Obiedient plant is a good one for replacing foxglove. I LOVE foxglove and do plant them. I just haven't had much luck with them coming back year after year. The obidient plant spreads nicely too. I think they are also called 'dragon flowers.'

I hate to say it but you may want to re-post this question with another title. I was afraid to open it because the title is somewhat misleading and you are not a regular poster here--but we hope you will be. Only opened it when I saw someone else did.

Wish I could offer you a plant suggestion but your zone is so different from mine that my garden experience is very different. Here, not many plants bloom profusely in the shade.

Maybe zebra mallow for height? I'm not sure about if it is poisoness but it spreads nice and looks pretty.
Maybe you could still plantthefoxgloves but use a folding fence to keep the little hands away from the plants? I m pretty sure they'd have to eat a ridiculous amount of the plant for it to make them sick so if they were fenced off that could keep them away.
Then again I don't have children so surely I underestimate their curiosity! :)

Welcome to the forum, I hope to see pictures of your gardens too!

Scully, Those Obedient plants are beautiful! They are def. going on my list of flowers to try :) The problem I'm having with this area/type of flower, is that I'm trying to find something that is more "stalky" without much bush to the bottom. We live rurally, with orange orchards to one side of us, and hay fields to the other side, and we have a big pond smack dab in the middle.....snakes like traveling around our area(nothing poisonous that we've seen so far though, thank goodness!). While I haven't personally seen one right along our house, one did drop out the tree, onto our porch, right as my sister in law was passing by! It slithered under our porch!ACK! Anyways, I'm trying to spruce up the "play" yard, and make it pretty, but I'm thinking I don't want to encourage/add brush and nice spots for snakes. With the other yards, I don't like the idea of hiding places much more, but my kids don't use those, Know what I mean?....OK I totally rambled there! Sorry! :)

Ginny, Your right, the title didn't give much. Hopefully changing it will be better :) I can only hope, one of these days to have a garden as beautiful as so many of you! I did plant Grandpa Ott MG's and Moon Flowers all along my fence line yesterday!! I can't wait to see how they grow! (I realize many gardeners hate the Grandpa Ott's, but I'm pretty sure I love them :P)

Lily, I LOOOVE the look of Foxgloves as well. Logically, I'm sure the Foxgloves would be fine, but then my Mommy brain kicks in and I have visions of my Daughter daring her younger brother to eat something disgusting, or something he shouldn't (the visions are probably more like flash backs of me daring my little brother! LOL). The white and purple are beautiful on those Zebra Mallows! Do you know about the bottom of them? Is it mainly stalks, or a bit bushy?

Thanks so much guys! :)

Hmmmm, the title only changed on my last post? Anybody know how to change the original title?

You have to start a completely new post and link this first thread to it. Copy the url above and put in the blank below. Be sure to name it or it will be invisible to us. You may need to preview first to see the url line.

Salvias are great for zone 9 and they come in many colors and heights from low borders to tall background plants.

If you are in a location that has water restrictions, let us know that too.

For a stalky plant you can't beat Olympic Mullein or any of the Verbascums. They do like sun but maybe in your zone they would get enough even in the partly shady spot. How about Begonia's they would probably love the spot but maybe aren't tall enough..I do love Foxgloves..they are beautiful.
Joann

Welcome to the forum.

What about the taller snapdragons? I don't know hot hot it will get where you live, but foxgloves only last so long here, and the tall varieties of snapdragons give the same type of vertical effect. I have perennial foxgloves, but no little ones). I don't know if penstemon will work for you, but some of them are "stalky". Hollyhocks...taller by far unless you are careful. Delphiniums. Gorgeous!

I'm out of ideas.
kay

I was going to suggest delphiniums but then the topic of snakes came up. I think at any moment you do make a garden, you will have a bushy feel to things and snakes can proliferate.

I would suggest either lupines, delphinium or snapdragons. ...not sure if my opinion counts as I am not a 'lady.' :)

We can grow gooseneck loosestrife here in hot drier areas without it taking over the universe. Be careful where you plant it, it will go too far in too "good" of soils and with too much care.