Do YOU like Yew?

I am a sun gardener. It's what I know. Our last home had a butterfly bush, canna, day lillies, salvias, and black-eyed susans. Everyone of them just soaked up the sun. Sure, I lost some plants along the way - even the most drought tolerant plants can burn in the West Texas sun and wind. (And boy, do I mean wind!!) I completely fried our purple fountain grass and a small spruce tree. (OK, that one we probably should have lost. He wasn't really made for the spot we placed him. Oh well.)
Welp, you guessed it. Our new home has....Wait for it....SHADE! I'm not really sure I even know what that is!! Sure, it's not a lot of shade, but ANY is pretty exciting.....and a little weird!

Our new home faces north and the garage is on the east. That means a good section of our front seating/planting area has full shade and/or partial shade for the entire day. I knew I wanted something that would fill in the corner between the garage and the dining room, but I wasn't sure what that would be. All of my ideas required full sun. A quick trip to a local nursery was in order!

The nursery guy recommended a Hick's Yew! Great idea! It meets everything I was looking for...

             Evergreen --- CHECK
             Tall --- CHECK
             Full --- CHECK

Of course, this little guy is still a young 'un. He needs to grow up!

Since the entire dining room is in complete shade, it gives me the opportunity to try new plants. I have always wanted a hydrangea, so......!! Here's my perfect chance!

I'm excited to play around with the soil to make the flowers turn blue or purple.

The front part of the bed is in almost constant sun. I can really do some fun things here! Today, we put out some purple irises and liriope. These were at our old house and we transplanted them to our new house. We originally got the irises from my mother-in-law. Two different purples -- I'm in love!!

I've got big plans for the open areas! A climbing rose, some bright pink salvia, a lavender plant, and a sage of some kind (either Russian or Texas - not sure yet.) Anyway - stay tuned to see how my garden grows!! : )