I grow regular ginger and cardamom in pots on my very shady porch. The ginger I have to wait til fall to harvest any sizeable roots but the cardamom gives me leaves for tea all the time. They can't handle winter but adapt to being houseplants easily. Both of these are types of ginger and aren't the showiest of potted plants, but they don't get too big and look sharp no matter how much neglect you give them.

I just had time to check out your "Inferno Strip Garden," and I think you're going to like what you get! I absolutely LOVE Artemisia versicolor 'Seafoam'--it's the only Artemisia I grow right now. I've never seen mine bloom since I keep pinching it to keep it round and bushy, but Artemisia flowers are usually pretty ugly, so you may want to cut it back when it starts to bloom. And I'm absolutely certain you'll love the Callirhoe. Give it as much room as you can. It dies back to the center of the plant over winter, but it will spread out 3 or 4 feet in every direction over the growing season. It's great next to a wall or anywhere you may have for it to drape down over---or just spread out on the ground if not. I'd add some Russian sage (Perovskia) to the area--P. 'Longin' is the most upright one, and my favorite. It would go well with the others and blooms pretty long in mid-late summer. Also, to add a couple bright spots of yellow, consider some Achillea 'Moonshine' (bright yellow), or A. 'Anthea' (soft yellow). They, too, bloom for quite a while and you can leave the flowers dry on the plants for winter interest for as long as they look good. I checked out G. saundersii too, and it looks great. They're kind of pricey, but I just might have to try one! If Alcea rosea 'Nigra' is the hollyhock you're looking at, I'd be glad to send you some seed for a SASE. They're a beautiful dark, dark, dark red, and they're real pretty up close, but since they're so-o-o dark, they really don't show up much from a distance. Last fall I planted some other mixed colors near them for more of a display from the distance. They're getting close to blooming and I am anxiously waiting to see what colors they'll be. (The black ones are blooming already!) Still, in my opinion, they are not especially xeric---certainly not as much as perovskia, agastache, some of the penstemons, and artemisia. I could also send some Aquilegia chrysantha seed (a Colorado native). It's a VERY fragrant yellow columbine that comes true from seed. It will reseed easily in the garden and if you have room to let a large patch grow it will actually scent the whole area. Again, it's not considered especially xeric, but once it's well established I don't think it would need a lot of water. I don't think you'd be happy at all with creeping phlox planted in the cracks in your walk, and I think it would be far more difficult to try to grow in such a situation. If you decide to try some, I recommend putting it out in one of the main garden areas. Also, while it doesn't like to stay wet all the time, I've never know it to be considered xeric. If you do decide to grow some, I recommend you look for Phlox douglasii rather than the more standard P. subulata. It's a much more compact growing plant that requires less care. If you do get P. s., to stay looking good over the years it will need to be cut back severely--1/2 or more--after it blooms each year. Otherwise the individual stems can get long and really ratty looking after a couple years. If you let it grow without cutting it back until it gets ratty, it's very hard to cut it back far enough to get it looking good again without killing it. Salvia 'May Night' ('Mainacht') is a really good choice and I bet you'd love it. If you cut it back promptly when the first flowers start looking "tired," it will easily bloom a second time, and, depending on the summer, might bloom a third time if cut back promptly after the second bloom. Don't worry too much about what's going to look good with what when you're planning your garden! Remember that perennials bloom at different times, so they won't all be blooming at the same time. That's one of the wonderful things about a perennial garden---it's constantly changing. Pick whatever you like best. If you decide you don't like it next to something, you can always move it. That's also part of perennial gardening! Tulips and daffodils (and crocus, hyacinths and any of the other spring blooming bulbs) will be blooming when your perennials are just starting to come up. Also check out the ornamental grasses. They're wonderful for adding movement to the garden and the foliage and seedheads are usually left on all winter for winter interest. One of my favorites is Panicum 'Heavy Metal' (switch grass). It has steel blue foliage with delicate, airy seed heads. I also love the miscanthuses (sp???) (maiden grass) which come in heights from 3' to 6' or more and have beautiful arching foliage with tassel-like seedheads that look Egyptian to me! Just one more thing for you to consider! Happy gardening, Skybird P.S. If you'd like the seed, email me privately via GW and I'll send you my address.

Berfy--As one very familiar with growing herbs, with that little direct sun you are limited on the most well known culinary ones. Basil, while it may not like full Texas midsummer sun, does require more than dappled shade for less than 4 hours per day. You may get some small plants if there's enough reflective light, but they'll probably not thrive. On the other hand, it's easy and cheap to seed so may be worth trying spring or fall when the tree isn't fully shading. Otherwise, cilantro or mints (inc lemon balm), chives, parsley may be worth a try. The arid Mediterranean types like rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc need more sun. Lots of trial and error in your future--don't give up! Try the leafy greens and peas for starters (this year I'll be trying a dwarf container pea called half pint). On the secondary topic of zones, they do have usefulness for basic info. Yes, there is a lot of variation in climate between different locations zoned the same, but they do provide some good basic starting point info. The more of that type we have, the more useful our answers can be--that's why we ask, and those who seem to know the most will continue to ask and have found the way to include that in their name.

The Astilbe might work, although it prefers a moist, sunny position. Watercress grows naturally in slow flowing water and needs sun and a lot of moisture. It is grown as a vegetable. Asparagus sprengeri is not hardy in your zone so you'd need to bring it inside for the Winter. I don't know Uncinia but a quick Google tells me it is slow growing and not likely to be hardy in your zone either.