Dry shade is a tough spot to choose plants for; these are some of the ones that have worked for me. This Stinking Hellebore (Helebore foetidus) deserves a special mention- particularly since it's growing in an old ashcan! It's been flowering since Christmas and it's still going.

 Trachystemon orientalis has a reputation for being invasive but it makes a good groundcover in shade. I have a patch in the driest, shadiest part of the garden where it does fine; perhaps the conditions keep it in check because it hasn't spread much. The leaves start small and get considerably larger- it has Borage-like early flowers which are mobbed by bees.

 White Comfrey (Symphytum orientale) is very tolerant of dry shade and perhaps the most elegant of the Comfreys with its crinkly leaves and pure white flowers. Spring flowering, like most shade adapted plants (i.e. before the tree canopy leafs up). Another bee magnet.

 Corydalis solida flowers prettily in early spring in part shade then dies back over summer as the tubers become dormant till next year. The tubers seem unaffected by the soil drying out during that time, in fact it seems to suit them. Various pink/lilac/purple/red forms are available.     

 Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae is a stalwart of the dry shade garden. The ones I planted are steadily increasing and weaving through the fronds of Iris foetidissima, another robust plant for these conditions.

 I. foetidissima is sometimes called the Stinking Iris but like the Stinking Hellebore it's nothing worse than a musty smell that's detectable if you crush the foliage. The small flowers in summer are pale and delicately veined but the berries are a bright orange splash that lasts throughout winter.  

 When I began to tend this garden nearly a decade ago it was particularly dry and shady towards the back, an interesting challenge. At the end stands a large sycamore. The garden next door on the north side had a mature evergreen oak and the garden on the south side a large cherry tree. The sycamore is still there but last year the oak was felled and the cherry tree -which was ailing- came down in high winds.
 It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the existing plants and I'm intrigued to know what new ones might be able to flourish.