How much water will this area get? Sprinkler, or would you need to hand water? I think Turk's cap would be great in this area, but mine only blooms well when it gets watered occasionally. Also, consider cast iron plant.... mine loves the shade and is an evergreen.
Oh, and you are welcome......however, you may be not be singing my praises when it start to reseed on you.

Maybe some lenten rose, acuba, or any kind of fern would add life to this area. :)

Salvias, bulbine, pyttosporum, Turk's cap, ruellia, obedient plant, nandina, columbine, dianella, shrimp plant come to my mind when I think about that space. Maybe you could add some containers with no drainage so you could grow canna lily or colocasia?

Omar

I think I would move the iris out to the sun somewhere. They bloom better in full sun. Have seen hostas do well under trees. And if you weren't going to plant shade flowers all over that area, St. Augustine grass should grow well in shade. Looks like they had Burmuda grass in there. Also a ground cover like vinca minor would grow there.

what about salvia garantica (sp?) I have black & Blue as well as Argentine skies in these conditions and they are pretty happy. They would like more sun, but the foliage is interesting and hummers like them. I have mine in front of red Turks Cap. If you have patches of Sun make the most of them. I have sun areas in front of the salvias. They will reach out into these zones and I don't mind that at all. In the sunny spots I have Greggs Blue Mist...it travels. And Yellow Lollipops. Don't forget potato vine. The celery green one looks great near concrete and in front of the salvias.

Maybe a spot for 4-0'clocks? Maybe enough sun for a few pentas and sun coleus that still looks pretty in the shade?
Don't forget polka dot plant and Mona Lavendar and Gerber Daisies.

Last summer through fall I had these 3 together because, well, I had some. I was very happy with the red daisies next to polka dot plant and backed by Mona L and some Plum huchera. Don't sound as pretty as it looked. The periodic red daisies were wecome surprises.

WOW, this is all sounding great!! Have I mentioned how happy I am to be back in the land of gardening? :)
Loving the ideas!!
Carrie, I am so very blessed to have a sprinkler system at this house, so no hand watering in this area.
Yup Texazgal, I didn't think the whole "under the tree" thing very well with the irises. They were free and I was clueless when I got them where I wanted them to go, so, on a whim, they went there. I think the ones of the west side of the tree will get enough light, but I do need to move the others.
Salvias are one of my favorites, so definitely going to find room for those.
What's the story on catmint? ( for the more sunny areas)..is it as invasive as other mints? I love them, but am really trying to avoid high maintenance invasives this time. Learned my lesson at the last house.

Hi Ladybugfruit! You've gotten lots of good ideas for plants. Now how to place them in the area is the big decision. As for myself I looked at a lot of pictures in magazines and books, plus photos on the internet. After it all settled in the ideas would come on how I wanted to design the plantings. Of course, the fun is enhancing the design with new plants or new paths, or who know what else, from year to year. As they say a garden is never finished.

I put the link to the Austin blog "Digging" on another thread so you may have seen it already. Here it is again, but when you scroll down to almost half way on the page linked below it shows a front yard that was somewhat like your picture except it is a wider area and has more trees. Then it shows how it was planted by the homeowner. They took out all the grass and ground cover put in meandering stepping stones and low maintenance plants. You may want a totally different style, but it's just one of many landscaping photos. I especially enjoy this bloggers many photos of home garden tours.

You may have seen a TV show called "Curb Appeal". You can watch many of their episodes online at:

http://www.hgtv.com/curb-appeal/show/index.html

Happy gardening! Keep us posted on how it's going.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll half way down for one front yard design with trees that also gets afternoon western sun.

Salvia regla will grow in shade and western sun if there is good drainage. Salvia gregiis, alstroemeria, lirope, Salvia madrensis, salvia bicolor,aloe grandidentada, Salvia coccinea, all the plants mentioned above.

A remodel down the street used professional landscaper.

They have quite a bit of shade. I was surprised they put purple pixie loropetalum in what at least looks like deep shade, then built a bed under existing trees that is an oval but not perfect shape with camelias and ornamental grasses ... yes in the same bed. I'm assuming they know where the sun spots are!

Then, they topped it with black mulch and put in some bright pansies for winter color. There is black in their brick and it sure makes the various greens stand out.

can't wait to see what you come up with!
c

Hey, Cynthia, I forgot about Mexican feather grass.....I have some doing "okay" in the shade. It does reseed though.

That sounds pretty cynthia...I wonder how it's gonna do? I didn't think camelias did well under trees ...but I like the design idea, especially with the grass.
I will keep ya'll posted with the design plan!!

The Grow Green people have made some 'design templates' that show how some plants look together. You might check out their 'Low Maintenance Shade Garden' template for ideas on how to arrange things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Low Maintenance Shade Garden Template