content with the "un-catalogue" appearance of plants. Before, the lusher and more prolific a plant/tree bloomed the better. Now I'm really seeing beauty in a tree that has more "zen" to it--branches reaching towards the light with fewer blooms, but with a beauty in the sparseness that adds shape, color, and variety to shadier areas. Add to that woodland edge plants here and there, like all those wonderful asters along the roadsides, and it gets even better. NH Babs, I have four Aralia 'Sun Kings' that I planted in August in strategic areas. I'm hoping that the way I've placed them creates both repetition and bright color. Can't wait for next year to see how they do! I'll be reporting on how tall they get given thymetodig's experiences in NH. One of mine is in full shade all day, meaning I don't think the sun hits it directly although it does good dappled shade. The other three are opposite each other with different sun exposure, so a comparison of those three will be enlightening. I'll respond more fully to all the suggestions later. Extremely busy couple of weeks right now!