What a lovely yard! You have so many nice installations -- I especially like the vignette of the raven, the cultivator and hosta around the tree. And the green "bones" of the yard -- the hostas, the ferns -- look wonderfully lush and healthy. If your looking for a quickj change this summer you probably want annuals -- kinda like getting wild throw pillows for your good conservative couch!

I'm not good at garden design, but if you're looking for a quick punch of color, there are a million coleus that provide color/texture/pattern even in shade. Cardinal flower (lobelia) could give you some height and color in the partial shade areas, and Foamflower (tirella) could give you a nice delicate look with all those ferns and hosta.

It looks like you've got some Moses-in-a-basket tradescantia. It's tender, but it grows nicely in the summer. (I take cutttings in the fall, then plant it out again (in hanging baskets) in the spring.) Another shot of purple and silver is Persian Shield (strobilanthes) Again, tender in our zone, but easy to grow.

If you're looking at perrenials, how about a rose of sharon near the pond? I have some standard purple and rose colored ROS, that I've trained like topiaries -- simply clipped all the side branches off. Within a couple of years they became rather striking, very tropical loking trees. Unfortunatley, the old-fashioned ones throw about a million seeds every spring, but they do look nice.

But you have lovely gardens already -- and a cute cat!

alison, do you have any pics of your plants?
i need some ideas- i am one of those visual sort of people. :)
i am going to look around and see what plant options i have. being from a small town means my supply source is limited.

I like pictures, too! Here's some of the ones I mentioned
Here's whole beds of coleus:
{{gwi:1071497}}

Getting a little more creative with coleus:

Foamflower and heuchera:

Here's Persian Shield with I think light green sweet potato vine
{{gwi:1071500}}

It occured to me last night that you might have the right spot for a rhododendron. A little spendy, but very pretty!

My own garden is not so showy. I've got a slightly different situation, tons of sun and a small, shared apartment yard. AAnd I don't have your skill at setting up the tableaux. My "shade" garden, which only gets 5-6 hours of sun a day. This is from early spring a few years ago. Royal Standard hosta in the back, palace purple heuchera, lilies-of-the-valley and Oriental lilies in the middle, and sweet woodruff spilling over the front.

From two years ago, one of the few times I haven't had the rest of that fence covered with nasturtiums:

paint that potting table/sink bright yellow, bright blue, bright purple or bright pink.

or build a big column and cover ith with pieces of bright colored broken china and mirror pieces and top it with a
gazing ball or a water sprinkler sculpture.

i really like everything you already have the way it is.

diggerb

diggerb

Jakesgirl, you said there's not a lot of stuff available in tthe stores around you -- have you looked into plant swaps in your area? It's a great way to pick up some proven plants in exchange for things you've got extra of.

I've been going to our Central Ohio garden swap since the beginning, and one of the great things about it (in addition to the good food and company) is that the plants all come from people's gardens, and you *know* they're hardy in your area.

Come on up to our swap the end of May if you're interested -- some of those hosta would go pretty fast!