Aside from the aquilegia (columbine), and the geranium pusillum pictured above, maybe starting the others on your list from seed was a bit too ambitious. I've had coral bells (which was the name heuchera seemed to have 35 years ago) and split and resplit the original plants many times to increase my stock. I get the wild columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis) in every shady nook and cranny, but cannot get the modern ones to self seed or last for more than a season. The geranium pusillum is a nuisance for me - that will never look better than it does right now in your picture: the flowers are very tiny, they will start to sprawl and become ground hugging, and they self-seed everywhere. I'm always pulling it up and in the strangest places. In all honesty, despite whatever gardening skills I might have - growing from seed has never been one of my successes. Pretty much, the only seeds I purchase are zinnias because I can directly sow them when the soil warms up; they grow and bloom beautifully untill frost knocks them down. Many people have the knack of growing from seed - indoors under lights, lucky enough to have greenhouses, winter sow. I am not one of them - I learned early on and to avoid my own personal disappointment in seeds not germinating, getting too big then damping off, etc., I no longer even try. That does not mean you shouldn't continue to try. Everything that I might need to fill in or replace or want to try, I simply buy from a garden center, big box store, plant sale, farmers market, etc. - those who grow and sell plants have to make a living too - or I split and divide my existing plants. Don't be too disappointed; gardening is a never ending learning process. Even though the failures are hard they just make the successes all the sweeter.

According to Sunset, it's a true Geranium and is best in "cool- and mild-summer regions, where plants can grow in full sun or light shade. In hot-summer areas, give afternoon shade." I'm drooling over the Google pics of this gorgeous plant! Brenda Here is a link that might be useful: Ann Googled

Because I do not live in your area, I really suppose I should not be answering your post on GardenWeb, but since nobody else has ventured to do so, here goes. IF you purchase your plants in the Spring, why not ask the person from whom you buy the plants? Other than that, geraniums do NOT like it as hot as you mention. I would try some in pots, so you can move them around to try to locate a favorable spot or two, and see if you can find and try a spot that has dappled shade. Early morning and late afternoon sun might be preferable to searing hot sun, although up here on coastline S.E. Massachusetts geraniums like full sun. Any water-soluable fertilizer--NOT a dry granular fertilizer--possibly Miracle-Gro should do. I would mix a gallon at a time, and add one(1) tablespoonful of Epsom Salts--buy anywhere. Epsom Salts is Epsom Salts. I would water this solution once a week, BUT NEVER APPLY FERTILIZER TO A DRY PLANT. Water plants the night before, and fertilize with the solution the next morning. Soils are so different I really can not give you much help. If you can find Promix, buy that, add some of your garden soil, and mix in some Perlite---Try a mix of 6 parts Promix, 2 parts your garden soil(sift it through a sifter made up with some 2 x 2 netting) and 2 parts perlite. Sure, it is a lot of work, but anything worth doing is worth doing right the FIRST time. If you have any further questions write me. If I receive your inquiry I will respond. PLEASE add the word "GardenWebber" in the subject area to keep your e-mail out of the junk pile. Thank you.

This one also likes more sun than shade and is not reliably hardy in zones 5-6, despite what is advertised. Some people will disagree, but in my conditions (well-drained sandy soil in zone 6a), I have yet to have overwintering success with Geranium psilostemon or any of its hybrids except for 'Tiny Monster' (which takes after its G. sanguineum parent much more). That said, I am now on my second try with both 'Patricia' and golden-leaved 'Sandrine'. Both still look very weak compared to my other varieties. I had one plant of 'Anne Folkard' return this spring, but it was so weak it died of unknown causes. For excellent shade-tolerant geraniums, look for forms of native Geranium maculatum. They are all exquisite. I particularly like 'Elizabeth Anne' with its irridescent bronze foliage and light lavender flowers. But even the wild, unselected species is gorgeous and highly adaptable. Also good in shade are cultivars of Geranium sylvaticum and Geranium phaeum. When growing G. phaeum in shadier areas, try to find forms with pale colored flowers since the typical wild dark purple-maroon colored flowers just tend to disappear in the shade. Also check out Geranium macrorrhizum (I like 'Bevan's Variety' for its dark magenta blooms) and its hybrids like 'Biokovo' and 'Karmina'. All are easy-peasy and will do just fine in shade. All of these plants will survive and bloom in full shade but will be much happier in partial or dappled shade. That said, I have several plants of 'Rozanne' in almost full--maybe somewhat dappled--shade. While they never attain the size, robustness and floriferousness of those growing in more more sun, they do survive and put on a nice display of flowers throughout the season. Their growth habit is much lankier in shade but weaves unobtrusively among my fall anemones and feather reed grass. As a bonus, the shady conditions seem to accentuate the irridescent blue tones of the flowers, and they sparkle in shade much more than in the sunnier areas of my garden. I am discovering that all hardy geraniums need a good 2-3 years to settle in and start showing what they are capable of. After that, they are quite reliable. Provided below is a link to the UPDATED (2012) results from the Chicago Botanic Garden geranium trials that were published in the June 2012 issue of Fine Gardening magazine. While I am lucky to live in the same area, I believe many of the recommended plants would do well in most zone 5-6 areas of North America. Here is a link that might be useful: Fine Gardening article--Hardy Geraniums