My two suggestions are not for more varieties. 1. I would repeat plants to avoid a random, spotty look. You have a riot of colour going on but that can be fine if the colours repeat. 2. I would move plants around so they do not appear to be planted in rows. This would include spreading the mondo grass clumps throughout the bed to give it some cohesion.

That mondo grass is starting to become an issue!! LOL It was here when I bought the place, the former owners had patches like the ones pictured along the front walkway with landscape lights in between.

A few years later I had to dig them all up and divide them, creating this back walkway.

A few years later I had to dig them all up and divide them again.

And again.

And again.

Here we are twenty years later, I have mondo grass everywhere!! Now it's time to dig them all up and divide them again, but I don't have anywhere for them! I hate to just throw it all away, but I can't even give them away online! LOL

Long story short, I dread using them in this garden again, knowing I'd just have to dig them up in 2 years... if I have to dig up all 200+ patches this year, I seriously might throw every darn one of them away!

Anyway.

As for color, I think that the Camellia (I looked, it's April Rose) will give me some color early around January or February, and hopefully I can find some hellebores to plant around October that'll give me some more color along with the Camellia.

Then the Rhodo will bloom about when the Camellia stops.

Then the hydrangea, Easter lily, and cannas will bloom about when the Rhodo stops.

After that, it'll just be leaf color from around July until January :-O

I think possibly your overgrown plants are my full and lush plants. To my eye your bed is rather empty and could do with at least twice as many plants, preferably repeats, not new species. The mondo grass is actually one of the most attractive things there to my taste. It really doesn’t need dividing every two years.

Here's an example of the mondo grass in another area:

I put these bunches in last year, and the bunches were about 1' x 1'. Now they're at least doubled, and you can barely see the Purple Heart setcreasea that's coming up between them. The mondo grass supposed to be an accent, but when it grows it becomes the dominant plant.

Next year they won't be in bunches, it will be a full line that's choking out the prettier setcreasea. So I have to dig it up and put it back in 1' x 1' bunches again.

I like that they're evergreen, but the growth rate is just too much for me!

And honestly, when I was younger I liked the more urban look of rows and clean lines, but now I prefer a little more organized-natural look of plants being clumped together, but still with short plants in the front and tall stuff in the back. I still like rows along walkways, but next time I have to divide the mondo grass here I might dig it ALL up and reorganize it :-O

Coming back to the original topic, though... my general goal is to have some sort of color year-round, so when one bloom is dying away another one is starting. That's why I'm looking at more plants for the shady area; otherwise, it's really not doing anything for almost half the year! The sedum and ajuga would be the only color other than green leaves.

Exactly how much shade does this area get? What's creating the shade? (the area looks very bright to me) The sedum, rose campion and cannas are all sun lovers. While they will tolerate some light shade they won't do nearly as well as they would in more sun. Ditto the abelia. If the area receives enough sun to keep them happy and blooming, then you can pick pretty much whatever else you like.

btw, it is really important to get out of the mindset that the only "color" in a garden comes from flowers. In my practice as a landscape designer I try to impress upon clients that flowers are a very fleeting presence and are really just a temporary colorful bonus. If you focus primarily on foliage color in all its myriad variations (including variegation) and leaf size and texture, you will always have a interesting and colorful garden.....even without a lot of flowers.

I agree with the suggestions about repeating and grouping the plants so the overall look isn't spotty looking. Look at the bed as a whole from afar and arrange the plants so as a group they look pleasing in terms of height and texture against your house. I wasn't sure if you already planted larger plants, but I would invest in some larger shrubs for the back of the bed if possible to get a jumpstart.

Exactly how much shade does this area get? What's creating the shade?

You're looking at the pictures in the first post, right? Not the one in the post from a few minutes ago?

The garden in the first post is directly against the North side of my house, so the house is the source of the shade.

The sedum, rose campion and cannas are all sun lovers. While they will tolerate some light shade they won't do nearly as well as they would in more sun.

The sedum was there when I bought the place almost 20 years ago, and it's always done OK except that it kinda falls open later in the season. This is one reason why I suspect that it really gets more sun than I think... at the very least, maybe reflected sun? I have tons of campion and lilies around, though, so I thought I'd stick them in and see what happens :-)

Since I have so much excess campion, I might put in a larger section of that somewhere, anyway.

