Shade Bed

First, I should say that this is a mix of pictures: some taken 3 weeks ago (before frost), and the more colorful foliage from 1 week ago.

 

Red-twig dogwood, looking lovely this fall.

I love the variegated colors of the leaves.

Such a good-looking shrub.

 

On the left, columbine, added from VW Gardens.

Actually, all the additions to this bed were gifts from her.

Thanks, again friend!

 

 Neither of my dicentras came back this year.

Of the 3 ferns I had planted, only 1 has survived.

So I added another columbine to the right of the pink heuchera.

Also, this little hosta replacing one of the ferns.

 

These 2 hostas were already here from last year, as was 1 tiarella, and the brunnera, hanging on.

I added the 2 purple heucheras, plus 1 lady's mantle.

I even managed to cut back the grass threatening to overtake the bed.

This has been my most neglected flowerbed this year.

I tried to get back to water it during the hottest parts of the summer, but for the most part, it just chugged along on its own steam...or not, in the case of the ferns.

I'm excited about the added color from the heucheras.

Also, that I know they are tough and should survive.

 

I had forgotten how the hostas change colors in the fall.

That banana yellow next to the heuchera is so pretty!

I can see them from my kitchen window, and it's such a bright little spot back there in the shade.

These 2 aren't quite as yellow, but still set off the other foliage quite nicely.

 

Maybe next year I will spend a little more time back here.

There is hope, since the front terraces are all filled in now.

New Shaded Flowerbed

So this is along the wall behind the shed.

I'm excited to have a little bit of beauty back here--if I can keep these plants alive through the hot part of summer this year.

The bed isn't completely finished yet.

There's about 8 more feet or so to the left of the big hosta on the left, including space for one bigger bush than I need to pick out still.

What we've got so far.

L-R:

Hosta 'Captain Kirk', 24" x 36", pale lavender flowers

Tiarella 'Mystic Mist' (variegated foam flower), pink fall color, 7" x 16"

Heuchera 'Georgia Peach' (Alum root), bred for heat & humidity tolerance, 14"x24"

L-R:

(the Heuchera again)

Dicentra 'King of Hearts' (bleeding heart), 15"x24", pink flowers

Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern), 36"x48"

L-R:

another Tiarella, not sure variety

Matteuccia struthipoteris 'Ostrich' (ostrich fern), 36-48"x30", fiddleheads edible

Hosta 'Francee', 22"x18" (there are 2, one behind the other)

Dicentra formosa 'Aurora', (bleeding heart) 15"x15", white flowers, northwest native

Behind the Dicentra, not pictured because I hadn't planted it yet:

 Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' (Silver Siberian bugloss), blue flowers, 14"x24"

I also planted on the slope, just below the wild geraniums 2 more hostas, both 'Golden Prayers' variety, supposed to grow 12"x24".

I finally got the Brunnera and the last 2 hostas planted today, and got the bed mulched and watered as well. If you look back in the top picture, I put in a stepping stone in the middle of the bed, to allow easy access to the slope above, as I hope to continue removing weed grass and filling in with better plants and bulbs.

Since the wall went in Diamond has not been trampling the plants there as much. Hooray!