Shade Gardening: shady problem area, 0 by sundry

sundry wrote:
This area has been a thorn in my side for quite some time. I'd love to hear any ideas about what to do with it...

It's the corner of the back yard, the West South West corner. It's shaded by a live oak (evergreen), which you can see in the pic. Also, on the opposite property line there are two oaks (not evergreen) which shade it in the AM. Plus, the neighbor's house shades it in the late afternoon. And the fence doesn't help. BTW, the small section of fence, from the neighbor's fence to the house, is going to be moving.

In this first picture, no flash was used and it's 3:00 in the afternoon. This is really how much sun it gets all day, except for a short time in the early AM when the sun passes below the branches of the trees on the opposite property line. It gets a bit more morning sun after October and before mid March (when those trees are bare).

The area will hold water after a heavy rain (I'm in south Louisiana, it rains a lot) so hostas won't survive in the ground. On the other hand, the roots of the Live Oak hog the available moisture when it's dry. *sigh*

The vine on the fence and in the tree is the neighbor's confederate jasmine. It's a bit sunnier on their side of the fence ....

I've planted Elephant Ears, and they seem to be doing well. EE's are invasive here, so I figured they would survive. I plan to put hostas in pots in front of the EE's, and caladiums in front of that.

But it's so dark and dreary! I don't think even caladiums will brighten it up much!

BTW, I can't till the area due to the Oak roots, or build up the area without risking the Live Oak.

to be continued ...
Cheri'