Well, at this time, I have nothing planted on the north side of my house, except for a huge camellia and an old azalea. It will remain so until we lay irrigation pipe down that side, and then I can think about planting.

Actually, I thought I'd be able to place some of my container hosta along the northern exposure, but at 30 North latitude, it was not long before I realized there was no shade after late March, when the sun was at its truest east and west , and after that went more northerly until the longest day, around June 21st, summer solstice. I have been able to plant some things far away from the side of the house, backed up to the tall privacy fence, so the plants got sun during the cooler times of the year and had protection from the north winds. But since we are in zone 9 and you are zone 6, it is a different problem entirely.

However, for the wintertime, I can again use the northern side of my house, which will be shaded through until spring arrives again, and my hosta are in containers almost entirely. I thank you for reminding me of this, because I quite forgot I could do this as my dormant time is precious, and not easily achieved.

I'm sure others will come forward with more typical uses of a northern exposure planting bed that you can draw ideas from.

This should really impress you! (lol). The small hostas on the west end are there "on hold" until spring 2013. Even though on the north foundation, as hot and dry as this year has been some scorching happened. I think I will need 3-4 overstoring plants for protection until the sumer morning .sun pasts the zenith. I am thinking a Japanese Maple though just the word Maple makes me cringe. A non-deciduous plant of some type might be better.

This excites me. That darkly shaded area under the lilac is being cleared for a new mini display area. It only gets about 20 minutes of early afternoon sun before very tall trees 80 feet to the west cast their shade on it.

Sorry- it's the best I can offer this year.

Les

This bed is to the left of my front porch, facing due North. As Les mentioned, it has a Japanese fringe-leafed Maple in the bed and there is a Red Maple you can just make out past the fringe-leaf. There is Lily of the Valley in front of the Rhododendron and Stella D'Oro Daylily in front of those. There are more lower growing plants past the Fringe-leaf as well, a few more Hosta, Rug Juniper, a few more Daylilies...

Kim

These hostas are 4 years old and get 1-2 hrs of 10a.m. sun as the garage faces ne a bit. We purposely didn't put gutters on the house when we built so the plants can get the run off

Oops! Forgot about Sagae!

I've planned similarly re. gutters. I've done the same earlier with my south foundation with the plants imbedded on the top of a berm so water will be held between the foundation until it soaks in. This probably wouldn't be a good idea with heavy clay soil, but my coal dust infused soil drains very well. So I don't get serious laking but deep soaking with an reasonable rain, which is very rair the last 2 years. It retains every drop it can catch.

Les

Perhaps some photos of my current garden would be in order. The hydrangeas near the air conditioner hide a window well (they do a pretty good job and won't be moving) and there is the remains of a bleeding heart just next to those.

Currently there is a Blue Cadet, a Blue Mouse Ears, a Japanese Painted Fern, another hydrangea, 2 astilbe (but they've struggled more than the others) and a couple of huechera in no particular arrangement or order. I'm looking to add about 2-3 feet and some general interest. I'd call it bright shade that gets two hours of direct sunlight in the late evenings. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This is my north facing garden - we just put this in this spring; all the hosta are new this year. Some of them will be moved next spring when we extend the garden around the northwest corner of the house.

{{gwi:1075673}}

This raised bed is three years old. It's mostly more common hosta cultivars and mixed perennials that can tolerate shade.

First time uploading a picture...hope it works.

Nice looking beds there.

I was looking at the only planted bed on the north and it is that of my Teahouse. Not the house itself. Let me see if I can find a current picture. Well, ALMOST current. I just moved some big pots out of the way, and put a banana tree into the ground that had roots coming out the bottom of its pot, and made a bit more of a shade screen for stopping the late afternoon sun from crisping my hosta.

The north side bed has a narrow walkway for the dogs (allergic to grass), then a band of the giant liriope, followed by dwarf nandina, and then some dwarf buxus that can stand the heat nicely. On the corner that turns westerly, I have three big pots and then on the west side I have sweet potatos growing. It keeps things cool over there, sort of like having kudzu it is so prolific.

Taking advantage of the shade provided by a young Japanese maple, I had located a lot of the gold leafed hosta on the western side, between the maple and the Teahouse. All hosta in containers, however.

And then I did take a picture after working on the banana tree.

Myrle, no matter which exposure you show, your garden is always a show place. Wonderful to imagine walking through it.

This has gotten a little overgrown since we had some rain but it is still a favorite place to relax.

This is the North facing side of my house. Things grow just fine here.

Thanks all for sharing your gardens. They are WOW!

Davej, I LOVE your BIG hosta!!! Beautiful.

LuckyKat13, Can I make an appointment to use your swing?

mctavish6, I am green with envy with such beauty.

Great shots DaveJ - Very impressive. Can you tell me what the three hostas are in the last picture?

Left to right is Gunsmoke, Atlantis, and Winter Snow.
Dave

Almost everything here is 'north of the house', so won't even try to post, especially since so many others have sent up great pics to enjoy, thanks all!

hh

This northside garden also includes Lady's Mantle, volunteer ferns and a container of mint. Still needs a top dressing of compost, if and when I ever find the time to weed out the orchard grass.

Ohhh, I wondered if that was Winter Snow! Mine is now finishing up its 2nd year in the ground and it looks good but not as good as yours.

This pic is in its 6th year in that spot. Atlantis is 5.
Dave