I have an area that I cleared last year to make way for a new shade garden. I need to add some topsoil and compost to make it ready to plant, but otherwise it's good to go. Now I just need to decide what to plant there. I need help! Here are some considerations:
- This garden will face the street--I want to make it stand out!
- The area is in shade, but the shade varies because of the overhang and angle of the sun. The front edge of the border gets sun from sunrise until about 1 p.m. The back of the border and the far right side (under an overhang) gets only a few hours of morning sun.
- All of our utility lines run underneath this area, so I want to avoid anything with seriously deep roots.
- This is dry shade, but it's close enough to a hose. I don't want to water constantly so I want to avoid really moisture-loving plants, but I don't need something specifically for dry conditions, either.
- This is an east by slightly northeast exposure. As a rule it doesn't get a ton of wind. That said, it doesn't get a lot of winter snow-cover, either, so plant hardiness will be a factor here.
- The area is 23' long by 5' deep. I will likely edge it with rocks.
- I'm fine with some really striking foliage plants, but I'd like some pops of color, too. Because of the color of our house I was thinking that reds might stand out well. (Lobelia, maybe?)
I'm wide open for ideas! I'd like to plant this garden within the next couple of weeks so it's time to formulate some sort of plan. :)
