Back on the shady side I see that other than the variegated foliage of the red twig dogwood, most of the leaves I have chosen are a fairly dark green, so I add a small drift of primroses with their yellow-green foliage to brighten things up. I plan a carpet of sweet woodruff to fill in the bare spots, .both because it spreads well and tolerates foot traffic and because it looks so wonderful covered in starry white blooms in late spring.
Finally, I add a ruffle - or rather two drifts of 'Amethyst Ruffle' heuchera on both sides of the garden at the sidewalk's edge. In my own garden I noticed that the variegated heuchera were putting on the best color show right now - so these answer both my neighbor's desire for purple foliage and my own requirement for something that would stay attractive all winter.
The shady side of the garden will put on a good color show in spring; the side that goes from shade to sunny will have color throughout the summer. Spring will be a season of mostly pinks and whites (we could tuck white daffodils throughout the area for an added show) while summer becomes a symphony of purples and golds as the shade garden subsides into shades of restful green. So there should be something of interest here in all four seasons.
The thing to remember with this, as with all garden plans is that while I have shown it here with the plants fully developed, in reality the first few years many of these plants will be quite small, and there will be lots of bare dirt showing. This is where annuals come in handy. I will be using white Nicotiana alata on the shady side, because it not only glows in the moonlight but sends forth a wonderful evening fragrance. A few of these will also be planted amid the rhododendrons and ferns near the house. Fast spreading annuals like white sweet alyssum can carpet a lot of bare area with tiny white flowers and honey-scented flowers, while annual baby's breath can give an ethereal touch to the area.
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