First post ever in this group! Need some advice from you green thumbs. (Edit w/ result pic)

[A HERETIC I AM]

Last edited Wed May 15, 2013, 04:36 PM - Edit history (1)

I have the following plot at my front door that I want to add some color to. The photo is looking almost due north, with the house to the right and a tent like carport on the left, so this spot gets VERY little direct sunlight;



The spot is about 2 1/2 feet wide by about 5' long, before it gets under the shrubs at the rear.

What I'm looking for is suggestions for flowers particularly, but saving that (I realize most will need direct sunlight) some colorful plants that will work in this position.

Here's a shot of the walkway and front door, to give you a better idea of the position, again, East is to the right, so this gets shade 90% of the day;



I'm in Jacksonville, FL, so we get a fair amount of rain (It's raining right now) but the other concern I have is the Oak trees overhead do a fair amount of shedding, so whatever I put in there will have to tolerate leaves piling up in the Fall, until I get a chance to clear them. I'm an OTR Car Haul Trucker, so I can't attend to my gardening every day.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Edit;

Well, thanks for all the great ideas. Here's what I have so far;



Calladiums and Coleus.
I'm going to let them go for a while and see how they fill out before I add anything else.

I really appreciate the suggestions.

[northoftheborder]

1. Hostas do well in shade, and come in many varieties and colors (leaves.)

Can't grow them here in Texas, too hot and dry, but in a rainy place they might work. They don't need any trimming, (care) Might freeze back in winter, if it freezes there, but sometimes will come back, if freeze light.

[intheflow]

5. I've never had any problem with hostas not coming back

after a freeze. I live in Colorado, and before that, Massachusetts. They die back every year but reemerge every spring, coming up twice the size they were before.

[LiberalEsto]

2. Impatiens and begonias, for starters

Coleus has colorful leaves and also does well in shade.

For a Florida climate, look into Clivia miniata (Kruger lily). The bulbs are expensive, but the plants are very large and splashy.

I have a shade garden in my Maryland back yard, but doubt that any of the plats would work in your climate.

[locks]

3. Mandevilla

I discovered the mandevilla plant a few years ago. I buy a new one each summer for my patio in Colorado but it can be brought inside in the winter; in Florida it should do well all year. It comes from the mountains of South America, grows in long trailing vines which you can twine around your iron fence. Lovely red or pink flowers which continue all season here and attract hummingbirds. You can get a low smaller one but if you want a vine get a tall one, about 4 or 5 feet. I get mine at Safeway! Go online for more info.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I find it a challenge to get colorful plants in shade.

I now use containers and hanging basket stands in those areas, and I move them in an out of the shade on a rotation occasionally so that they get some sun before they get leggy. Since they can be moved easily, I can give them what they need, which is more sun. The only problem with container gardening is that they often need more watering, so if you don't have rain for a while, they may not survive if you can't water them and it gets really dry.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Thanks for the replies....I think I know which way I'm gonna go....

I love the idea of the colorful leaf type plants, so I'll look and see if Lowes has any Coleus. I'm going to look at Begonias as well, so thanks for that.

Also, since I live in Florida, I am going to look at Caladiums, as they are similar to Coleus and, as it turns out, 98% of the Caladium production in the US comes from Lake Placed, FL!


In the second pic of my OP, you can see part of another bed along the house at the right of the pic that I want to fill in as well, so I have room for variety.

Thanks for the great ideas, and I'll post pics of the bed when I get it settled in.

[libodem]

7. I try to grow

Rhododendrons and hostas in my shady north side.

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. I've actually got a lot more room than I think I had...

so I am going to head that way - re: the flower route as well as the colorful leaf route.

But hell, this shit ain't cheap!

Of course, I, like so many Americans, am lookiing for instant gratification.

$50.00 later at the Lowes, and I have two flats of 8 plants each of Coleus and 4 small potted Calladiums!

I looked at bulbs and they weren't really that much cheaper than the potted plants, considering I want the color NOW!! (lol)

But I do have a lot of room really, and so I am going to do something like your suggestions as well as Begonias.


Thanks!

[libodem]

9. Can't wait to see the progress

Now, that I've figured out how to post pictures I'm going to try to share a picture or two.

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. I look forward to it!

Are you using Photobucket?

Super easy, and if you are circumspect as you load photos on it, it's easy to separate them into albums (plants, Gardens, Food, Belly button lint samples, etc!)


I have not been so circumspect and now have dozens of duplicates in one large album!

But photobucket works great.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. Added a pic to the OP of what I bought and have in. n/t

[RILib]

12. lilies of the valley

spread out, as they will fill in.

[BlueToTheBone]

13. ferns would do well

here are a couple of lists for you.
http://www.naturehills.com/perennials/full-shade-perennials

Astibiles are lovely and I can never get them to grow because of the intense shade they need.

http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/full-part-shade-perennials.html?refine.current=&refine.refinements=price+new_product+blooms+color+sunshine_shade+height_code+moist+fragrance+pot_size+zone+options&reset=&pagenumber=&itemsperpage=1000&refine.blooms=&refine.color=&refine.sunshine_shade=&refine.height_code=&refine.moist=&refine.fragrance=&refine.zone=&refine.options=