I think you would be fine with hydrangeas there. If salvias are too floppy, try some veronicas or agastaches. You might even be able to grow baptista (false indigo). I have a similar exposure in my zone 5 Iowa yard. Trees along one side, and then it slopes too, so it is a bit of an odd long bed. It used to be grass and mostly invasive Asian honesuckle shrubs. I have only been gardening at this house for 1 1/2 years, so I am still experimenting; plus I am new to this zone and previously lived in zone 9. I first considered this area part shade and planted accordingly. Now I see there are pockets of more and less sun. In this area the plants doing best are: Hostas--This surprised me, but I see them in full sun around town now that I have started looking. Not sure if it is the same for zone 6. Foam flower--this looks GREAT right now with tidy foliage and is still blooming. I had some red tulips behind the foam flower and they looked lovely. Columbines--flowering nicely with airy foliage. Agastache--the one I have has short white flowers, but blues are common I think. Overwintered and re-sowed abundantly. My soil drains well so may be why they like it there. Garden phlox--were small plants last year from Bluestone spring sale. SO far they are growing nicely but will see if they flop. Today the whole area seemed to be in so much sun! Daylillies--will see how they do this year Foxglove--sowed last summer, getting ready to bloom, seems to be good for them in this spot. Monarda, bloomed last summer and no flopping. Soloman's seal--in a shadier pocket, but still gets some afternoon sun. Doing really well right now. helleborus--one little helleborus which has been doing great so far this spring, to my surprise. When I realized how sunny the spot was, I thought I'd move this little plant, but it is doign well. Toad lily--these are growing nicely and had attractive late flowers last year. Lobelia--there are some nice blue lobelias available. low growing veronicas--doing very well and blooming profusely. Happy planting. :)

Les, I just create these little dikes at planting time. I learned this from Crocket's Victory Garden (I still have the companion book). That's how old I am. I use these to collect the water for the roots of a new plant. By next Spring that dike will be washed away, but the plant won't need it any longer. The soil in this area was unusually loose for my property. In NE we have mostly glacial till. Hence the rocks and rock walls that line farmers fields in this area. You will notice in the first picture that I started in the spring by putting down a newspaper/cardboard barrier. I then added layers of organic material (grass clippings, woodchips, compost and some bagged garden soil). I was pleased with the result. Steve

all plants need sunlight ... usually ... when a plant is said to be a shade plant ... it is really about whether the plant can pump enough water.. during the heat of the day .. to survive ... if the plant can NOT ... then it tends to be called a shade plant ... a great many plants labeled as such.. are shade TOLERANT .... the best example of this.. is that ALL hosta in Britian ... are considered full sun plants ... and most the british authors claim such ... there are two reasons for this... the first is that they at at 60 degrees north ... the actual sunlight is considerably lesser in intensity that far north ... compared to most of us in the states.. that are 45 degrees north and less [there is a highway sign in the middle of MI that says we are half way to the north poles .. 45 degrees] .. and this is one reason.. the brits are a rather pasty peeps.. lol ... you probably couldnt tan there if you wanted too ... lol ... that said... they are also subject to a lot of cloudy weather ... so that even if they plant in full sun ... its rarely ever out.. lol ... here in the states ... anywhere north of the mason dixon line.. hosta can be full sun plants... especially if your soil can hold enough water during the heat of the day ... as compared to say.. my sand ... the only thing that happens... is that they can start looking ratty ... earlier in the season .... many of the northern wholesalers ... in fact.. field grow them in full sun [or used to anyway] ... to increase the root masses.. as they really dont care how they will look at harvest .... on the opposite side ... many of the full sun plants ... are the big flower plants... and if you are going to burn all that energy.. to produce giant flower displays ... you arent going to be growing them in shade... the best example ... is that roses ... the big hybrid Ts ... will not thrive in the shade ... mind you.. they wont die.. they will just grow more green leaves.. rather than flowers .... when it all boils down ... its not really about what the tag says.. or some resource ... sun .. like many other variables.. is a micro climate issue ... subject to soil.. location ... watering protocol.. etc there!!! .. more than you ever wanted to know.. lol ... just try it... and let us know.. how it works out in your garden .... ken

Here’s something I‘ve learned the hard way: don’t improve your planting hole with “soil amendments,” etc., just bare-root your hosta and plant it in your plain ol’ soil. Anywhere I’ve added stuff to the planting site, the tree roots have attacked and the hostas have floundered. Now, that’s not to say that I won’t continue to try and improve my garden soil overall. I started with clay so hard and heavy that I literally could not get the shovel in, in many places. DH rented a tiller to loosen up some areas, and we’ve mulched, mulched, mulched. I’ve also used a product that has helped with the soil condition (but that seems to cause controversy and conflict in the GW forums so it will go unnamed). The soil is vastly improved after eight years of work. I‘m a believer in mulch... and recently read a good article explaining how it works. From the AHS Hosta Journal, originally published Spring 2006, and recently reprinted in the 50th anniversary edition. Mulch: A Natural Way to Assist Mother Nature, by Butch Ragland.