A shady-day scenario some plants will love

Northwest gardeners trying to add color into shady corners know the pattern: New plants become pale green, refuse to bloom and lean so far toward the light that they fall over. But there are plants that can thrive in less than five hours of light a day, whether they're nested under a leafy tree or next to a dense Douglas fir trunk.

Hydrangeas, with their big blowsy flowers called "mopheads," are great for partially shady spots that can be easily watered. You can find spectacular mopheads in the floral sections of grocery or building-supply stores. These short plants may have four or five brilliant-blue flowering heads. Since they're forced to produce flowers, they won't bloom again, but two or three can dazzle a dark corner for the summer. Add some impatiens and coleus for a vivid effect.

For longer-lasting beauty that becomes a permanent shrub, choose a hydrangea at your favorite nursery. Unlike florist hydrangeas, these are perfectly hardy here. You'll see Hydrangea macrophylla in mophead and lacecap, a variety with a looser cluster of blossoms.

If your shady corner has room for a large plant, look for the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), which can grow up to 6 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter. Flowers in white look striking, but many people appreciate this one primarily for its brilliant fall-leaf color.

Dry shade offers more challenges for color-lovers, since plants that can manage summer drought rarely have the blooms of those adapted to moist areas. Look for shrubs with intriguing texture like aucuba, sarcococca and nandina. Aucuba's bright-yellow variegated leaves will brighten a dark corner. The native sword fern, Polystichum munitum, endures dry times with stalwart growth. Keep all these watered their first two summers.

Come late summer, when shade's a blessing, all these plants will add to your garden pleasure.

Garden expert Mary Robson, retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension, appears regularly in Practical Gardener and in our Saturday home section, digs. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.