Well I guess I'm contributing to the hijack - sorry scraplolly! I used to live in a house with a driveway just like dtownjbrown and I hated it. So I was kind of interested in contributing to his story. You could think about mixing some evergreens in there. Microbiota, dwarf chamaecyapris, pencil holly, rug or pencil junipers, etc. But they are kind of dull in a row... Another way to go about this is to plant annuals for a few years to see what responds to the lighting. I would think you could grow coleus, petunias, maybe even an indeterminate tomato - cherry tomatoes, the italian plum tomatoes. I grow them in less than optimal sun in containers. My favorite is San Marzano - good for salsa. This year I'm growing calladiums in full sun planters so go try some new things - you never know what will work. Sometimes the repeated annual amendment helps also. Your soil looks good in the picture but who knows how old it is? You say it drains quickly- its possible that somewhere along the way somebody re-waterproofed and improved the drainage down deeper. When we had our back wall re-waterproofed they dug down 11 ft and then filled the space with limestone to about 2 ft from the top - then backfilled my topsoil on top of that. The space right up against my house is very dry as a result. A good resource for you would be the Botanical Gardens in the area - just do a search. Another good resource is the Plant Search function at MOBOT - Missouri Botanical Gardens. For ex. I just searched on Full sun to part shade, Dry to medium, 6-12 inches spread, Zone 3 for scraplolly and got a list of plants back - http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Results.asp I don't know if you want anything to hang out over the line of the bed into your driveway but I'd think about that as you select plants.(daylilies)Whacking the flower heads every time you drive in has a tendency to look kind of ugly. The above was in case you don't like my idea: Given the narrow space and lighting my personal recommendation would be to plant a unifying ground cover like pachysandra which is evergreen, make space intermittently to have a few clumps of daffodils/tulips and alliums in spring and then have a nice white lattice structure just covered in green ivy to cover the wall. I would have parts of the lattice go up 6-8 ft and parts down at the level your siding begins. - sort of like the silhouette of a town. I would use horizontal and vertical crossbars rather than the cheaper looking diamond shaped criss cross pattern. You need to fasten it so that it is out from the siding about 1.5-2 inches for long term home care. You don't want ivy putting tendrils into your siding or cement. Where you live you might succeed with Boston Ivy which is very colorful in the fall. An alternate might be grapes or hydrangea petiolaris which I doubt would be watered at all after established. I could see having round blue ceramic planters filled with colorful coleus and impatiens set right down into the pachysandra with the wall of green ivy behind them. To give more space you could have cutouts in the latticework to center the planter in the space. You could have a small water fountain on the wall among the vines - or frame it with the lattice. Another planter idea is pruned boxwood with annuals/trailing vines around them for summer - and you can do something with them for the holidays. You should be able to have Korean, Vardar Valley, Green Mountain, etc live in a container if you keep pruned. The Blue Girl holly also does well in low light/bright sun but you'd really have to stay on the pruning to keep a holly in bounds. I would also try some unobtrusive stick in the ground solar lights to create a soft glow after dark along the drive or you can wire lighting in. I get container combination ideas every yr from the White Flower Farms catalog - gorgeous stuff altho this yr they were too in love with bronze and orange combos. Shrubs that I have kept pruned for yrs to 12 to 18" wide are taxus, boxwood and believe it or not - euonymous - burning bush. I have a 3 ft deep bed along my house and its underplanted with pachysandra and the burning bush are at least 20 yrs old - you just have to keep up with the pruning to keep them to the size you want.

So far the ones in the shade are actually looking a little better than the ones in full sun. I'm wondering if they're just so young right now that they're having a hard time in the heat. (They came in 2 quart pots). We've had highs here this week around 100! When I planted the knockouts, I used a Bayer brand fertilizer. I mixed the solution as directed and poured some into the rootball of each plant. I know I didn't over fertilize them because I used less than directed, but some of my plants are looking a bit dried out. I have watered them well twice this week. Any thoughts or tips?

Stitz,I think what you want to find out is what most of us want to know too,but are cautious of placing our Vrieseas in direct sun.You don't know when a plant is being left too long in sunshine,and the results of sunburn are not fixable. I have a number of vrieseas,two like yours,and have had mixed results regarding light,color and growth.Ive noticed that leaf width and length will change with the amount of change in the growing conditions.Strappy in poor light,wide,shorter,and compact in good light,and if you can't control the lighting conditions (winter/summer),it makes for an odd looking plant,alternately narrow and wide leaved. When outdoors,I've always shaded them with 60% green shadecloth,except a few that receive only morning and evening sunlight.Some color up better in bright light rather than direct sunshine.None have been sunburned,as I don't trust putting them into direct sunshine. I suppose it can gradually be done with some species,but maybe not others. But which ones? Perhaps someone out there in GW can give us some answers to those questions. How about you,Lisa,in that sunshine mecca,Hawaii? And you've shown us photos of some real vriesea beauties here on the GW. Bob

I have an EXTREMELY sun-challenged garden situation, with three separate spots that get, respectively, around 2, 4, and 5-6 hours of sun per day. It sucks, but that's what I have to work with, and I do make it work, with about 45 total pepper plants. The upshot of it is, 5-6 hours is enough to get you a full load of full-sized peppers on a plant. 4 hours of sun per day will get you a decent but not completely full load of peppers. For instance, a Thai Hot that might produce 35-50 pods in optimal conditions might give you 20 or maaaaybe 25 with 4 hrs of sun. 2 hours will get some plants to produce fairly well while most will give you a couple of pods and not be worth the effort. For instance a jalapeno early that might produce upwards of 35 pods in ideal conditions might give you 5-8 pods in 2 hrs of light, or less. Or a Serrano that might produce 25 may give you 3 or 4 with 2 hrs of sun. You really need a minimum of 4 hours of direct sun to have an enjoyable growing experience, and 5 or 6 hours should be the target. Hope that helps.