ssgardener said:The shadiest part of my garden is right by the front door. It faces northeast but barely gets even morning sun due to my neighbor's trees and other structures. I would love something bright and colorful to cheer up the front entrance.
Do you have any recommendations for a container combination? I tried begonias, coleus, and impatiens this year, which all did really well, but New Zealand impatiens just kind of fizzled out after a few weeks. And the beautiful fuchsia couldn't handle the DC heat and eventually got root rot 
Because the area is so dark and the background is dark red brick, anything that's in the red/brown family (like red coleus) would get lost. I'm looking for bright, light colors and heavy blooms.
Also, I'm going to try wintersowing for the first time this year. Any shade plants I should try wintersowing?
I like Fushia 'Gartenmeister' it's an upright fushia that is not the same as the ones used for hanging baskets (does great in my heat and humidity) and an Elephant ear Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' for the thriller with an orange or salmon colored new guinea impatience for the filler surounded by sedum 'ogon', and creeping jenny for the spiller. The bright orange/salmon with the chartreuse makes a wow statement from the street.
About EE's: Plant in mid-Spring when night temperatures are consistently above 50-55 degrees. Ears that favor aquatic conditions will also grow well in fertile, moist soil, as do all Alocasia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma. If you choose to pot your elephant ear, a large container is a good choice, a minimum of 18 inches across and just as deep. I’ve yet to meet an elephant ear that didn’t grow well in containers. I prefer a bark-based potting mix, and use Fafard Professional Mix, or Fafard # 51 or #52.
I recommend being heavy- handed with the compost, or well-rotted manure, since ears are heavy feeders and respond with fast and voluptuous growth when the summer heat kicks in. I also incorporate time-release fertilizer into the soil or potting soil such as osmocote, and apply a well-balanced liquid fertilizer like miracle grow, at half the recommended strength, once a week. This applies to in-ground and container plantings.
