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. :)

Hostas and ferns will be okay on the north side against the foundation. I have Azaleas planted against my foundation on the north side, and Hostas actually in my Southern exposure, which has mature trees to the East, South, and West of me, so not a lot of direct sunlight, some filtered, and some pretty dark shade. Another good shrub that gets large, but you can get smaller versions if you want, is Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I recommend it to everyone in Oklahoma because it does so well here compared to other Hydrangeas. The leaves are very large, oakleaf shape as name indicates, huge conical white blooms in mid to late spring, that gently turn to a pink shade. The foliage turns red in the fall, and the winter branches are interesting, too, because they peel to a rusty red shade. It is pretty much an all around outstanding plant for Oklahoma. Doesn't require as much water as the other Hydrangeas either, once it is established. I planted it the first summer I lived in my house in 1999, and I have never regreted it. Some say it is slow to establish, but mine grew very quickly. Maybe because I purchased it in a 5-gallon container so it was pretty good size to begin with. It can grow to about 7' tall by 9' wide in fabulous conditions, but will generally run about 7' side and 5' tall. You can place some medium size hostas in front of it, perhaps variegated to add some interest, and small hostas and ferns in front of them. Japanese Painted fern is very pretty. I grow a few Hostas, 'Sum and Substance' which is a monster and has lime green foliage with leaves up to 18-24" long. It can take more light than the Blue Hostas and variegated hostas. Anything with the bolder lime green colors can generally tolerate more light. I also have 'Blue Angel' which is also a monster with powdery blue foliage. The leaves aren't as big as S&S but the plant itself gets huge. Give this one a pretty shady place as with all blues. There are hundreds and hundreds of Hostas available. Check out Plant Delight Nursery which has a nice selection, just to give yourself an idea of different textures, sizes, and colors. I don't really grow ferns except for the Holly fern which has done so well for me for about 10 years also. Doesn't need as much water. Hellebores, Epimediums, variegated Solomon's Seal, Jack in the Pulpits, Campanulas, Meadow Rues, Heucheras, Tiarellas, Toad Lilies, some Clematis, some lilies, will all do well in part shade. The only problem with shade around a lot of homes is tree roots. Hard to dig and prepare soil - amend, amend, amend with compost, chicken or cow manure, etc. But, the roots will eventually grow back. The plants I've mentioned will likely co-exist just fine with some tree roots. Your Elephant Ears will take some sun very nicely. More than a lot of folks think. They are Colocasias in the Aroid family. A better bet is Alocasias which look very similar but have a more upright habit, sold in many of the nurseries as Upright Elephant Ear. The foliage is a bit shinier, and they get every bit as big without needing as much water. Generally speaking, in a southern exposure you will get more sun, in the West you will get a good amount of sun along with heat. The north and east sides offer more protection from our relentless summer suns. However, that can change with things such as how large your trees are, how much shade they cast, the closer you plant to your house will afford more shade. Dawn suggests that you have your soil tested to see how much you need and what your soil needs, Consider mulching your plants, too. Fertilizers? I'm a lazy gardener so I use Espoma fertilizer products which you can just add at planting time or sprinkle on top in the spring. Some needs to be added monthly and some will last 2 or 3 months. If you want to add some butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants, let me know, What fun! You have pretty much a blank slate to work with. And.....welcome to the forum! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Oakleaf Hydrangea

jlhart76 May I aske which direction does this strip run? I ask because I have a 2-ft wide bed on the east side of the house under the eaves. Even though there are neighbors to the east, this spot gets much more sun than identical beds on the north side of the house. With the trees in your yard, the conditions may be more like the north side of my yard. The east side of the house has tarragon, arum lilies, iris, daylilies, dianthus (like Sweet Williams), celery (a challenge to grow), Naked Ladies, Spider Lilies, and chives. Plants which truly need full sun do NOT do well here. Plants which like cooler conditions often do best in this spot compared to the rest of the yard. There are no trees to compete for water. The north side of the house has iris, day lilies, columbine, forget-me-nots, galanthus nivalis, hostas, arum lilies, sedums, comfrey, and lovage. There used to be Naked Ladies and Spider lilies- which I think need a little more sun, but did very well here. Ivy covered both beds at one time. It had to be regularly cut back, but stayed green in OKC all year long. My next door neighbor has a rose bush that is doing very well on the north side of the house. Other plants to consider: creeping phlox, lily of the valley, hydrangeas, thyme, and if you are not worried about it's incredible invasiveness, maybe mint. If there is light under the trees before they leaf out in the spring, consider early bulbs like daffadils and hyacinth. I am considering alpine strawberries and hardy kiwi for the east side of the house. The kiwi needs lots of water especially the first years while getting established. The male plants have pink/red foliage and maybe it could be grown on the ground instead of trained on a wall. Consider growing 2-3 plants for a year or two. Chose plants which run the spectrum from full shade to 3/4 shade to 1/2 shade requirements. See which ones do the best in this spot and then pick plants which having matching shade requirements. But don't forget that shade can the a relative term. Directly under a tree may get great sun early in the morning and late in the evening, but be full shade only in the middle of the day. Get to know how the light really falls in the area and it will be easier to choose plants. Hope this dissertation helps. There really are a lot more plants that will grow in shade than we think.

I use "camoflage plant" in my shade garden--in the sun, it would be horribly invasive, but in the shade it's manageable and provides nice color contrasts depending on where it's established itself (totally green in full shade, tinged with cream in dappled shade, and with red where it gets more sun. I've found it to be a great "filler" and is easy to pull up, which you will have to do. Is about a foot tall, gets insignificant, but cute white bloom. It does have a interesting scent of citrus when you pull it up.