Shade Gardening: Shrubs and Trees for Damp Shade, 0 by Brent_In_NoVa

Brent_In_NoVa wrote:
The north side of my house is shady and the ground stays soggy much of the time. There is really no reason for me to struggle growing grass there. I have been thinking about switching over to a ground cover and adding some bushes and plants. The ideal plants would tolerate full shade and damp soil and also help to suck up water. A tree along the side of the house might be nice and once grown might help with the water as well.

I have found a couple ground covers that might work and I should not have too much problem with finding some perennials. What about shrubs or trees? Seems like a lot of trees like sun. Would some types of Hydrangeas do well in this environment?

Here is a picture of the area. There are two (boxwood?) bushes there. One is doing okay and the other looks rather sad. They have not grown much in the last four years. I am picturing a path up to the gate, some bushes along the house, some perennials along the fence, and the rest covered with ground cover.

- Brent