What kind of foundation shrubs (at least 5 ft high) that can take shade should we plant on the northwest front of our house? The front yard doesn't fully get sun until around 1-2 pm when the sun comes fully over the house, and there is an 18" overhang as well,. There are tall cedars along one side of the yard and a tall maple that block some of the hot afternoon sun (Zone 7), and I did plant azaleas last year which appear to be doing well on the other side of the front entrance.

Should we stick with azaleas, which I love? I also want to plant hostas along the front of the planting area (which is about 30 ft long and 6 ft wide. We had to remove awful looking hollies, about 50+ yrs old, which had been utterly neglected--it even looks better there now since we tilled it and put pine bark down, so better nothing is better than those overgrown beasts which had to be pulled out with a come-along.

Thanks for your help.

Maybe some Camellias?

As an advocate of natives, my first approach is to check out your local native plant society web page. Here's one that might be helpful:

http://ncwildflower.org/native...

Welcome to this plant site, where you will find useful information and friendly folks! Deb from the Pacific NW.

DaisyI said:Maybe some Camellias?

Thank you. I'll probably stick with a native azalea (rhododendron).