I just bought a house for the first time so am completely new to gardening and would like some advice, if possible.

My front yard is north-facing, and I've got bordering areas on both sides of my front door, the pavers for the borders are about 3 ft away from the foundation. Thus, no direct sunlight all day long. I was thinking of putting some polka dot plants here since it never receives any direct sunlight, and I've read that they do well in the shade.

I am wondering:

1) Do they really do ok in full shade?
2) Will the sun zap them in summer(if so, not a big deal, but I'd like to get an idea of how long they might survive), or perhaps I can keep them in containers and bring them inside during summer?
3)Would it look tacky to keep them in containers outdoors?
4)In Arizona, is it tacky to mix and match totally different types of plants in the same area...for example, what if I want to grow an aloe plant next to viny, leafy, type things? Tacky????

Thanks!

Firstly, tacky is in the eye of the beholder, if we all liked the same things it sure would be a boring world. Being as this is all pretty new to you, it's your duty to yourself to mix and match all you want....figure out what you like.

I have had polka dot plant in my east facing yard for years, it's right next to the house so it's warm in winter and not only is east facing better than north facing in summer but it's around other plants so it does well in summer, too, even reseeds. It's getting smothered right now though so I think it will not be able to compete for long.

In full shade in summer I think it would do OK, in full shade in winter, I think it will freeze. In full sun all winter it would be fine so long as it were next to something warm, full sun all summer (north facing) and it will toast.

JMO Maybe someone else will have another experience.

I'm glad to hear that I can mix and match because I truly enjoy all kinds of flora...flowers, cactus, agaves, vines, desert shrubs, dense foliage, you-name-it!

As for the polka dot plants, it seems that if I'm going to have them up front at all, I might need to keep them in containers, so I can move them around as needed throughout the seasons.

I guess my main problem is, finding something I can plant right now in my north side(since it is the front of the house) since it has pavered border planting areas that don't get sun. Maybe I should be focusing on my vine-like things.Trelises? What about agaves? Do all of them need sunlight? I also have a porch so would like to have hanging plants that do well with full shade. So, the trick is finding plants that don't mind zero sunlight, but will also survive cold (although they would be fairly protected against the wind/cold since they would be relatively close to the foundation...but not close enough to attract termites I hope!). PS. I live in downtown Phoenix in a historic district, so the climate is usually a bit warmer in general.
Btw, I am in love with the Madagascar palm and must find a place for one somewhere in my yard(maybe the east side)! And I saw a hanging Winston Churchill fuschia at Baker's last week that I believe would look just gorgeous hanging from my porch! lol...I can see myself becoming really obsessed with all this gardening stuff. There's so much to learn and plants are such complex critters.

Be careful of putting tropical plants out in pots in winter as that can be harder on them than anything, pots will be colder than the ground and cold wet roots = rot for tropicals.

The north side is difficult to landscape, I'm lucky my north side is just a walkway and utility area or I think I'd go nuts.

I dunno about no agaves....I don't do those :)

I love vines...I recommend trying every one you can get your hands on lol you'll need lots of trellises and arbors. And you can mix and match, too, outside my front door is an arbor with 4 vines! Like I said, you have to find what you like.

A patio hanging plant for you (and everyone else here) would be purple heart, very forgiving regarding sun and water, heat and cold.

That fuschia....very pretty...will be toast come summer though :(

The front of my house faces due north and gets virtually no sun at all except very briefly during the very longest days of the year when the sun is at its highest, and even then it is *minimal*, LOL.

I've had great luck with good ol' Aloe vera plants. I planted a whole series of them between the walkway and house and then used big goose-egg sized smooth river rock as "mulch" around them. They seem very, very happy. They've tripled in size and are immune to the heat and cold. The ones along the north side of my house don't bloom much compared to the ones that get more sunshine, but the plants look really great and healthy (not all lanky like some plants get in shade).

I've also had very good luck with "elephant food" / "dinosaur food", Portulacaria afra (not portulaca which likes more sun), so that might be worth trying for your shady spots too?

If you like leafy plants, cast-iron plants love shade here (Aspidistra elatior) and only need occasional watering.

I do agree with Azreno as usual: tacky is in the eyes of the beholder, so grow and combine what you like. I don't think ANY well-grown, happy plants look tacky together.

Keep us posted. This is fun to read.
Take care,
Grant