Question
Hi Russel,

I live in Connecticut in zone 6B and I am interested in finding plants that do well in dry shady areas.  I am especially interested in flowering perennials.

Thanks,
Laura

Answer
Hey, Laura.

I think if you were to post your question in the general area you'd get better responses than what I could provide here mainly because I specialize in hot, dry, sunny areas (south of Interstate 10, kind of). I don't have any experience at all in Zone 6B, so I'd have to do a lot of research, and my work schedule right now precludes that type of research for the foreseeable future.

Three suggestions, though:

1 - Stop by your local nursery, rather than, say, Home Depot, and talk to the owners. I've found everywhere that I've been that those mom-and-pop nurseries really have some knowledgeable people working for them.

2 - Drive around some neighborhoods and take note of properties that have dry shady areas similar to yours and note what plants they have growing there. Stop by and make a new friend and take some pictures.

3 - Stop by Borders Books and Music or any other bookstore and make use of their gardening area. Quite often they will have gardening books of local interest and you might find something there.

Hope that helps you some.