garden advice?

[cellio]

Most of my back yard was obviously well-planned by someone, and it's lovely for most of the year. Bulbs bloom (in stages) in the spring, there are pretty bushes in the summer/fall (some of which flower), and in general there's usually something interesting going on at any time from about March to about October. (I'm horticulturally challenged, so I can't actually name any of these things other than the bulbs.)

There's also one strip of grass that was never worked on. I'd like to plant something there, but I have basically no clues. Any advice?

The place in question runs most of the length of the garage (I guess that's about 15-20 feet?) and is about 4 feet deep. It's next to the garage, so it's partial shade rather than full sun. Obviously, whatever I put there shouldn't have root systems so big that they would interfere with the garage.

I'd like something that blooms in the summer, and ideally blooms for a while. (This should be enough room to plant a few different things, which might help that goal.) This space is bounded by a sidewalk that I use a lot, so whatever I put there shouldn't be too aggressive about spilling out into the sidewalk. No thorns, please. I dislike pale pink but like pretty much all other flower colors.

I wonder if lilac is suitable. I don't know how long it blooms or what its light requirements are.

Suggestions welcome!

Comments

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a gardener but I can tell you that lilacs bloom for a short period of time (probably a week or so) in the spring. They seem to barely survive in full shade. I'm not sure about full sun verse partial sun.

[cellio]

Sounds like lilacs aren't the answer, then. I want something (or a combination of things) that will bloom for a while in summer, when a lot of the rest of the yard isn't really blooming very much.