My garden soil is rocky clay & I've just lasagna layered right over it planting these plants (without repeating what others have listed) -golden creeping Jenny - Lysimachia -lungwort - Pulmonaria -shasta daisy, older cultivars -forget me not (biennial) -wild sweet William -Heuchera 'Firefly' -hardy wild ginger - Asarum -hardy bigroot - Geranium macrorrhizum -Dusky Cranesbill (mourning widow) - Geranium phaeum -other hardy geraniums - think it's G. x oxon... bloomed all summer - cut it back several times thinking it was done & it bloomed again) -Darmera peltata - Indian rhubarb -hardy ferns esp varieties native in your area -hardy fuchsia -Meconopsis Cambrica - Welsh Poppy -bee balm - Monarda (flops in shade, but still blooms for me & looks great next to daisy for later summer/fall color, so they can flop together near hydrangea, rhodendron, & crocosmia 'Lucifer') -Japanese anemone for fall color! -Brunnera - species, not the fancy white leaved types -monkey flower - Mimulus -Bergenia -sweet flag - Acorus (grows in heavy clay soils) -Carex 'Ice Dance' - variegated grass -Columbine -Ligularia -Astilbe - loves rich soil, so do give it compost/manures, etc. -Persicaria virginiana 'Variegata' (Tovara virginiana 'Variegata') -Vinca major (larger leaves than the minor) -sweet woodruff -Carex, brown (not sure the variety I have) -daylily (though less blooms in shade) -Miller's crimson Japanese primrose -English primrose 'wanda' - fast growing spreader, divide every few years to keep it happy (I just take chunks out to give to other gardeners & call it good) -Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae - Robb's Spurge -plants native to your area should also do well (I have red huckleberry, fringecup (Tellima), piggyback plant, Indian plum, low oregon grape, red currant, & various ferns doing well on the far right side in the pic below. Mid July pic of garden planted in late March on clay soil (my manure makers: chicken, duck & rabbit coops in the background) Most of what you see was winter sown, divisions my other gardens, or from plant swaps & just took off in our prepared soil. Composted manure + bedding is awesome! Be sure to remind her to use mulch to help the plants not dry out in summer.

Judy, you know full well that you are among fellow addicts when it comes to buying plants. And I so love the English roses...just be sure to give them plenty of room. They will need it. Vel, it is a record for me, that is for sure. It was one I got in the fall from Bill Maryott, but no way was able to resist taking pictures of those three together. Thanks Cindy, all of my early clematis are covered in buds. They are hapopy with the strange weather. Rebecca is a true red in my garden...same color as my monitor, and the blooms are large. It is close to my favorite...then I see another one and oh I love that one. You know how it is. Thany you Linda. As I've already said, I love Rebecca! kay

Thanks for all the nice comments. I have so many leaves, I have been working since Feb. to get the leaves out of all my beds. Trying to learn to use my son's new camera, plus I can't seem to figure out how to enlarge these pics in Photobucket. I will work on that. My mother had a patch of Spanish Bluebells that were so thick they didn't bloom anymore. When we sold their house I dug them up. And then I found some bulbs at a nursery later. I have some purple and some pinkish colored ones. Rita, I think Wood Hyacinths are smaller plants than Spanish Bluebells.

Brad, I'm not an expert, but if they are blooming well, I would leave them alone. Some daylilies just don't multiply as fast as others. If they aren't blooming very well, you might move them or dig them up & add some compost to the soil Most daylilies don't bloom well in shade, and trees can sap nutrients from the soil too. You need to replant the daylilies, unless you plan to pot them up til spring. I don't do well potting up daylilies, I think I tend to overwater, but I know lots of people on this forum do quite successfully.