Need some ideas for shady foundation plants

[JulieM]

New to this forum. So very glad to have found it!!

I need help desperately!
I want to spruce up the shady area between mine and my neighbours house. Right now it is a pathetic patchy wannabe grassy area with a lot of bare dry soil. I have about 3.5 ft to play with.
I'm thinking grasses, hosta, maybe a hydrangea vine, but also love the idea of pure groundcover to eliminate all the turf.
I'm in Zone 5, S. Ontario.

If anyone has pics of their between the house garden, I would appreciate it if you would share with me.
Thanks.

[B_BQ]

Sweet Woodruff and Pachysandra are great ground covers, but unfortunately you can't really walk on it! There are lots of spreading thymes too; Bugleweed, (Ajuga) makes a nice carpet of blue in the spring!
~BBQ

[Countryboy]

The lowest maintenance ground cover u can put in is grass. If it's too shady even for shade grass then u might grow Forget-me-nots, Trillium, Trout Lily, Periwinkle, Ferns, and possibly some Daffs, Hyacinth, Bleeding Heart, or Lily of the Valley *at the ends of the 'alley'*. The Periwinkle would spread out to cover all the soil and the rest serve to break it up a bit.

These are mostly 'woods' plants. Periwinkle likes lots of leaf litter. They and the rest prefer a really rich soil.

Have fun . . . they're all easy to raise.

[ViridianFields]

I disagree that grass is the lowest maintenance ground cover out there, unless you are growing it meadow style. If you intend to grow Hostas and other woodland plants, be aware that they need moist soil and will not take drought well at all... if the spot is dry and you don't intend to water, avoid doing this because it will look worse than the grass.

I can't think offhand of any plants that would do well in dry shade either, a better option may be to just renew the lawn (specially if the space has any traffic) and water occasionally.

[Countryboy]

If u don't like grass as a low maintenance groundcover u might want to take up that arguement with Ed Lawrence . . . the master gardener on CBC Radio's show Ontario Today. I'm quoting him. Mowing does not qualify as a lot of maintenance.