For quick, easy color, impatiens are hard to beat. They come in just about any color, and there are different sizes, so you can get little 8" ones or 1-2', 3-4', 4-8'... they're really versatile. Rhododendrons are also pretty showy. Cinerarias (they look like colorful daisies) are good in shade, but I think they're usually an annual, so you'd need to replace them. If you want some larger things, camellias are easy and have about a billion diffent types, and hydrangeas can be very pretty (though color will depend on your soil pH).
If I had more shade, I'd probably get a fuschia... they have such pretty, elegant flowers, and have always been a favorite of mine. I LOVE hostas... their flowers aren't a big deal IMO, but the variegated varieties (green/white or dark green/lime green) are very striking on their own. And lilies (daylilies, calla lilies, etc) are just gorgeous.
I love columbine and bleeding hearts, but both of them seem to be beyond my ability to grow... we might just be too hot here for them, or they might be delicate, fussy plants.
Hope that helps! Not really sure what your climate is like there... you might want to see if the neighbors are growing anything you love, or ask at a nursery... they might be able to give you more detailed information about which things are almost impossible to kill vs. which are hard to grow in your area.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-04-16 09:24 pm (UTC)For quick, easy color, impatiens are hard to beat. They come in just about any color, and there are different sizes, so you can get little 8" ones or 1-2', 3-4', 4-8'... they're really versatile. Rhododendrons are also pretty showy. Cinerarias (they look like colorful daisies) are good in shade, but I think they're usually an annual, so you'd need to replace them. If you want some larger things, camellias are easy and have about a billion diffent types, and hydrangeas can be very pretty (though color will depend on your soil pH).
If I had more shade, I'd probably get a fuschia... they have such pretty, elegant flowers, and have always been a favorite of mine. I LOVE hostas... their flowers aren't a big deal IMO, but the variegated varieties (green/white or dark green/lime green) are very striking on their own. And lilies (daylilies, calla lilies, etc) are just gorgeous.
I love columbine and bleeding hearts, but both of them seem to be beyond my ability to grow... we might just be too hot here for them, or they might be delicate, fussy plants.
Hope that helps! Not really sure what your climate is like there... you might want to see if the neighbors are growing anything you love, or ask at a nursery... they might be able to give you more detailed information about which things are almost impossible to kill vs. which are hard to grow in your area.