Shade plant suggestions

[SACole]

The way my house is build I have a small area that gets ZERO sunlight. It stays damp and I would like to make it look much better. I had thought about just sticking rocks there but I have hope in plants. I have done a good bit of research but haven't really found anything I'm impressed with.

My biggest concern is that I live right on a lake and border woods so I want to be careful about making a home for snakes.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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[andy10917]

Got a picture of the area?

[SACole]

ImageUploadedByYard Help1429881210.565325.jpg

this is from the master bedroom looking out

ImageUploadedByYard Help1429881276.920399.jpg

From the yard.

ImageUploadedByYard Help1429881367.237344.jpg

closer from the yard.

The three green plants are astilbes I just planted. Don't know if they will survive or not.


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[virginiagal]

I would suggest small shrubs or ferns. I have some Japanese plum yews which are evergreen and have a prostate growth habit so they generally get a little bit wider rather than higher. They are for zones 6-9. Up against the house you don't want huge shrubs. You could do azaleas or camellias but you'll have to prune after a few years. Here's an article on shade plants for Mississippi. The Japenese fatsia looks interesting. I would suggest a mass of the same thing, whatever you decide, rather than a mixture of lots of different things.
http://msucares.com/lawn/garden/msgarde ... 30519.html

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[Gags]

extending the downspout out further from the house may help the dampness issue - if there's no sunlight, it's probably never drying out.

[OscarKane]

Shade gardening is different than gardening in the sun. You need to have richer soil so that the plants have all the nutrients they need.