Lamium is a short, rapid growing plant in the mint family. Also referred to as spotted deadnettle, lamium will grow in shady locations that do not commonly support other plant life. Members of the Lamium that are grown in the garden are usually done so for their beautiful foliage. The Lamium genus are hardy perennials and contains many members most of which are weeds.

Characteristics of Dead Nettle (Lamium)

- Nettle is a well behaved ground cover and is not considered a serious garden thug.
- It is easily edged in the spring and is not likely to become a weed.
- Dead nettles are ground cover perennials with leaves that are marked in silver. The flowers – yellow or pink – appear next to the leaves.
- It flowers in late spring or early summer.
- This is one hardy plant, surviving nicely down into USDA zone 2.
- Dead Nettles are deer resistant. A good plant to use for naturalizing, massing or as a ground cover.

Planting Conditions for Dead Nettle (Lamium)

- Very hot conditions can lighten up the colouring so this plant is best considered a part-shade or shade groundcover in a decent soil.
- Try planting under shrubs to brighten up unused garden spaces.
- Place the plants no deeper than they were growing in the containers.
- Set the plants 9 to 12 inches apart.
- Water well until soil is completely moist.
- Control the spread in the spring with a sharp shovel to edge it.
- Easily propagated by division in the spring or by tip cuttings.

Caring for Dead Nettle

- They should be fertilized in the spring.
- Once the flowering season is over they should be cut back.
- Shear this plant after the first bloom to promote compact growth.
- Apply a light application of organic fertilizer on top of the soil in early spring.
- Water well.

Aruncus is native to deciduous woodlands of eastern and central US as well as western Europe.

Characteristics of Aruncus dioicus or Goatsbeard

- Goatsbeard, Aruncus dioicus, is a North American perennial with feathery plumes of cream colored flowers in late spring or summer.
- It can group up to a height of about seven feet and looks wonderful. – It is a perennial plant.
- The flowers of this plant are tiny in size and are of white color.
- Ornamental sprays of tiny white flowers bloom briefly but spectacularly for two weeks in early summer.
- It also has a deep and strong root system, breaking more than one shovel quite easily.
- Each flower spray contains thousands of tiny blossoms which rise in loose blooms 6 to 10 inches above the foliage.
- The plants are either male or female; one plant does not contain both sexes.
- The male plants supposedly have showier flowers than female ones.
- Female plants produce tiny brown seed capsules, which are poisonous.

Growing Conditions for Aruncus Dioicus

- This plant prefers shade to part shade conditions. I have grown it out in sunshine and it performed well but the blooms didn’t hold on as long as their shaded counterparts.
- The leaves also tended to “burn” a bit in the sun if adequate water wasn’t available.
- This plant blooms in July with 4-5 foot tall plumes.
- The soil should be moist.
- They can be propagated by dividing established root clumps in the spring or fall.
- They tend to grow slowly the first few seasons. The wide-open spaces between young plants can be filled with annuals until the goatsbeard reaches its mature size.

This low maintenance plant needs little care other than watering when the soil becomes dry. Cut back the stems back to just above ground-level in fall and apply a mulch of compost or well-rotted manure around the base of the plant (or in a woodland, allow the tree leaves to remain on the ground to decompose). Goatsbeard has no significant insect or disease problems and is reported to be deer resistant.

While browsing and looking for some tips about growing kitchen vegetables, I found this excellent article. It takes a look at how to grow 10 common vegetables with relation to the amount of sun / shade needed, and changed a few of the impressions that I had; I also learned something new from this article (link). Some of the things I learned were:
- You really don’t need your vegetable patch to have full sun all the time
- The amount of sun required depends on the type of vegetables; if you are growing a vegetable from which you harvest the fruit or the root, then you need full sun; if you are growing a vegetable from which you take leaves, the stem or buds, then it is fine to grow them in some shade
- You cannot grow vegetables in full shade, you need some sun
- You need to research about which vegetables need how much shade, since you may have over-looked that the small shaded area that you otherwise overlooked could be useful to grow a specific vegetable
Here is an extract from the article:

The following crops will produce with three to six hours of sun, or fairly constant dappled shade, per day.
Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, and cress.
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Peas
Beets
Brussels Sprouts
Radishes
Swiss Chard
Leafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kale
Beans