Camellias would be perfect. Just be sure to get the kinds that are hardy in your area. Once established, they will do well on rainfall alone, except in the very dryest years.
If the soil doesn't get bone dry, alot of hydrangeas would do well. Mine surprise me every year in how well they do in my woodland gardens where they compete with big trees.
I don't know what your hardiness zone is, but the new Endless Summer and Blushing Bride hydrangeas bloom on new wood, so as long as they come back from the root each spring, they will bloom. I would highly recommend a good leafy mulch around them. And don't forget Nandina Domestica. It's a true survivor, as long as it has halfway decent drainage.

I'm always surprised at how well foxglove does in my woodsy area where the soil is very dry - under the dripline of an old maple. Also aconitum - I moved some there a couple of years ago because it was one of the really tall varieties and didn't fit it the bed where I'd originally planted it. It seems really happy in the dry shade. Ditch lillies ("native" orange day lillies) also do well there.

Of course if you don't really want to stick with true cottage garden plants, this would be an ideal spot for hellebores - they are certainly bushy, though not 3' tall. The best thing about planting them along a foundation is that you'll see them when they bloom in winter. I've got them all over my yard and it takes some determination to keep track of them during the cold months if they're off the beaten path. I think my oldest ones, which are planted in my woodsy area, far from the house, had been blooming for at least 5 years before I realized they were more than foliage plants; I just hadn't been out in that corner of the yard in the winter. They take a wide range of exposures from full sun to deep shade, and require very little water once established.

I found my Blushing Bride required quite a bit of water at least this first year.

thanks all,

I have been contemplating Hydrangas, the oak leaf varieties do well here in KY. and daylillies grow like gangbusters around here, but im just not a daylily fan. Aconitum has done well in the front garden, so far, so may just try that out (had not thought about it for here, but it has the height i like)

Im also thinking of throwing in some larger forms of hardy geranium - that along with the monkshood may fit the bill, and I love the blue flowers against the pale green of the house.

keep the suggestions and successes coming - all appreciated - oh, diggingthedirt, im saving my helbores for near the pond, love them shining around the frozen water, and I can see that part of the yard from the warmth of any window facing the back of the house.

If you don't want to water often, skip the hydrangeas. No matter the type, they're water hogs, even the oak leafs - they wilt something awful when it's dry, and it doesn't take much for them to dry out, what with those HUGE leaves (they are sensitive about good drainage, though, which is perhaps why folks seem to think they like drier soil, which is incorrect).

For something a little different try Chasmanthium (wild oat grass) - does well in drier soil once established and gives a nice visual effect.

Martagon lily: can be tricky - in my garden, it pops up in unexpected places, often in the middle of a shrub, while refusing to grow where I put it. Not very long-blooming, but a big clump in full bloom looks amazing. Prefers partial shade to sun.
Mint, lily of the valley, corydalis - all invasive.
Campanulas of all kinds.

Baptisia definitely would need full sun to stay upright, so some kind of support would be needed. Though the dry soil would suit it fine.
I have once blooming roses in the same conditions and they do extremely well. The early season rains are sufficient to induce a wonderful bloom, and then they handle summer drought extremely well.They would fall into your garden scheme quite well and the scent of many of them is fantastic. Plus many of the old once bloomers are very disease resistant. Alba type roses in particular bloom exceptionally well in part shade.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Alba info page w/photo links

Thanks Remy

I have a great space along one wall of the garage that I grow bourbon roses in (it gets southern full sun all day. the solid fence on 3 sides and the garage wall increase the temp in that area by about 15-20 degrees above the rest of the garden and the roses will have to share that space with my tomatoes this summer)

I love antique roses (and usually read the forum on antique roses on garden web) but never really thought of them for this shady area - I may just throw in a few this year - along with some of the other suggestions - and see what comes up.

Thanks

What about one of the dwarf fothergillas such as 'Mt. Airy'. Mine do just fine in a non-irrigated garden bed. In addition, the plants have several seasons of interest (spring flowers and stunning late fall color). Interplant w/ Columbines and Phlox divaricata and you have an instant native plant combo.

Old House,
Lol, had no idea you knew about antique roses! I've grown tomatoes in the flower border before. It worked out pretty good.
Short plants that I have in the very dry shady area are(that I can think of at the moment)
Phlox stolenifera- slow spreading in dry shade
Virginia Bluebells-dormant in summer
Campanula Poscharskyana(Siberian Bellflower)
Veronica 'Georgia Blue'- on the sunnier edge of area
Golden Oregano
Daffodils
Cyclamen-dormant in summer
Hellebore

Remy

salvia koyame for fall interest. its got interesting green leaves all summer, but the soft yellow blooms come out in the fall.

Grasses I have growing in dry semi-shade are:
luzula nivea-snowy woodrush, deschampsia cespitosa-tufted hair grass & sesleria autemnalis-autumn moor grass. They are low growers and won't reach 3 feet but would be nice fillers and edgers.

Plant evergreen azalea there, water the first year and forget about maintanance later. Prune every 3-4 years to desired size.

Hmmm. That is sort of a tough spot. I wonder if a coppiced smoke bush might be happy, although with the purple ones, the color will be best early in the season, before the cottonwood starts throwing serious shade. Why not more peonies? Or a tree peony? Tree peonies like partial shade, and the herbaceous ones are ok in shade--they just bloom less. I used to have most of my garden in dry shade. Most of the height ended up coming from shrubs, not perennials. Of the perennials that were cottage-garden like and tallish, dicentra spectabilis fit the bill (though you may not like the summer die-back). Some dianthus barbatus were pretty tall, but not three feet. Monarda might be nice, but it can't be too, too dry. I've found that some verbascum can bloom well even in pretty deep shade. I like salvia koyame too, but mine sort of sprawls and doesn't get all that tall. Some of the thalictrums might be nice for you. And some columbine get pretty tall, at least for a while. The tall phlox bloom ok in shade too. When I think back to my shadier yard, and I think the asiatic lilies were perhaps the highlight of summer. They don't like me nearly as much now that we live in a sunnier yard. And what about a honkin' big hosta? Sum and Substance gets enormous!