Many plants suitable for shade gardens are perennials, dying down completely in winter, then emerging in the spring, so it's rather refreshing to find some specimens that are evergreen or semi-evergreen. 'Silver Queen' bugleweed is one that often lasts out our Pacific NW winters in hanging baskets or container planters, and is semi-evergreen in the ground, provided its feet don't get soggy. Rounded, gray-green and cream leaves form a dense carpet of foliage, usually four to six inches high and spreading one to two feet wide, making it an excellent trailer for containers and a weed-suppressing mat of foliage in borders or on retaining walls. Ajugas need some sun for all those beautiful blue spikes of flowers to appear in late spring to early summer, but prefer protection from the hot afternoon sun. Deer allegedly don't like bugleweed, while bees and other pollinators seek out the blooms.