how to plant edibles in the shade

i am at the beginning of designing a landscape that will support as many edibles as possible...only problem is, i have a lot of shade. luckily, there are a number of my favorite fruits and vegetables that will fit in my garden areas with 4-6 hours of sun or less.
first, i wanted to get the perennial foundation plants selected:
blueberries
currents
asparagus
raspberries and lingonberries (in containers)
strawberries (also in containers)
monarda (bee balm)
chamomile
chives
lovage
lemon balm
mint (contained!)
oreganos (plural, because there are lots of types)
little parsley hedges
thyme
i need to place decorative and functional raised beds and/or containers along walkways and paths for annual shade tolerant foods such as
beans
beets-maybe
broccoli
cabbage
carrots
cucumbers
peas
potatoes (already growing this year in bags)
radishes
sweet potatoes
i currently have salad greens in my self-watering planter boxes, and the
spinach
swiss chard
mesclun
mustard
arugula
dont mind less than 4 hours of sun...everything does grow i bit slower with more shade, but plants dont bolt when the heat and humidity kicks in. i need to get drawing!

mossy

i love moss!

how to grow moss

moss is so lush-looking!

my neighbors' yard has a north facing front yard and almost every inch of it is covered in some form of moss: it's a great look to me!

of course, if you really wanted flowers or foliage, you would be out of luck because most plants couldn't deal with the lack of nutrients that most mosses thrive in. you could haul in compost and other soil amendments...fertilize and baby your precious transplants...soak in an epsom salts bath after all of your back-breaking labor

...or you could let mother nature create a beautiful tapestry for mr. toad.

lovely.

grow your own moss on most anything porous by pureeing 1 part moss with 2 parts buttermilk or yogurt (forget the urine, ok?) and applying it to your desired future moss-y surface (and water to thin)... or make graffiti with it...takes about six weeks to appear.

how to make an umbrella from a plant

from my friend barry at sunshine farm & garden comes this wonderful shade loving 'american umbrella leaf' plant, Diphylleia cymosa. reminds me of a may apple, and rightfully so as they are related, but barry says the umbrella leaf is like a may apple on steroids, though! i love the idea that woodland creatures and birds take refuge under the umbrella-like leaves during rainstorms. the plant sounds easy to grow and propagate as the umbrella leaf is native to several southeastern states and apparently is hardy in all 50
(even hawaii?!): wow! 

heuchera is hot for shade

im in the beginning stages of plant selection for the "river bed" garden that actually is a storm drainage ditch for potomac river overflow: this is part of my overall rain garden project. i have ordered a large quantity of heuchera 'oakington jewel from sunshine farm & gardens in west virginia. i love the heavily veined foilage and think the silvery leaf color will shine in this shaded garden!