Hawera, amazing and wonderful Narcissus that it is, persists in fairly deep shade for me, too, although it gets leggy by bloom time and hasn't really increased. It does bloom each year, though. Muscari armeniacum does about the same in similar conditions: a small clump of it blooms each year but doesn't increase or decrease in size. Erythronium 'Pagoda' does really well here in an area that gets almost no direct sunlight. Fritillaria meleagris is doing well in the same area, but this spring was only its second year so I don't know how it will do there, long-term. A few that I haven't grown, but have seen growing under mature yews and in other areas with no direct sun: Hyacinthoides hispanica, Allium triquetrum, Corydalis solida. The Allium and the Corydalis are both moisture-tolerant. You might look into Scilla siberica, too; I'm not sure but I think it will grow and bloom in very low light. Then there's Ornithogalum nutans, which will grow in total shade (in my experience). It's pretty, it grows anywhere with ease, but it is vigorous--no, aggressive--and can overrun more delicate plants. It will also seed all over the place. It's better-behaved than O. umbellatum...at least nutans is manageable if you watch it. Another option, suggested by Ken Druse in _The Natural Shade Garden_, is to grow hardy, sun-loving bulbs as annuals. Leave them in the ground to see what they do--they might very well persist--but plant new ones each fall just in case. The courtyard and plant choices you described sound lovely. Amanda

Pasdetrois, have you looked at Eleagnus, particularly the 'Gilt Edge' or another cultivar with some yellow on the leaves? This has grown well for me under the shade of maples and hemlocks. It could get bigger than five feet wide, but it's easy to prune back. Another thought would be Aucuba, maybe using 'Picturata' instead of the usual "Gold Dust" to obtain more color? This one would also manage in deep shade pretty well. Here is a link that might be useful: Here's what 'Gilt Edge' looks like

I have clay soil but it's on the loamy side. It's not backbreaking to dig. Yes, Rudbeckias do well. 'Goldstrum' took over a full sun bed I had at one time and ran over all it's nice neighbors, so I took it all out. I do still grow Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer' which I find much more well behaved. It gently reseeds but they clump rather then spread. Salvias do just okay for me and I have to grow them in a raised bed. That and lavenders would rather have better drainage, especially in the winter. Creeping Thymes also resent the wet winters and also peter out unless I grow them along the edges of my raised beds. Off the top of my head...Echinaceas, Perovskias, Pennisetum 'Hamelin', Peonies, Delphiniums, Aquilegias, Hostas, Hellebores, Ferns, lots of Shade plants and Ephemerals, should all do well. There are lots more too. Any soil, clay or otherwise will be better if you continue to amend it with your own compost, and leaf mulch.

Girl...I have hostas. Revolution? Independence? Hope? Sitting Pretty?