Ken, I knew you'd be the first to reply! :-)

Z6A. NE Ohio.

Shade is caused by the house overhang.

Replacing boxwoods will demand tall flowers that thrive in full shade. I find plants in my gardens to be unforgiving in terms of light flexibility. When they say full sun, they don't flower well in partial sun.

Lawn is not irrigated. Garden is lovingly hand-watered by me. :-)

The pic only shows the half of the garden in question; expanding the garden into the lawn would make for an unattractive shape.

DEFINITELY looking for a combo of plants for blooming throughout the season! Forgot to say that! :-) I do have some early summer blooming allium bulbs I need to plant (purple/lavendar/white mix) that have a 2-3' height that could be included for texture and color.

Forget the "Bee balm? Garden phlox? Daisies? False Indigo?" They are all too tall, have ugly spells and/or are too aggressive for this bed and space if happy, Looking at the forest behind your fence that looks four feet away, I know what your sunny spot is like. It isn't full sun. Lots of shade plants look and bloom better with more sun.

What would work better and look better in the space available in this bed, for the shrubs well being and for maintenance are low groundcover types of perennials. Plants with good foliage are a bonus. Things that come to mind are hardy geranium, Woodland - not creeping phlox, dianthus, the heucheras tribe of plants, the smaller hosta, creeping campanula. Think blooming groundcover. You can add in some spring bulbs and liatris or whatever, but I don't trust you have enough sun for the liatris.

Thanks Christopher! Despite the woods, that area gets a good 6 hours full sunlight between the maple and the rose of sharon.

I'm familiar with some of what you listed and Googled the rest. While I love them all - they have inspired me for areas with mixed exposure! - it didn't appear that any are tall enough to be visible beyond the spirea unless you're right up on the garden.

I guess what I'm envisioning is that the spirea will be the front row and at least two types of taller plants layered or interspersed behind them. The result being that, within a season or two, when looking from the yard you might not even know the boxwoods are back there and you just see various colors throughout the season. (I didn't realize when the landscaper planted that area how precious that patch of garden would be for any flowering plants.) Is there anything that can achieve this that isn't impossible to control?

Let me ponder that a bit and come up with some taller possibilities. It is ok if the boxwood only come out for the winter when the perennials are gone.

That is totally okay!! Thank you!

Think about how tall your Japanese maple is going to be in 10-20 years if it is your only sunny spot. And do you really want it so close to the house? I would consider removing the row of boxwoods which is farthest from the house and keep another one as a background for your cottage garden. Hardy geraniums for sure. Penstemons. Actaea, Hydrangeas, hostas, brunneras and tree peonies for shadier areas. Interplant with spring bulbs. European ginger for cover.

Geranium 'Rozanne' is one that could work and it blooms from late May/ early June until snow is flying. It's flower stems could billow over the Boxwood and come out between the Spiraea.

You’ve got a lovely start. What about hostas and Japanese grass combos? This combo has a small Aralia Sun King, (which would get too big) but just to give you an idea of some color combos for shade...

another with creeping phlox and Aubrietta

These are very easy maintenance plants!

Remember hostas grow in shade and you could plant ones that would grow large in different shades of green, margined, blue and they all have flower scapes. If you’re not in love with then boxwoods maybe some hostas would be nice......I am sure ken will agree.....but Sum & Substance, Blueberry Muffins, Krossa Regal, Abiqua Drinking Gourd are hostas that get pretty big. They could certainly fill in your shady area. There are also other shade plants you could plant in and around the boxwoods. Heuchera do well in shade and there are a number of other colorful plants that can grow in shade. Good luck! Ken encouraged me to cut a bigger bed for sun tolerant hostas.....and I did it. :-)

debra

What flower colors do you like/prefer? That could help narrow it down also.

These are some taller perennials that I think hold a central crown or tighter clumps and are not so tall as guaranteed to fall over and will fit in the space better.

Cone flowers - Echinacea

Allium 'Millenium' and the like. These are not bulb alliums.

Astilbe - caution hates dry and drought

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Hyssop - weak perennial for me.

Lupine

Little Joe Pye

A peony might fit in at the fat end of the row.

You could try Japanese and Siberian iris, Iris ensata and I. siberica. By year three you would probably have to be dividing the clumps to keep them contained.

Oh, you're all trying so hard to help, I'm so grateful!! Something is getting lost in translation, though (my fault!), so let me try to clarify.

I am looking for the ideal combination of flowering plants to fill the sunny area (6 hrs) between the boxwoods and spirea, from the daylilies to the rose of sharon. Everything should be taller than the spirea. I don't care that the boxwoods will be blocked.

THANK YOU!!!

Thank you Christopher! I'm going to check all those right now!

GardenHo, I'm not particular about the colors, actually. I'm not seeking a neon garden but other than that, I'm not particular. The brick and shutters are brick red, the siding is yellow. The spirea bloom pink, the rose of sharon blooms purple/pink.

Well I just tried to list some with pics and they disappeared grrrr...Houzz is at it again!

Put the boxes around the maple and the spireas at the center back of the bed (looking from the lawn) and fill the now opened up area between the maples + box and the conifer on the right with perennials.

