Nothing to do with dry shade but I wanted to share this little beauty with you. This is Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin' (usually marketed as reticulata group but actually a cross between I. winowgradowii and I. histriodes) growing in the gravel plunge bed at Houghall. Iris reticulata is a bulbous spring flowering Iris native to Iran and Turkey which gives you some idea of the conditions it prefers - dry, well drained and in full sun. It spreads slowly by division (I have never known it set seed but it may away from north east England) which take two or three years to come to flowering size. There are many different cultivars, a quick google image will bring them up, 'Harmony' and 'Joyce' are two that spring to mind. They come in various colours but in my opinion 'Katharine' is the best of the bunch.

Houghall Plant Centre sells Iris reticulata bulbs in the Autumn