Want to add some excitement to your spring shade garden? Hostas and impatiens are great, but they really don't get going until summer. Here are other plants to consider that will thrive through the summer and blend well with hostas and impatiens:

Follow a common design rule - Tall and Spiky in the back, Round and Full plant shapes in the middle and Cascading forms to fill out the front.

Foxglove - This plant produces statuesque spires of rose-pink bell shaped blooms, as well as some in peach, white or yellow. It's a biannual that is hardy to zone 4 and tall and spiky.

Solomon's Seal - Candy cane stripped green and white leaves accent the long stems with white flowers in mid-spring. Foliage persists through the summer. Hardy to zone 4. A perennial that is tall and spiky.

Heuchera (Coral Bells)'Plum Pudding' - The glossy, claret red ruffled leaves accented with silver marbling provide a dramatic background for the sprays of delicate pink flowers. Best set against light foliage plants such as Japanese Painted Fern, gray leafed hostas and impatiens. Hardy to zone 4. A perennial that is round and full.

Bellis perennis (English Daisy) - This cheerful flower provides early spring color in the garden, producing masses of pompon-like blooms over mounded rosettes of green foliage. Hardy from zones 4 - 8. A perennial that is round and full.

Phlox stolonifera (Creeping Phlox) 'Pink Ridge' - This lovely true pink phlox makes an excellent groundcover in the native shade garden. Forms a dense carpet of delicate foliage with flowers that cover the plant in spring. It is a hardy perennial to zone 2 and is cascading.

Lamium 'Orchid Frost' -This low growing, cascading perennial groundcover has blue-green foliage with silver accents, which makes it perfect for adding both sparkle and texture to a shade garden. Brilliant pink flowers appear in late spring through early summer. Hardy from zones 5 - 11.

Japanese Painted Fern - Highlight shady areas with the silvery sheen of perennial Japanese Painted Fern's foliage. It is effective both as an accent plant in a container or in large drifts along a shady path. Hardy to zone 5 and round and full.