A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Gardening in the Shade Planting outside in bad drainage/bad sunlight area

Help! I'm a first-time gardener and have no idea what I'm doing!
I have a part of my back yard that tends to flood when it rains (we have a 'french-drain' that's got root trouble in the front yard). Anyways, there are some huge trees over the area, so it only gets a small amount of afternoon light, the rest of the time it's in shade - we can't get grass to grow in that area. In an attempt to try anything, I've planted some Lab-Lab's (purple hydranga) in a pot that stands above the ground. Looks a little funny, but hopefully the plant will end up covering the pot. Any ideas?

Welcome, Drogers. Here is a page for shade plants .
I am not too sure about the soggy part. I do think I would plant a whole cluster of pots or build a raised garden area.
Or create a bog garden in that space.

I had the same problem a few time back. But, i managed to use grow LED lights and hydroponic growing. And I must say, the results were excellent. Try it Out!

Try lily of the valley for your soggy areas. They absolutely thrive in these places.

For successful growing in the shade, remove low-hanging branches from nearby trees, use raised beds and liners to discourage tree roots from wicking water away from crops, and use reflective mulches to give plants more light.

For many gardeners, the optimum conditions most vegetables prefer eight to 10 hours of full sun, but it is not possible. Whether it’s from trees or shadows from nearby buildings, shade is commonly a fact of gardening life. Luckily, shade doesn’t have to prohibit gardeners from growing their own food. If you start with the most shade-tolerant crops, take extra care to provide fertile soil and ample water, and consider using a reflective plastic mulch, you can establish a productive shade garden and harvest a respectable variety of veggies.

Check the below link to get the list of the plants that are able to grow in full shade

Full shade Perennials

For boggy shaded areas take a look at these plants: bleeding heart, monarda, astilbe, actaea, Solomon's seal, toad lily, Himalayan blue poppy and heuchera.

David
Horticulturalist Yardwork Etc