Sounds like the start of a very nice permanent garden. EP

It sounds lovely. And, yes, I am just as tired of impatiens as you are.

But, you know, in order for that rain barrel to provide your plants with unchlorinated water to drink, won't it have to rain first? (It hasn't been raining here in southern OK!)

Dawn

With a hopeful heart, I have emptied my rainbarrels and am awaiting gifts from the rain gods!

I'm tired of impatiens this time of year but was sure greatful for them late last summer, when that was pretty much the only thing that was alive in my front yard - that and the caladium. What I'm tired of is coleus and wax leaf begonia. It just doesn't do anything for me.

I have never bothered with impatiens or wax leaf (semperflorens) begonias. Everyone who just wants to stick some color in their yards uses them, and they are way over planted. There are absolutely lovely shade perennials out there. Most people think of shade as drab and green and nothing else. Not true, mes amis, there are an enticing array of shade lovers out there. Look at the heucheras, heucherellas, and tiarellas! My new little Thalictrum 'Illuminator' will look gorgeous with it's lime green leaves to brighten up a shady corner. Hostas work miracles, as does iris pallida, azaleas, hydrangeas, clematis, and many plants with different textures and growth habits. I love shade!

My baby Nikko is coming along, I hope it survives. It's the one that self-layered - very smart plant!

Susan

We have also enlarged a shade bed under black walnut and oak trees. Included in the bed are tall phlox, sweet rocket, day lilies, spiderwort, ajuga, violets, iris , daffodils. It is mainly an 'overflow ' area for plants that needed division. Looks like it's doing OK so far. Under a pin oak in our door yard we have mertensia, solomon's seal, lily of the valley, bloodroot, coral bells, wood betony, bloodroot, wild ginger, sedums, day lilies, blue star, spiderwort, astilbe; shrubs include box, blue angel holly, weeping yaupon holly. vines include 5 leaf akebia and red honeysuckle. EP

Susan, you are an inspiration for this novice shade gardener. I'm trying to do better than impatiens in my shade bed, but it's taking while to learn what works and to live within the darn restrictions of the checking account. I am appreciating lily of the valley more this spring since it's finally decided to bloom. It had pretty well taken over one of my shade beds when I moved in but was too crowded or something. I've started dividing it and using it as filler in different places around my yard - even put some in a pot on the deck.

Tell me about the iris you're growing in the shade. I thought iris needed lots of sun.

OK, I just realized susanlynne and enchantedplace are not the same person. Why do I have the two of you confused I guess it's me that's confused)? EP, you are also an inspiration. BTW, I was in OKC yesterday for a meeting and stopped by Home Depot afterwards. Found a potted astilbe that my budget would allow, so I will be looking for a place to put it, since the bare root ones I bought don't seem to be coming up.

My share is part shade and iris will grow in part shade. My new ones are just about to open, so will keep you posted on them. I also grow Solomon's Seal, holly fern, moneywort, bear's breeches, hostas, columbine 'Nora Barlow' (double bloom), columbine 'Texas Star', campanulas, hardy begonia, azalea, hydrangeas, arisaemas, goat's beard, variegated vinca, lilies (oriental, asiatic, orienpets), Japanese anemones, itea (Virginia Sweetspire), alocasia, colocasia, hardy glads, heucheras, catnip, sages, winter savory, clematis, kiwi vine, porcelain vine, ajuga, Japanese Maple, mints, white butterfly ginger, and can't think of anything else right now.

Hope to see everyone at the plant sale.

Susan

Iris has been passed along thru our community for generations and it grows well in sun or filtered shade. It is primarily the bearded iris. We also have some Florentine and Spuria. Right now there are about 8 colors blooming. Some of it is on our Spring photos album if you want to click on our link. Many of our plants have been passed along to us by other gardeners or were already here when we came here. It's rewarding to be able to have beautiful plants in a shady area. Our neighbor's properties are like an extension of ours and it's a pretty neighborhood right now. EP

Here is a link that might be useful: spring flowers

Pretty. I love irises and am thrilled to know they are possible in my shady yard. Actually I have a stand I planted (passalongs) that I thought were in a spot that would be too shady and they are blooming gloriously right now - so I am encouraged to try them in other places as well. Thank you for the list. I'm going to print it to carry with me.

Dawn, I need to divide some of my iris late summer, I'll be happy to hand 'em over to you!

I have a gorgeous blue (the beards are blue and the falls are white edged in blue) going right now, and Batik is about ready to bloom, plus the old-fashioned light berry colored one that smells like rootbeer! That really reminds me of my grandmother's garden. Superstition just got thru blooming, but there are many, many more coming on. I bought a ton of rhizomes at Walmart last year.

Also, the variegated iris is very nice in part shade, too, because the foliage always stands out.

I tried some Japanese iris, but they did not work for me. I'll try again another time, and see if I kill it again before giving up. Also tried the Dutch iris, but they never come back the second year for me.

Susan

Astilbe,,pink and a red, Lily of the Valley,,both pink and the white, violets, wild moss, variegated Hosta, variegated creeping ivy and Johnny Jump Ups are what I have in my shade garden thus far. Oh and a few Naked Lady looking plants but they are red and dont get as tall.
Id like to get a couple Bleeding Hearts also to go there!
I cant wait till in a couple years the plants will mature and fill in!,,,,Debbie

Deb - on the bleeding heart - and this is just based on my own experience - I'd go for the potted plants and not the bagged roots. I've tried them 3 times now, and nothing has come up. Finally, Finally - it takes my stubborn cheap brain to succomb to reality - I bought a potted bleeding heart at Walmart ($10) - gallon pot, very, very nice foliage and planted it out. Nice root system, not crowded at all, and it has not suffered any transplant shock at all. I bought one that did not have any blooms on it, for a reason. I wanted the plant to concentrate efforts on developing a good root system. If it does bloom, fine, but if not, I'll get blooms next year.

