Coleus is another that tolerates a good deal of shade.

tj

If you do a search in this forum, you'll find some older threads about this subject. We've also been discussing some alternatives....coleus seems to be top of the list!

Regarding your Begonias. I assume that you want to grow the wax begonia...Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum? Such a popular and easy bedding plant. Those are the common red or green leafed little plants that do so well in our gardens. But, as hybrids, they don't produce seed very well.

But even if they did, I would still recommend that you search down a company which sells begonia PLUGS rather than buy seeds. The seeds are so small, tinier than a grain of pepper, that they can be a real pain to handle. Plus, they need sunlight in order to germinate, which makes maintaining humidity levels a challenge.

The plugs are a great deal of fun to work with, and under the right conditions, you'll have sturdy little plants in no time.

Now...have you ever grown anything from seed before?

You could likely grow all but the most sun loving annuals.

tj

I have grown rudbeckia, nasturtiums, marigolds and petunias (to name a few) in such conditions and they did fine.

tj

The size of the planting area is another determining factor. A small bed makes a much bigger impression if a mass of one plant is used.

Anyway, it's a person choice, handsome. There is no "good " or "bad ". Find some pictures of different kinds of bed designs and see what kind of look YOU are attracted to.

Some things to think about when selecting plants are : required maintenance (I despise deadheading, so you'll never see a petunia in my yard.), expected pest or disease problems, longevity of bloom period, watering needs, etc. Even the smallest of plantings are worthy of some homework.

The bed in question is 5'W x 20'L, so I might just mix things up a bit...... Just hate to get too strung out with propagating too many varieties......

The one "hint " I'll offer is that white can be the ultimate unifying element in a mixed design. I like to use a border of low growing white annuals as a sort of petticoat. My favorite is the small Zinnia angustifolia. The white selection blooms nonstop until frost in my full sun, Alabama clay. If I lived in a cooler location, Alyssum would be a choice. It dies out here.

But, one color can help unify a very mixed bed and make it look like you did everything on purpose.

purpleinopp mentioned Coleus, which I've had very little experience growing. I've viewed several pics of Coleus being used as a boarder, & I must admit, they're very attractive!

You could always try some petunias intermixed into planting in the bed to see how they perform in your specific conditions, but I wouldn't plant a whole bed of them in less than ideal exposure w/o testing first, you might be disappointed.

This pic was from 2000. These purple wave pets got 3 hours sun...max. And the dark purple ones further to the left got even less sun. I did not dead-head these and they looked fine all year.

How tastes change.

Similar view last year.

I do agree, however, you may want to test your conditions before doing a whole area.

tj

Here's a pic of some of my coleus.

There are places that sell seeds for more unusual varieties beyond rainbows and wizards.

To anyone who is so able, I recommend visiting Baker's Acres. They breed new Coleus, as well offering an incredible selection of unusual plants of all types but especially unusual annuals and hundreds of Coleus (of which there are over 2,000 named cultivars.) It's not hard to predict folks are likely to see these varieties in stores this year.

When you find one you like, save some for next year if at all possible in your house. They might not have the same one again.

Post a picture at the end of the season for us!

Ummmmm kaaaay........ UPDATE! Just talked to Jung Seed & the Petunia seeds I ordered 10 days ago have been back ordered until February. Guess it's a good thing I decided to call them....

This raises another question... When do I sow Petunia seeds indoors? I'm getting from 4-6 weeks before LFD to as much as 10-12 weeks???

This is Johnny's Selected Seeds online seed starting calculator. Don't forget to enter your Frost Free date at the top. It will currently have today's date, which obviously isn't what you want there. Notice that Petunias are down in the table, in alphabetical order. Petunias have very small seeds, so they get off to a slow start because the baby plants are so small.

ZM