Hi Beth,

I'll second several of the things PopMama has recommended--things I have too. I have several different hostas. They come in different sizes, textures, and colors--greens, blues, yellows, whites--some solid colors and lots of variegated ones. Of the ones I have I like the variegated ones the best--but there are SO many different varieties!

I have a bleeding heart that's just forming the "perfect" heart shaped flowers and it's wonderful! Dicentra spectabile. The problem I have is it always comes up "too" early and is quite susceptible to freezing--as in the next couple nites!--and I have a big pot over it right now until it warms up again in a few days!!! There's also the "everblooming" bleeding hearts, Dicentra formosa (if that's still the correct species!), but the hearts on that aren't nearly as "perfect!" I only have the "real" one, even tho I have to cover it a couple times every year!, because the flowers are just so amazing!

I LOVE hardy ferns! My Japanese painted fern is just starting to grow for this year--it's deciduous so it "goes away" over winter, and I love Autumn Ferns too--they're semi-evergreen so they "hold up" pretty well most of the winter but look pretty bad by spring--depending on wind, weather, and precip! The new fronds on the Autumn fern are "bronze" when they're just starting to grow and turn all green as they get older--I love the color. Both of those ferns are not invasive, but there are some that are, so if you're looking for some, check them out first!

I love the Heucheras--coral bells--too! There are ones with green leaves and coral/red or pink or white flowers, and then some with all different colors of leaves, from dark to kind of chartreuse--some of those have insignificant flowers, but some of them have "good" flowers too. If you happen to be in the Metro Area and could come to the swap I'll have a couple Heuchera 'Firefly" I'll be giving away--it's a fairly short one with green leaves and pretty red-coral flowers.

I also have a Brunnera, false forget-me-not, and I think it's really cool! They come in varieties with plain green leaves, and also variegated varieties with different degrees of white in the leaves--ranging to almost all white. Clusters of tiny sky-blue flowers--mine will be blooming very soon. I also recommend "real" forget-me-nots (Myosotis). They're biennials, and they look really bad by the time they finish blooming, but they reseed like crazy and I find it easiest to just cut or pull them out after they finish blooming and producing seed. Mine just started blooming within the last couple days. If you get one plant and it reseeds, in a couple years you'll have them coming up all over the place--but they're very shallow rooted so they're easy to pull out if there are too many of them. I think they look good here, there, and everywhere among the other perennials.

Astilbe has great flowers, but when I was selling them I always had people coming in asking how to get them to bloom, and as near as I can tell it's very difficult to get flowers here in Colorado because of the dryness! I suspect if you kept them wet all the time, both in summer and winter, you could get them to bloom. I don't have any because I like "easy" things!

I keep trying with the lily-of-the-valley too--mostly unsuccessfully! I have them in my "escape-proof" garden (along with sweet violets and sweet woodruff--both of which are invasive!) because they're supposed to be invasive--but they certainly haven't been so for me! But if you got them going they have wonderful little bell flowers with an amazing scent!

I also have Bergenia, which I love! Large, "leathery" leaves that sometimes turn orange or red in fall, depending on the temps and moisture. It's one that definitely can't take any hot midday sun out here in our high altitude. Also likes to stay pretty moist over winter. Clusters of pretty pink flowers in spring--mine is just starting to bloom now.

Variegated Solomon's Seal is another possibility, but while it does get very small "bell flowers" hanging from the curved stems, they're not AT ALL "showy," so it's grown mostly for the variegated foliage. I understand they can be somewhat invasive but mine are in heavy clay and haven't been at all.

Ordinary primroses love shade, and some of them, especially the lighter colors, are very fragrant. Don't like heat, so they go semi-dormant over summer when it gets hot and come back again when it cools in fall. Mine are in full bloom right now.

Another one I have that's just starting to bud is "windflower." Anemone sylvestris. It can be grown in sun with enough water, or shade, and mine does very well on the north side of a two story house. This one IS invasive, and it's about the only thing I grow that is, but I love it so much I wouldn't want to be without it! It's another thing I should have a couple of at the swap!

Taller things you might consider are Aruncus, goats beard--showy white flower panicles, and Thalictrum--there are different species. One I have has what I call purple fluff--there are no actual "individual" flowers, just "puff balls" of "purple," and the other one I have has clusters of tiny pink flowers--that's my most recent one and I like it the best! Besides having "actual" flowers, it blooms longer.

Since you're just starting to plant in that area I recommend you watch closely this summer how much sun the area actually does get. In mid summer when the sun is high in the sky even the back of my two story house gets direct sun for a couple hours a day--right against the house. So if you were to plant something like the Bergenia you'd need to be sure it was going in a place with not "too much" sun. In winter the evergreen leaves especially can't take any of our high-altitude sun! All the other things I mentioned would be fine with "some" sun.

There are lots of things you can plant in shade, most/many of them aren't as "showy" as the full sun things, but they're very pretty anyway! When looking for shade things always remember to look for interest in the foliage too--like with the hosta. It's amazing how much "color" you can get with "just" foliage.

Have fun planning and playing,

Skybird