jbalentyne The plants in front are a cultivar of Coral Bells and typically struggle in shady areas due to their lack of chlorophyll to produce ample sugars for adequate growth, hence there leaf color not being green... Best choices for shady areas are typically left to Hostas, Astilbees, Toad Lily, Ferns, some shade tolerant grasses, and groundcovers.

Arcadia Gardens, LLC The comment above is only partially correct- the Dragon's Blood Sedum is not the best choices for shade gardens, but the Heuchera Plum Pudding does just fine in a partial shade location. Deep shade will cause slower growth, however. This planting is a mixed sun/shade with the very edge being mostly sunny. A good shade garden substitute for the Heuchera would be Ligularia Desdemona or Orthello, although they get quite a bit taller. Japanese Painted Fern is also a nice silvery/burgandy option. I would suggest Astilbe Sprite or annual Impatiens as nice choices to get the strong pink color in the shade.