Newbie Needs Help!

[layoung]

Hello, I am new to gardening. You might say very green. Haha I have a huge flower bed that is in shade all year long except for June- August. Then it’s full sun. This is my second season in this home. I planted shade to partial sun perennials and they got hammered. Incrediball Hydrangeas, which lived up to their name last spring, lost all their leaves by October and still have none.
I’m in zone 9b Florida. I just don’t know what to plant! Any suggestions???

 

[Owdboggy]

Hydrangea arborescens are deciduous so t may be that it is just waiting for spring. Try the thumbnail test. Scratch a section of the back and if there is green visible under the bark then it is still live.

 

[layoung]

Any ideas of what I could plant in in this area that is shady most of the year?

 

[Tetters]

Hostas, Primroses, Hollyhocks, Brunnera, Campanula, Vinca, Brunnera, Hellibore, Anemone, and many roses would all be suitable.
When the heat gets too much you could use a little shading net to help them through it, and water well at night so they get a bit of stamina for the following day. There are plenty more. I find shade gardening very colourful and rewarding. Plant lots of bulbs in the Autumn/Fall. Have fun !