and i've seen i. cristata growing in areas in digs that nothing else would. it's a tough little booger. cyclamens do like the dry shade, but set the snooze for 10 years if you want to see much spread- :). they are slooooow. i'm just now getting some babies 10+ years after i planted my first ones. you know, most folks consider violets weeds, but they can deal with dry shade well. as can epimediums. and i really hesitate to mention that periwinkle does just fine with dry shade once established (and i have lots if you want some- lol). did anyone mention hellebores? they don't seem to suffer when it gets really dry. up at camp in PA, bracken fern spreads really well in the dry shade. not sure where to tell you to get it here, but...

Kaylee: I will concur with the response so far and again emphasize that (1) it will be very helpful to note what zone you're gardening in; (2) I will second the suggestion to obtain and/or read the Michigan Gardener's Guide; (3) contact the folks at MSU or your local county extension service; and (4) visit some of the public gardens within the state, such as the Dow Gardens in Midland, the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids; and a few others. In addition to the books noted in one response, I would also highly recommend the reading and/or purchase of both "The Fragrant Year"by Helen van Pelt Wilson & Leonie Bell and "Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden" by Eleanor Perenyi. The former is a little dated, but still one of the best books on fragrant plants in the garden and it is the only book that I've found to date that sensibly discusses the making of both the dry and moist form of pot-pourri. The later book is a gardening treasure and should be in every gardener's library. The chapter on "Failure" in a real gem and is a must read. The former book, "The Fragrant Year" is, unfortunately, out of print, but copies in excellent condition can be found at either abe.com or alibris.com - both excellent sources for books; the later book, "Green Thoughts" is still available in paperback, but hardbound copies can be found at either or the bookseller sites previously noted. In addition to these sources, I would highly recommend that you make use of the "PlantFinder" section of one of the most beautiful gardens in the Midwest - the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO. The Meijer Garden pales in comparison! You can access their home web site at this address: http://www.mobot.org. and then search for their PlantFinder section. However, if you wish to have a direct link, I listed the PlantFinder link below. Once you arrive at this gem of a site, you can search by botanical names; by common names; you can search for plants in a particular zone and then for height, width, bloom time, foliage, suitable for butterflies, hummingbirds, etc. and so on and so forth. So that you and other reading this post will have an idea of what's there and what information can be obtain, I'll provide you with a few example below. One of the more interesting plants that I "discovered" while meandering through a rural, small, but exceptionally wonderful garden place north of Manistee was Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' What caught my eye was the color of the fall foliage on this plant. During my late spring through mid summers to this unique garden center, my eye's didn't note much of anything - mostly because, I suspect that the flower wasn't in bloom during my visits and/or had been deadheaded to produce additional bloom. Since this Geranium is hardy throughout all of Michigan, I decided to add it to our garden. Of course, this prompted a search for other varieties that had interesting fall colors and I found another variety and also added it to our garden. So for you and others reading this post, here's the link to Max Frei http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B466 And here is the link to the other Geranium that I found, which also had a nice fall color, but is only hard to zone 4. Geranium sanguineum 'Album' http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=C880 The unique features of the "PlantFinder" section of the Missouri Botanical Garden came to fore a few weekends ago when Sue and I stayed at one of the most wonderful B & B we've "discovered" not to far from our neck of the woods. It the "Hoods in the Woods" B & B in the general Gaylord, MI area. Here's the link for those so interested. http://www.hoodsinthewoods.com/ In our visit/stay with this most interesting couple, we found out that they were originally from the State of Ohio where they grew a variety of roses and have been rather disappointed in not being able to grow roses in their neck of the woods due to the fact that they are essentially in zone 3/4 - confirm by the "fact" that when we arrived they still have a nice pile of snow that was about 4/5 or more feet tall and the lake/large pond on which they reside was still largely frozen over with only the edges having open water. So I introduced Jan to the PlantFinder section at the Missouri Botanical Garden, bookmarked it for her and briefly showed her how to search for plants suitable for a zone 3 area. She was amazed at what was available. Well, I do hope that this small dissertation is most useful in your gardening endeavors. Best wishes! Bill & Sue Here is a link that might be useful: PlantFinder Search page at the MBO

There is a book called 'Grow What Where' which could give you a good idea. I used to have it and lost it with my sister's house fire. I am about to buy it again. It is just lists of Aussie natives that are good for or bad for particular things, like pipes. Book review here: http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL2006/oct06-r1.html Cheers Judy

Scaevola albida is one of my favourites. It flowers vigorously nearly all the time, and makes a good dense mat about 10cm deep, which wouldn't let any dropped items get in contact with the soil. I have no idea, though how it would cope with your sandy soil. In our rather clayey soil (Toowoomba) you'd get good quick results from planting at 30cm centres. It does root down as it goes,so you could make do with buying fewer plants, but I imagine that under a clothesline some fairly quick cover would be wanted? Trish