I published a post on easy-to-grow plants - buckwheat and borage, so I decided to add a few more.
Some people decry their shaded yards, but some plants need shade and abhor the sun. Lily-of-the-Valley was requested by Mrs. Ichabod, so I bought some on sale in the fall last year and tucked them under the Crepe Myrtle and maple. This spring they popped up and began blooming. They will spread on their own over time.
Calladiums are another plant requested by Mrs. I. They do not over-winter. Gardeners can get them fully formed and potted at the gardening centers - or Lowe's - and plant them. Various websites specialize in the bulbs, because they come in all colors. In late fall the tender bulbs must be rescued and stored - or replaced in the late spring. They show their colorful leaves a bit late but stay colorful in the shade until late fall. I like planting the bulbs and watching them unfurl later, like tiny flags that grow in size and bright color. Calladium plants can be bought late in the season for very little, so that is one way to experiment with them.
Tiny bulbs have tiny prices, and one kind will pop up forever, bloom a long time, and spread on its own. The grape hyacinths come in deep blue, white, and variations in-between. They are hardy, never needing a rescue, and do not get grabbed by pesky squirrels.
The ground rodents love to eat crocus, or at least dig up and replant them.
Elderberries are really special in size, in hosting beneficial insects, and in spreading on their own. Mine are seven feet tall in mid-April and pushing new sprouts out of the ground. All the plants with umbrella-like compound flowers are attractive to tiny insects. Farming with Beneficial Insects states that elderberries are good at attracting beneficial insects to its flowers and solitary wasps to its hollow stems.
