In my experience in zone 6b all of the annuals I know will still look dinky in June. But even when at their fullest at the end of summer, won't they be still be out of scale with a tree hedge? You don't seem to have much depth to work with, but wouldn't small shrubs make more sense?

i think you are fixated on the word shade ... and making faulty assumptions based on such ...

shade can be so bright that its basically full sun ... or it can be a dark as a grotto ...

and btw.. if those conifers are thriving.. then frankly.. there is no shade issue.. imo ...

as such.. the sky is the limit ...

and as to the grad party.. though it would be nice to have this better looking.. trust me.. 99.9% of the peeps there.. wont give a flying leap about it ... trust me on that ... focus on the important part ....

btw... everything needs to be properly watered at planting ... drought resistance comes later .. after things are established ...

oh.. and the heck with annuals.. your sun description would be perfect for hosta .. a perennial ...

ken

Stir, I'm thinking that water is the real limiting factor in your situation. I'll bet that if you had been able to water the NGs very frequently for some time after planting that they would have grown substantially for you.

I make sure that my annuals are fertilized quite often after planting, too. I have an implement that is hooked up to my hose bib so that I can easily apply my fertilizer solution whenever I water, or when I want to.

The NG impatiens actually sound pretty ideal for that site, with that exposure; and after they are well established will do very well without a lot of supplemental watering.

Another possibility would be Begonia semperflorens-cultorum, called wax begonia or everblooming cultorum. Again, they will grow like crazy with plenty of water and fertilizer during the beginning weeks, but are remarkably tolerant once established.

Ignore ken.....we all understand that you want your yard to look pretty for the graduation festivities. Good for you in planning ahead!

I say plant red salvia there. They will be taller than the impatients and they do well in that type of light for me. In fact the color don't fade as fast. Good luck.

If you're expecting tall or bushy by the end of June, I'd say you are being overly optimistic. Considering it often isn't safe to plant until about the end of May, you'd have to by some pretty large plants to achieve the look I think you're hoping for.

Maybe you could try some spring blooming perennials that you could get started early fall. Salvias or butterflyweed, though they both prefer full sun.

Hardy annuals such as centaurea cyanus, agrostemma githago, omphalodes linifolia, calendula, linum grandiflora, echium plantagineum, lavatera, malope trifida, consolida, iberis, myosotis and the like will all create much bigger, bushier plants (the roots are growing slkowly all winter) which will flower (vigorously), up to a month earlier than spring sown annuals. Biennials such as wallflower, Canterbury Bells, foxglove and sweet rocket and Chinese forget me nots (cynoglossum amabile) are also hardy contenders for an early bloom.Direct sown in a nursery bed or station sown in modules, at the end of August will allow for germination and some initial growth (which will overwinter) and grow away in April/May. Bulbs are also reliable and invaluable.

this is really beautiful look like baby roses I also tried it this year in the shade and it does great it a double impatiens not sure of other colors I have orange but it did not do well at all I will bring this one in the house for the winter under the light when I get little stems I will put them in water and will have it for next year

Camp has a good idea -- you might consider winter sowing. Haven't done this myself as apt dwellering does not lend itself well to such but there are folks who swear by it. Wouldn't bet the rent on getting tall/bushy plants by the end of June even that way, but it can be a very inexpensive way to do plants. One downside is that you really need to know what your seedlings look like so you don't windup mistakenly pulling the seedlings you do want and leaving the weed seedlings you don't. Try posting on the "Winter Sowing" forum. Make sure you state you zone in case folks don't notice it next to your forum name. Comments from folks in your same zone will likely be more useful

So, its August and the NG imp's are still blooming and probably double the size of when I planted them. They are nice but they were expensive and I think I could have used twice as many.

I have been seeing a lot of begonias around here (still blooming), Never used them before. Would love an explanation of the different kinds ie: what are "wax begonias"? Maybe that is my answer.

I think that begonias and wax begonias are the same. They are called wax because of the leaves look like they are coated in wax. On my block alone I have 4 neighbors all growing them in the front of their houses. There are many types of begonias but we all grow the same kinds. They have gotten very popular lately due to the mildew troubles with impatiens. If you like pink, red or white you can grow them about anywhere. They also come with two different colored leaves, green or like a bronze color. They are very easy plants to grow. Good luck with your landscape next year. You will have to post what you decided to plant and how big they got for your party.

If you're going to try begonias, I would suggest you try the "dragon wing" begonias. I plant these every year in my window box and they are amazing. I get the red ones, but they also come in pink. Here's a few pics from this year:

Very nice combination of plants in your window box. I also like dragon wing begonias but often forget to buy them. Next year!

Thanks! They are amazing plants and are relatively drought tolerant too. I wouldn't be without them. :-)