Hello Lin I know I am not around much these days but I can't resist a gardening question! Definitly Hosta's, there are so many beautiful one's out there they have amazing folliage http://www.hosta.org/, then you could go with some Ferns also shade loving and beautiful but they like the soil to be one the moister side so you would have to water it quite a bit especially if it is under the eaves of your house and doesn't get a lot of rain. Also a plant called Pulmonaria (lungwort) http://hardyplants.com/Pulmonar.htm has really pretty blue flowers in the spring and really nice leaves the rest of the year. I would warn against lily of the valley as they are very invasive unless of course you just want to have one low maintainece plant in that space, it will eventually choke out all other plants. It does have lovely flowers with a beautiful scent(the are Ansis's favourites). Then for colour, like was previously mentioned you can have impatiens which you would have to plant every spring. Another pretty perennial that has flowers and does pretty well in the shade, maybe plant them closer to the front of the bed are Cranesbill geraniums I love these plants http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_geranium.shtml Sorry I am all over the place I keep thinking of new ones you could use. Astilbe has nice flowers and does great in the shade. http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/springbulbs/astilbe It would be nice to add some big rocks and such. All the plants besides the impatiens are hardy to my climate so I am sure they will do great in your garden.
I could go on but I'm sure you have enough of an idea. It is so exciting to have a blank canvas like that. Thanks for letting me ramble on it's nice to take my mind off the junk going on in my life at the moment. If you want anymore ideas please drop me a line.
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Definitly Hosta's, there are so many beautiful one's out there they have amazing folliage http://www.hosta.org/,
then you could go with some Ferns also shade loving and beautiful but they like the soil to be one the moister side so you would have to water it quite a bit especially if it is under the eaves of your house and doesn't get a lot of rain. Also a plant called Pulmonaria (lungwort) http://hardyplants.com/Pulmonar.htm has really pretty blue flowers in the spring and really nice leaves the rest of the year. I would warn against lily of the valley as they are very invasive unless of course you just want to have one low maintainece plant in that space, it will eventually choke out all other plants. It does have lovely flowers with a beautiful scent(the are Ansis's favourites).
Then for colour, like was previously mentioned you can have impatiens which you would have to plant every spring. Another pretty perennial that has flowers and does pretty well in the shade, maybe plant them closer to the front of the bed are Cranesbill geraniums I love these plants http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_geranium.shtml
Sorry I am all over the place I keep thinking of new ones you could use.
Astilbe has nice flowers and does great in the shade.
http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/springbulbs/astilbe
It would be nice to add some big rocks and such.
All the plants besides the impatiens are hardy to my climate so I am sure they will do great in your garden.
I could go on but I'm sure you have enough of an idea. It is so exciting to have a blank canvas like that.
Thanks for letting me ramble on it's nice to take my mind off the junk going on in my life at the moment.
If you want anymore ideas please drop me a line.