If you've got a shady area and you get moss, just leave it. Pickering recommends hellebores, corkscrew hazel, Corylus avellana, contorta, rhodendrons and azaleas. You'll see that growing on the highways. The clematis should also be added to the list. Once it's established, a beautiful late winter, early spring bloomer.
People love all different types of clematis.
Sunny gardens can support well-placed palm trees, said Pickering. And for those of us with more shade than sunshine there are lots of plants to choose from. It's evergreen and the berries feed animals. Mahonia jam, it seems, has a laxative effect. Pickering suggests that gardeners with dogs, cats, young children and other animals avoid growing anything sharp.