There are spider lilies (naked ladies), or lycoris, that are red - my neighbor, Ralph, has several.

I understand the feelings about coleus, too. However, they keep coming out with some really gorgeous new hybrids that are very pretty. Mine always seem to get mealy bugs because they are such fast growers, and mealy bugs love that continuous new growth.

Hostas are great additions to the shade garden, and I am a BIG hosta fan. They are almost addictive once you become aware that there are such a vast number of cultivars out there, and they come in very large, large, medium, and small. Ferns are a great addition to for their color and texture. I only have two so far - holly fern, and Japanese Painted Fern. Solomon's Seal is almost a "must have" in Oklahoma. I have the variegated green and white and they really light up a shady corner, and I love the arching stems. There are some nice shrubs for shade, like Virginia sweetspire, hydrangeas (including oakleaf), azaleas, callicarpa (beautyberry), calycanthus (Carolina Allspice). I am just beginning to grow hellebores and find they are very easy and provide early spring color, texture, and dimension to my garden, as do clematis for later bloom (many of them do very well in part shade), campanulas, anemones, colocasia, alocasia, jack-in-the-pulpit, Northern Sea Oats, ornamental ginger, and several herbs, such as salvia officianalis, winter savory, lemon balm, rue, catmint, mints of all kind (confined), tarragon, thyme, oregano, pennyroyal.

The possibilities are endless as you can see. Some things that are touted to be sun plants will do very well in part shade in Oklahoma because of our intense summer sun and heat. I grow echinacea in shade, daylilies, hardy glads, glads, liatris, and adenophora (Lady Bells), morning glories, and lilies.

I love shade gardening, in case you can't tell. For another thing, I like to hand water and I don't have to stand outside in the sun all day to do that. If you have shade, it is likely you have some protection from our drying winds, and maybe even a microclimate in which you can do a little "zone pushing". I am not exactly a xeriscape gardener as you can tell by my choice in plants. However, many of these water or moisture lovers will do well in dry shade once they are established, like hostas for instance. I have never seen a hosta wilt yet that has become an established plant in my garden. I recall the summer of 2000, which was very dry. I didn't water the garden at all that summer, didn't have a heavy mulch on the plants, and most everything in it disappeared from sight. I just knew that I had lost everything, absolutely everything. Well, it ALL came back the following year, because it just went dormant; it didn't die. Plants die most of the time from "operator error". I either overwater, pick the wrong location, pamper them more than they appreciate, don't provide them with enough room to grow, provide them with more room than they need, whatever.....

Shady Susan

LOL!
Yes, hand watering is good for the soul and the soil. It forces one to slow down and see what's growing.

I also enjoy hand watering. Gives you time shall we say to ,,,smell the roses! It relaxes me and lets me unwind.
Speaking of roses I have a beautiful Jacobs Coat in bloom that the coloring is neon this year its so bright! Its gorgeous!
Most of my other roses are budding up. I have 2 Blue Girls and am hoping they bloom this year. I bought them on a closeout at Atwoods for $3 each and looks out of 5 roses 3 have lived,,,the other being a coral color.
I am happy to see things waking up because I always take flowers from my garden to place on my parents graves for Memorial Day. Kind of that personal touch. Last year for the first time I had to buy flowers and I hated it! Everything had bloomed early if I remember right. Sorry to get off topic!,,,,Debbie

Debbie,

I think it is so sweet and touching that you like to take flowers you grew yourself to put on your parents' grave each Memorial Day. It sounds to me like you are a beautiful "living memorial" to the kind of parents they were. I hope your flowers are beautiful for this year, so you won't have to buy the store-bought ones.

Dawn

Shade gardening is new to me since the little dream house I bought last year is mostly in the shade. I am enjoying it, too, and learning so much from all of you. Susan, I like hand watering, too. I just remembered another reason I always plant impatiens, though. My grandmother grew them. She took cuttings and had them all over her window sills during the winter and always sent a few pots of those and other things home with me. She was my gardening mentor, so I have to grow impatiens. They bring back her smile.

OKprairie,

I love that impatiens are a connection with your grandmother! :) I think one of the special things about the plants we grow is that they connect us with the memories of other people and other times in our lives. My grandmother always had cosmos, geraniums and godetia. I always have cosmos and geraniums because they remind me of her, but I haven't mastered the art of growing godetia yet. I'll keep trying though.

I also love hand-watering. It is a great way to force yourself to stand still for a while and observe how everything is doing. I just hate to lose water from sprinklers to evaporation, so I hand water my flowers and shrubs when they need it, but I use soaker hoses on the veggies. I aeldom use sprinklers at all, although I will use them early in the morning on a turf grass area.

Today I won't have to water anything, as it is FINALLY raining in southern Oklahoma!

Dawn

Yea! And a beautiful rain it is. You all can thank me, because I watered everything thoroughly this weekend.

Wanted to let you all know - in case anyone else is looking - that Lowe's finally got Japanese painted fern, and it is in small containers for only $2.50.

OKprairie,

OK, I will thank you for making it rain, even though Heidi took credit for the rain on another post because SHE watered her yard and garden yesterday too! :)

So, thank you both for the lovely rain.

Dawn

My house front has a 30 ft long bed about 5 ft wide. It is full shade that faces north and mushy wet clay soil during the first couple of months of spring. I would appreciate any advice to what shrubs to plant that can withstand the wet soil and shade. The only thing I have found so far that does well is hosta. The west side of my front yard gets lot's of sun. No problems here...

Thx's much....Eddie