Low, tidy ones that will combine both physically and visually with these other, comparatively small and restrained woody plants.

Were you able to find any you liked?

My favorite tall perennial is garden phlox. They have a long bloom time and come in a variety of colors. Their feet can get ugly at times but if planted behind the spirea you would never see them. Siberian iris, delphinium, Agastache, and Culver’s root are also on the tall side.

You could use Russian sage, Pevroskia, for a purple haze all summer.

GardenHo, I'm still trying to map it out. Obviously I want to prevent overcrowding. It seems like I have the potential for 4-5 types of plants. (I planted a lone pink balloon flower in the front this summer to see how it would do; I may either add more or move my three struggling threadleaf coreopsis in front.)

The blue arrows indicate a set that could go in between and slightly in front of the boxwoods. The yellow x's are the widest areas of space for one or two plants to have some spread. The red checks would be in the offset behind the spirea. (Included the spring photo for inside angle reference.)

Definitely considering Autumn Joy, Garden Phlox and Lupine. Allium Millenium might do too, as well as Echinacea. I would love Russian Sage but I'm not sure it has the room?

I'm also wondering how geranium Rozanne would look in front. So many choices, so little sun!

(We managed to save a massive ash in the center of our yard from borers, which is now thriving. I'm starting to regret it - I could have flowers galore if it weren't for that sucker! :-D )

HI - just wondering...is there any particular reason why not to use annuals? It does not look like you would need very many if you find the right things, they bloom all summer long, you can easily change what you plant for how your other plants. I had really good luck with Angelonia (aka summer snapdragon) this year. Lantana is another good one - many are multicolored. Both of these plants are still blooming for me in Boston.

Geranium 'Rozanne' would be too large for the front unless you enlarge the bed but would be ideal in the two larger spots marked with the yellow x's for the reasons I listed in my first comment.

In front you could use a Veronica such as 'Royall Candles or 'Icicle'. Dianthus would combine well with either of those, as well as Allium 'Millenium' although I prefer A. senescens.

Echinacea and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' or 'Matrona' would be good as well as Phlox where the green arrows are indicated.

Salvia comes in white, pink or purple and could be for the red spaces. Some of the mid sized Asters (Symphiotrichon) would be another option.

Lupin are wonderful plants but look poorly after they bloom.

Lupine need very specific growing conditions, don't usually thrive in the garden, although some can get them to. And yes, have one glorious point but pretty "meh" the rest of the time. I have a similar spot in my yard. I have hostas (Hosta plantaginea includes fragrant members) and some heuchera. There are heuchera with very nice flowering moments, but make sure to look for those kinds, not the ones that just have nice foliage. Hostas doe well in part sun. I like "Guacamole" for example.

Don't rule out pots with begonias and impatiens for year round color. The problem I find with most perennials is their foliage is mostly "meh" and can look untidy. You either need to ditch the tidy boxwoods and go full on flower garden, or pick some of the perennials that have been mentioned, with year round good looking foliage to boot. Mixing the two styles just doesn't look right.

Many of the creeping phlox or dianthus that have been mentioned look good as foliage, and you can mix and match the green and silver varieties. Sedum have a lot of year round interest. Peonies and iris are always show stoppers and don't go to heck when not in bloom until the very end of the season. Mints and thymes look ok to me when not in bloom and attract butterflies when they do bloom. There are some woodland sunflowers that tolerate a bit of shade and remain fairly tidy. Same with some asters. Another fun shade plant that tolerates some sun is astilbe, or native goatsbeard, although the Japanese astilbe is more sun tolerant than the native goatsbeard. Both have interesting foliage as well. I'm partial to native foamflower, but it has only one marvelous moment in flower when it looks like foam floating above it. After that, it's just for the foliage.

I haven't gotten into day lilies. Seems like you might have one already? They are wonderful, but can easily take over and IMHO, are hard to mix with lots of other plant styles. Best to relegate them to their own patch. Not saying they can't be incorporated into a perennial garden, but again, that gets back to mixing style, the formal with the informal. If you use them, they should be sort of massed in some way . . .

Is the maple area shady or at least dappled? If so I think some hostas and Japanese grass would look nice there... To balance the chartreuse to start.

I've been following this thread with interest but hesitated to recommend anything, and I think pinkmountain hit the nail on the head - everything I've thought of, I've discounted because I don't know if it would look good in this situation, and I think it's the formal vs. informal thing! I think the garden as you have it now is a foundation planting, when you are looking for a perennial garden.

Of course, there is no "rule" so you can do whatever you want lol. While others think some of your suggestions are too tall, I feel that it *needs* something taller in there! I also think you have more sun there than most people realize - I believe you said 6 hours, so you don't necessarily need full shade plants. Also, if you house faces north, I'm guessing (and could be wrong as I sit here turning around to face north in my office lol) I'm guessing the sun comes from the right side of the photo, so your maple shouldn't add too much more shade as it grows except underneath it.

