We have a productive patch of everbearing red raspberries, here in Madison, Wisconsin. They are located along a fence line, that runs north/south, and they get full sun in the mornings. In the afternoon, they are shaded by the neighbors grape arbor, that is on the other side of the fence, and very dense with foliage. I have seen people growing raspberries in locations that were more shaded than ours, so I know it can be done. However, to get decent growth and fruit production, I suspect that full-sun, half-day is the minimum requirement. Commercial raspberry growers will have the canes growing in rows, with full-sun, all-day.

Forget the clethra!!! It needs loose moist soil to really thrive & having gardened in the Denver area...you'd have to work hard to get enough compost worked in your soil plus you'd have to provide extra water, probably weekly, to get clethra anifolia to flurish. The red twig dogwood or the variegated one are both good choices. There's also a yellow twig that is beautiful in the winter against the snow. The stems are bright yellow and stand out quite dramatically. They are also inexpensive, readily available, and require little to no maintenance other than annual thinning of 1/3 of the oldest stems to keep the shrub growing new colorful shoots. The stems begin to darken and loose their bright red or yellow coloring as they age...hence, the need to prune annually. Just cut out, at ground level, 1/3 of the stems taking the oldest first. Very good choice for your area. A 3 plant grouping of one of each type would be stunning in the winter & attractive all summer. I find the yellow twig blooms heavier than the red or variegated. Mine blooms in June and sets nice dark berries that the birds love.

I had six new plants that started as tubers. Planted them along a fence and they get 5 hours of sun per day, plus the heat off the wood fence is a plus. . This is their second year with slow start due to the bad NW Spring, too much rain and little sun, but last year they all performed beautifully. I had blooms into October. We'll see this year. One plant didn't come up, but the rest are growing. My old gardens got about 7 hours and I had 20 plants. All did beautiful. Key is to deadhead old blooms and water regularly. Don't stress dahlia or they will not due well, like overwatering or competing with weeds, and not desdhesding. Happy growing!

Hey, thank you, Jen, it's amazing how a few words of reassurance can warm the heart! I do hope it all works. I'd love to have hostas, but unfortunately that's the neighborhood deer favorite, I think they would eat a garden catalog PICTURE of a hosta if they got the chance. I do have a spot for ferns, waplummer, and I'll look up Christmas fern. I don't know a lot about ferns, I should probably learn to make better use of them, thank you for the suggestion. I have a lot of planting to do this spring. Guess I better get off the computer and get outside! Thanks so much. Happy gardening.