favorite shade perrineals

We purchased a house last year. I didn't plant anything last year so I could wait and see what came up and how much shade vs sun we had. I need plants that are mostly shade tolerant. This area gets about an hour of indirect sun. I have hostas and some small shrubs. I even have a small knock out rose that is beginning to bloom. I still need a tall flower to bloom all summer and a very short flower for the front of the bed. I can't seem to find anything I like. I live in Oklahoma which is zone 7. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
Cindy

Check these out...

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/results_pics.html
http://www.gardencrossings.com/index.cfm

Astilbes do well in shade.ferns, I ve had good luck with Oriental lillys in partial shade.Creeping phlox in partial shade.Blue day flowers.False Jacobs ladders and Dwarf iris.I plant onions among my hostas to repel snails and moles.
Hope this helps.
Vickie

i also just moved into a very shady yard. i'm hoping to see what comes up, as this house had been in his family since 1937 and it's rumored there's some peonies out in the front somewhere... it's a waiting game. but anyway i'm not sure you have enough sun for Hydrangea, but those are my favorite! martha stewart had a great piece on shade gardens in her last magazine. i love jack in the pulpits and hucheras, too. my favorite way to reference so far has been white flower farm's catalogue, they have lots of shady plants, and great pics, so i know what to look for when i'm out (cause they're a lil pricey for me)

They are pricey for many of us! Their shipping charges are also out of sight.

Cypripedium! it's beautiful, can't believe i forgot that one, and helleborus!

epimediums and tiarellas...

Ginger, purple oxalis, heucherella, euphorbias, some sedums, coleus, golden moneywort/creeping Jenny.

Lamium is nice too and comes in many different colors.... I have a lemon lamium that I just love.

Bleeding hearts are one of my fav for shade, but you lose the whole plant (foliage and all when it heats up), but I just cover over it with annuals or another perennial that will fill in. Forget-Me-Nots would be great would be great and are very low, bloom all season.

Your best bet is probably to go to your local nursery and look around and talk to the workers there (not Lowe's, or a big box store, but a smaller type place). They are usually very helpful and can give you suggestions.

You may want to fill in with colorful perennials that will give you texture and use some annuals for all year blooms. Sometimes that works better and is just easier.

some like will fill out over the years too, so unless you're a big fan of digging them up i'd fill the spaces with annuals till the garden is established anyway. good luck and keep us updated! i love bleeding hearts but i'm sad to hear they don't last long. i'll have to do a little replanning for my own garden now.

Hydrangeas will do fine in full shade. i have a number of them planted under a live oak tree.

Have you considered Rodgersia for tall also Thalictrums, nice.... And my fav is lily of the valley, polemoniums, geraniums ( a few bloom all summer). I don't have much shade yet, in the process of making (lol, planting trees this spring). Oh ya, almost forgot, fillependulas are wonderful and tall. Good Luck, Kathy.

Heucheras are not just a shade plant. Aside from the blooms, the ornamental foliage is outstanding and lasts and lasts. There are very few perennials that will give a show spring through fall.

If you want something that is in bloom all season, you will probably want to supplement with flowering annuals.

I like to make purchases from our local garden center because they are the most reliable with plants that grow in my area. I also check to see what they have planted on their own grounds and under what circumstances, i.e., special varieties that do especially well in your part of the state or have been developed just for your conditions.

Cathy, I agree.I just discovered Heucheras last year and fell in love with them. I have a lot of shade and they go well with my hostas and equally well with my annuals. And they are hardy here in Z6.
Vickie

I was going to say hardy Geraniums also, but couldn't remember if they were for shade or needed more sun. They bloom ALL year and are spectacular! Can also be shaped to size so they won't overgrow your space. Great plants. Just talked me into one.

I was just out in my yard yesterday and saw some Vinca Major (Periwinkle) growing in some deep shade and thought I'd recommend that. Don't know if anyone else mentioned it. It's kind of a ground cover/vine.

Another great ground cover for shade is Ajuga (Bugleweed). It grows so easily and will form a mat that spreads. Very easy to start with a small pot and in 2-3 yrs time have more than enough to share with friends...or pull up a piece and begin your own starts in new areas. Comes in beautiful colors too. Can be walked on gently, but can't handle lots of foot traffic.

Will be thinking and posting as I come up with new things. I have mostly shade at the new place I'm at here, so I feel your "pain"...this idea is new to me too, I'm used to Petunias and Delphiniums and those scorching, lol. I have moss for grass in some places...it's a whole new world here.

Had anybody mentioned hosta?

i have so much moss in my yard i've taken to making kokedama, little self contained moss ball planters.