THE plant for dry shade--Geranium macrorrhizum--big Root Geranium. Semi evergreen, handsome groundcover, highly deer resistant, easy to control, very attractive with late spring bloom and no dead heading, dividing or other attention required. What more could you want? Alternate--Epimedium sulphureum--slower to fill in, must be cut back in late winter, but very attractive and has early bloom. If you garden in deer country, as I do, there is very little point in planting plants that deer love. It's a losing battle. And while it is true that starving deer will eat anything, there is a huge range of plants for both sun and shade that they generally have very little interest in. If your yard has mostly unappealing plants, they won't hang out there much. That said, I ALWAYS spray a new plant with a good repellant so if some young thing tries it, their first experience is YUCK! They spread the word. And having said all that, yes, I do have a few plants that deer will eat, and I do spray those. But they are very few, so keeping up with the spraying is not onerous and doesn't break the bank. However, I have NO hostas, yews, or tulips--the ones that say "Free Lunch".

One thing to be aware of is that the bleeding hearts will die back in mid to late summer, leaving a bare spot. So as you add things, you might want to add something that sprouts late and would help fill or disguise those areas. I grow most of the plants gardenweed listed in my partly shady areas. Others I have include dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) European ginger (Asarum europaeum) woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) partridge berry (Mitchella repens) Heucherella Tiarella If there are spots that get more than 5 hours of sun, one of the clematis that tolerates some shade could be planted with an obelisk or trellis for it to climb. Most of them will bloom for several weeks in the summer. I can't tell if there is enough room, but you might want to add some small shrubs. With just a few hours of sun, you can grow and get flowers on some of the smaller rhododendrons or mountain laurels (though the full sized ones would be too large) if you have acid soil, and they would give you some winter interest. There are hydrangeas such as some of the reblooming H. macrophylla (bloom on last season's and this season's branches) such as Endless Summer which even if it is killed to the snow line as it is most years in my garden, will put out new branches and bloom for much of the summer. There are some small H. paniculatas like 'Little Lamb', 'Little Lime' and 'Little Quickfire' which are fine in full sun to part shade, and will bloom from late June through hard freeze. They start light green and progress through creamy white to pink in the fall.

Bill, there isn't just one list -- everyone has their preferences in plants, and different plants make sense for different growing conditions and climate. You're in zone 3, so that will limit your choices. You don't have full sun, so that also determines what plants will make the best sense. Do a search using terms like "cottage garden plants zone 3", or some variation of that, looking at both websites and images to get ideas. Quite frankly, I did that search and looked at a few of the sites and I would COMPLETELY disagree with what they recommended as the "best" plants... I'd just use the searches to get ideas of what appeals to you visually. Then maybe come back here and discuss options. I'm in z5 and here's a quick list of perennials or bulbs that I grow -- I have both shady and sunny gardens (from memory, we're under a lot of snow!): Snow drops, crocus, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, wood hyacinths, grape hyacinths, alliums, oriental and asiatic lilies, forget-me-nots, lily of the valley, Dame's Rocket, Dictamnus, Sweet William, Siberian iris, bearded iris (many!), trollius, kniphofia, tons of hostas, Japanese and other painted ferns, bleeding heart, echinaceas (several), pyrethrum, creeping phlox, tall phlox (several), balloon flowers (dwarf and tall), daylilies (several), hardy hibiscus (diff colors), heucheras (many), coreopsis, brunnera, monarda, roses (several), campanulas (I love both white and blue C. persicifolia!)... I'll come back when I think of more. Foxgloves! love them! Polemonium, Solomon's Seal, heucherella, ... duh, Astilbes! (several). Valerian, artemisia, columbines, ... also things like rhododendrons (including dwarfs!) and honeysuckle vine to climb, ... oh, perennial baby's breath! I have mine behind a tall red rose and it's stunning. :) Poppies! Peonies (many!), Stokesia! Orange butterfly weed. Tall and creeping sedums (many). Centaurea montana (bachelor's buttons). Candytuft, shasta daisy. And liatris! (L. spicata -- both white and purple).

Hi Kristine. With all of the amazing experts and great advice on here, I bet you got more than you bargained for! Are you still reading? ;-) My advice would be a little different, but also similar to what has been mentioned. Researching roses is great... and fun! But if you have a public rose garden nearby, walking the grounds and getting a feel for what roses look like in your actual climate is probably the most helpful. Seeing a rose in person, smelling it, touching it, these are all important things to me (being a very kinesthetic - touchy feely - person). Also...Don't feel Iike you always have to follow rules or common knowledge, unless you want to. It is your garden, your time, your hard work and your money after all. Simply enjoy yourself and enjoy learning more as you go. I would also tell myself to always braid my hair before doing any gardening. ;-)