I was thinking of phlox, veronica, peonies, echinacea, perhaps astilbe (although I find it needs a lot of water!), liatris, lupines (I think their foliage is actually quite nice, as are the blooms, and I grow them from seed quite easily as well as having reseeders), scabiosa, roses, irises, lilies, daylilies, and montauk daisies, asters, perennial mums, and monkshood for fall bloom. Perhaps a trellis (or two) in the back of the garden with a clematis might give some height.

Also, you can consider dahlias, which you would likely need to lift each fall, but then you can move them easily next season if you don't like the placement.

As someone else mentioned, perhaps you consider annuals as well. Rudbeckias, zinnias, cosmos, larkspur, cleome come to mind. Everything I've mentioned above, I grow in my part-shade yard, with my "sunny" areas getting no more than six hours.

Now, for me, the problem comes in in WHERE or HOW to place them! But that's a problem for me in my own perennial garden, so I'll leave that to you lol.

Lastly, if you don't want to deepen the bed, perhaps you can extend the garden along that fence? Is that a sunny area?

Good luck! Please let us know what you decide and be sure to post pictures.

:)
Dee

Thank you everyone!!! I've got about 15 tabs open, preparing a new research session of the many new and wonderful suggestions. I've actually begun different bookmark folders organized by plant height, and labeling each flower's bookmark according to sun needs, so hopefully I can pick the ideal addition for each area (and should prove helpful for future gardens!).

ANNUALS. @ampmhm thank you! I never think of them because, frankly, I want to be one and done (other than upkeep) and it's always felt wasteful to toss a plant, given that I have no compost pile or greenhouse. (Remedying these two situations are for another post, lol!)

HOSTAS/DAYLILIES. pinkmountain, given that the bulk of my garden areas are shaded, I have a bunch of hostas. I love them but I don't want to waste a inch on a hosta where a new texture and color that can't bloom anywhere else might do, you know? :-) And, yes, there are three Happy Return daylilies that frame the right side of the maple. Plus, I'm attempting a daylily garden in another area that gets lots of west/afternoon sun. It's a hopeful experiment. I planted a Nosferatu there (so gorgeous!!) and the neighbors got the bulk of the view - actually all the flowers there bloomed facing west, for obvious reasons. I transplanted some smaller daylilies there too last week, so we'll see how they do next year. But I digress!

PEONIES. Not an option, unfortunately. I had some there before the garden was redone and the ant infestation in the house was incredible. They are beautiful and fun, though, and I aporeciate the suggestion.

Yes, Dee, exactly - I'm really looking to max out the sun in this area. A trellis! What a neat idea! I'm exploring that too now. Would definitely need a shade-happy plant for that, since it would sit along the wall in complete shade.

I'll post again after my research!

As I desperately try to ignore the weather and the pandemic, I'm distracting myself with planning and plotting this garden out.

I'm thinking of transplanting three sets of Zagreb coreopsis in the front (full sun) and mixing in geranium rozanne. Thoughts?

Working on taller plants next.

Okay, so here's what I'm thinking. (Reminder pic attached.)

Rozanne and Zagreb at border/front - full sun.

Garden phlox David (white) at yellow Xs - partial sun.

Garden phlox Starfire (cherry red) at red checkmark - partial sun.

Astilbe chinesis Superba (purple) at teal arrows (in between/behind boxwoods) - predominantly shade.

(Existing plantings are boxwoods, spirea (green leaves & pink flowers), Happy Returns, Violet Satin Rose of Sharon, Japanese maple.)

I have no Spring bloomers in that mix, but I won't have full sun yet to pull anything off.

Thoughts?? Is there something better for one of the phlox? Again, I'm wanting to block appearance of the boxwoods, thus the taller plant choices.

Hi, love your existing plants and new plant choices! But if you’re up to it (because it’s hard work), I would consider re-arranging the boxwoods and spireas. I like Embothrium’s ideas, or you could do whatever you find pleasing. I‘m just not sure you will get that cottage garden look that you want with such a formal structure in place.

Hope this helps! I think it’s wonderful that you’ve done the research and I hope you will find the process rewarding and fun!

@maxerolm, thank you! I am starting to seriously consider relocating the boxwoods to another shady area of the yard so I can maximize the space with more color. I don't know that I'm up for moving the spirea, but we'll see if the spirit moves me when the project gets going!

Keept the boxwoods and just fill in the spaces with lots of colorful flowers. Put the larger plants in the back.

Put some containers with flowers in there too.

So, it took a few years, lol, but here is a follow up. In addition to placing delphinium between the spirea and the boxwoods, I also added David phlox to the left. I'd also added Rozanne in front of the spirea, which were gorgeous, but they took over. So those were shifted left this spring and replaced with some gifted liatris. 

As it happens, the Japanese maple didn't make it (girdled, and arborist efforts to save it didn't help), so that currently has a planter (foxglove in it are almost gone now). I also planted bearded Iris. It has just been a beautiful area now. I can't wait to see the liatris bloom! 

Again, I can't thank everyone enough for your input!

One more pic.

You did VERY well. That is a beautiful vista in a small space. Looking forward to pics when the Liatris bloom! The deep blue Delphinium is a wonderful color!