First off - let me preface this by saying, I'm not a garden person. Vegetables or plants or anything else you can grow.
There's a shaded area in my backyard that would be perfect for a tranquility garden. I already purchased a fountain and some hammock chairs from amazon. So now I want to get some stones and build up a flower garden and put in some garden statues and stuff near the fountain. I do LOVE tulips. I envision tulips but this thing is well shaded and there is no time of day that it sees sun.
a) are tulips good for shade?
b) if not, what type of flowers will thrive in shade?
Re: Flower people - gather here
ETA: and what's your soil like?
Did I mention I'm not much of a planter?
BACK: annabelle hydrangea (that type specifically) in one of the back corners, astilbe along the back, an ostrich fern or bleeding heart in the other back corner,
MIDDLE: hostas in front of the fern/bleeding heart and lenten rose in front of the hydrangea
FRONT: japanese painted ferns and coral bells in front.
Leave 8-12 inches in front for annuals (flowers you plant every year) to bring in color. All the stuff listed above come back year after year and are very easy to care for.
ETA When buying hostas (and any other plant, really), be sure to check the mature size and plan accordingly. They can be anywhere from 12-18" to 6' in diameter and most mature after a couple of years. It's tempting to fill the space right away, but if you do that, you'll end up with an overcrowded garden in just a couple of years.
I love some of those suggestions. Especially the coral bells.
I dont know about lilac bushes, but if they do ok in the shade, they have a beautiful smell which could be nice too. Ours just finished blooming
Our neighbors have a lilac that was planted in too much shade, and it never flowered.
For bleeding hearts, just make sure you're shopping in the shade section of your garden center, because there are some shade-loving and some sun-loving varieties. I have a sort of yellow-leaved one that's HUGE now and loves our little shady spot.
For annuals (they flower all summer if you keep them dead-headed, but they don't come back next year), impatiens are a good short plant. If you want something that hangs/droops, fuchsias are beautiful and they attract hummingbirds. Be warned, though: If your area gets no sun whatsoever, you're less likely to get flowers. Even shade-loving plants need a few hours a day, preferably the cool morning sun as opposed to the hot afternoon sun.
edit - spelling