If seeing is believing, you better believe a TON of manual labor went into making this magic. A Connecticut partial-shade flower garden isn’t for the dreamers, of which I am solidly one. It’s for gardeners with their boots set in reality.

I was ready, though. I’d watched dozens and dozens of Monty Don episodes, his calm British voice spurring amateur gardeners to greatness. I could envision it.

Roots and rocks were painstakingly removed. Soil was tested and amended. My mother detached the grass, making it happier than ever. Hundreds of dollars in plants were purchased … many FAILED. See all that mulch? Four years on (2023), I am *still* learning what will work over here in the ‘side garden’, on the southern side of the property. That’s right. I even have the advantage of sunny, southern exposure, but it’s no match for the towering trees on the eastern and western sides. We are Hardiness Zone 6b.

What worked in this Connecticut partial-shade flower garden:

Astilbes (Swoon. In the ‘After’ pic above)
Dahlias
Catmint (lives, doesn’t thrive)
Foxgloves
Bleeding hearts
Hosta (variegated, volunteer)
Garlic chives
Salvia (lives, doesn’t thrive)
Solomon’s seal (lives, doesn’t thrive)
Himalayan maidenhair fern (though it suffers before the trees leaf out)
Summer snowflake

What failed:

Lavender Phenomenal
Ranunculus (granted, a big ask .. told you, I’m a dreamer)
Poppies (all the kinds, sadly… even Icelandic)
Hosta (Blue Mouse Ears and Blueberry muffin, due to deer)
Black mondo grass
Baptisia solar flare
Japanese plum yew (survived, but didn’t flourish; moved it)
Cyclamen

As for the failures, the lavender, ranunculus, poppies and Japanese plum yew suffered due to lack of sunshine. The others could be a mix of poor specimen and my tendency not to fertilize. Like I said, though, I amended the soil at the outset … so who knows!

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Go to Yard, Stage 2: Garbage Can Gravel Pad (made by a girl)

Or, go to the whole house Before & After Picture Index