Ditto the abelia.

Someone earlier (Jinx, I think) suggested the abelia as a companion to the sunshine ligustrum. They have a prettier abelia than I have, though, so if this one grows from cuttings then I'm really not sure if I'll use it or not.

If you focus primarily on foliage color in all its myriad variations (including variegation) and leaf size and texture, you will always have a interesting and colorful garden.....even without a lot of flowers.

I'm totally open to suggestions! :-) In sunnier areas I've been using Japanese maples for foliage color, but I can't really do that here.

The Nandina has some color to it, but honestly I'm just not a big fan of the look!

The campion flowers, but it mainly there for the leaves. Same for the hostas. What else would you suggest that I add?

I wasn't sure if you already planted larger plants, but I would invest in some larger shrubs for the back of the bed if possible to get a jumpstart.

@S Wang, if you're looking at the very first picture, I have a Camellia and Rhododendron planted that should fill in about 1/3 of the area in the next 4 or 5 years.

Beyond that, I just took cuttings of my Sunshine Ligustrum and Glossy Abelia, and right now they're in pots in the greenhouse. It'll be a few years before they're ready to be planted... if at all!

What else would you suggest? I was really thinking about the Sunshine Ligustrum because the yellow would stand out against the brick, but I'm very open minded :-D

I wanted to give a little bit of perspective...

I dug up one of those mondo grasses from the first picture. Here it is next to the shovel:

In reality, the roots are about 4 times the size of the shovel blade :-O

And here's a different angle on the hosta, Japanese painted fern, and coral bell:

I removed 2 of the Mondo grass clumps, replanted one of them in the back corner next to the house, and then planted a blue hosta next to the walkway (dry bulbs, no growth yet) and Blue Moon phlox (from a pot, so it has growth). I also added in a lot more of the Rose Campion.

I've run out of time now, but hopefully I can post some updated pics tomorrow :-)

I’m not familiar with all the plants you mentioned. But I have I have a few hosta halcyon next to camellia and like the color combinations with heuchera amethyst mist and tiarella. Something with yellow leaves would be nice contrast too

I've been doing some work, thought you all might be interested in the progress so far :-)

I removed most of the Mondo grass. I replanted one bunch in the far corner against the house, left one bunch against the walkway in the middle, and left another bunch in the corner between the deck and the steps.

And closer pics, walking down the slop (Northeast) again...

The Nandina is still there, I'll probably move it in a year or two. Same for the fern; I thought about moving it forward a little, but I'm still not sure what it is. If it's a Dixie Wood Fern, they can get up to 4' x 4'!

I added several more Easter lilies, though, then an Autumn Joy sedum to the left of the lilies and a Shadowland Coast to Coast hosta (gold color) in the front.

When I take cuttings of my Autumn Joy (in about 2 weeks), I'll probably put one to the right of the hosta, just a little bit behind the steps to the deck.

I added some Creeping Jenny to hang over the pot in the back, then a Carnival Limeade Coral Bell closer to the front. You also see a small pot there, I planted some "Blue Hosta" plants (that's all it said, so I don't know which blue variety) in the pot and we'll see what happens. If they grow then I'll probably plant them here.

I added several more Rose Campion, I thought it'd be cute to make a sort of trail from one to the next ;-)

I added a few rock steps for the utility guys (they definitely won't use them), then Blue Moon phlox and a Blue Hawaii hosta that can get up to 42" wide.

I built up the rock wall here a little, then brought the tiny Japanese painted fern to the forefront. And another Rose Campion. And I planted one of the bunches of Mondo grass against the wall in the back; the ajuga should fill in in front of it fairly quickly.

I also planted several Blazing Star Liatris bulbs throughout the empty areas, but I really don't know what to expect from them.

I know that the upper section, with the Camellia and Rhodo, are going to look pretty sparse for a few years, so I really need to think of a temporary solution.

What do you think of the Mondo grass bundle locations? I tried to follow @floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK's guidance, but I don't think my girlfriend really cared for it...