The Part-Shade Cottage Corner

A soft, romantic 8×5 ft corner for spots with morning sun and afternoon shade. Hydrangea and Indian pink open the season, columbine and woodland phlox carry spring, and fall anemone lights up the shade when everything else fades.

The plants

• 2×

  Smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens 'Incrediball'

  Fresh white in May–June, then ages to lime green and dries tan for winter. 'Incrediball' holds its heads up in our storms; 'FlowerFull' does too, and native 'Haas Halo' is the elegant lacecap if you can track it down.

  4 ft
• 3×

  Fall anemone Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'

  Carries the back half of the season - clean white flowers from late August into October, exactly when the shade beds go quiet. White wood aster (Eurybia divaricata) is the native swap if you'd rather.

  3 ft
• 5×

  Indian pink Spigelia marilandica

  Red-and-yellow tubes in May–June that hummingbirds mob. Tough native that shrugs off our heat - the plant I reach for instead of thirsty astilbe.

  20 in
• 3×

  Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis

  First nectar of the season, timed for returning hummingbirds.

  2 ft
• 5×

  Heuchera Heuchera 'Caramel'

  Here for the foliage that holds the front edge all year. 'Caramel' glows amber; swap a chartreuse ('Citronelle') or burgundy ('Obsidian') to match your palette.

  12 in
• 5×

  Woodland phlox Phlox divaricata

  A drift of soft blue in April that quietly disappears by summer.

  12 in