'shade' means little ... on words alone bright shade.. cave ... very bright.. etc ... its hard to be definitive.. w/o being able to understand such ... i have some full sun plants.. in near all day shade.. from 60 foot trees.. but there is clear blue sky above.. apparently.. they get enough light.. that said.. the bigger the flower.. usually means.. the more energy they need.. and as light declines.. its ability to make a lot of large flowers starts to falter.. i guess when it all boils down.. you are just going to have to try things.. also... for most of the growing season.. 4 to 9 or 10 pm.. is a heck of a lot of sun ... presuming that is what you meant ... when 8 hours is usually considered full sun ... there isnt really much that will out and out die ... its all about vigor and performance.. and if something struggles.. you move it to more light ... if you have it ... i am sure our friends will come up with many specific suggestions ... and also keep in mind that a lot of the 'shade' plants are just shade tolerant ... and can take a lot of sun.. usually based on how well they are watered.. its all about whether the plant has enough water.. to offset increased sun.. e.g. hosta... its when they transpire more water than they are able to process .... that they start getting real ugly ... ken

I do have Mexican Petunias, they came w/ the house and I do like them. we bought the house last july and in the year the Mex Petunias have not "gone" anywhere, they have gotten leggy ( i think that is the term) but I did not cut them down during the fall/winter and right now I just love that they have flowers every day so I cant bare to prune them now, but I will once I notice less flowers! I have Blue daze and they seem to close at night - well I think they "die" I think the flower is a 1 flower a day type thing and maybe the same about the Mex-P. I have two Gaura (light and dark pink) but they seems to stay open, but they are small so I think when I look at the space I notice the closed looking flowers more then them (but I love them - hope they continue to grow and attract butterflies - I have a black mothy butterfly that hangs out in the Gaura). I have a cucumber plant that has flung it's self out of it's lil pot, I fear I should not let it hang out w/ the other flowers, but it too have lil yellow flowers, so I have not moved it. It was just something my son did w/ the neighbor kids, we did not think the seeds would grow or that it would still be alive. I dont think it will stay, but I have not moved it (not sure what I should even do with it) I have Aloe that is in bloom. I was thinking of moving them in the future, but now that they have bloomed (they did not do that last year when we 1st got the house) I think I will keep them there a little longer. It is just a small space that only had the Mex - P and the Aloe, so I added the Daze and the Gaura just based on looks and price. I am slowly adding more things in and that is when I thought I should make a conscious effort to find something that likes the evening so I have pretties to say hello to when I get home. in the front yard I am doing a tropical thing, so they are open all day/night, but in the back I want a lil flower/butterfly area.

If you cut it by 50%, it will be a new color. One that you have no idea what it will look like until you buy the can and have it mixed. And now you own a can of paint whether you like the color or not. Cutting formulas is an exercise in futility. You've mentally decided to move on to a new color by thinking 50% could work, so just revisit the chips and choose a new color. What you don't have the advantage of is color constancy. You're not living with the color/color samples during the hours when you like what it looks like. Color constancy is a function of our vision system. Without it, humans simply would not survive. Less dramatic is what happens in our house. Bananas are a good example. Everyone has an established perception of banana yellow. That perception doesn't change from the bananas sitting on a bright southern-facing kitchen counter to the bananas sitting on a northern-facing dim dining room. Even tho the two colors of yellow would indeed appear quite different, we don't notice because of an adapted sense of color constancy for the color of yellow that bananas are supposed to be. The same happens in your house when you live with color. After a room is painted, it takes about two weeks to adapt. An average of color constancy develops and eventually you don't even notice the color shifts. That's why people will sometimes say they've learned to live with a color. And sometimes people really don't like the color they end up with. In which case, it's important to repaint and not live with it. To avoid that happening and since you don't have the advantage of living in the same space you're coloring, a decent rule of thumb is if you like a color under daylight (around noon, not direct sun), incandescent, and fluorescent illumination, odds are good you will be happy with the color once it's up.

Thanks Ken, The photos below are a little better... The inkberry and holly are growing but aren't full and look dead in the fall/winter. The first pic shows the rhododendron and azalea that are struggling and in the second picture is the stick of a mountain laurel that we planted last year. Also, the arborvitae, are a little too tall now but I'm afraid to do anything to them. We thought about making the bed bigger and adding a small tree... really looking for advice. I would like to fill these spots with plants that thrive and look beautiful and healthy. We've spent a lot of money trying things (all based on advice from different nurseries in pour area) and replacing dead shrubs. Just beyond the truck is a walkway. I'm really just concerned with the front of the house. I don't know the soil type. I would have it tested, not sure how. It does drain well. And chipmunks are a problem. we have holes all around the yard, front & back. The front gets sun around 4pm and in the summer is about 3 hours.