How it Began
I am a "young" gardener (27) who started dabbling with shade gardening when my wife and I moved into this 1850's house surrounded by Silver Maples. The Hosta bug hit me when I ripped out the unkempt yews on the north side of the house, and bought three bags of Blue Cadet and one bag of Elegans Hostas at Lowe's (10 hosta each bag, clearance price of $2 each--yeah, I was poor, in grad school, and was trying to hold that old money pit of a house together).
The Hostas
Well, I still live in that old money pit, and I finally graduated! Through trading and slowly purchasing a few hosta here and there, my current Hosta list is as follows:
Abba Dabba Do
Abiqua Blue Crinkles
Abiqua Drinking Gourd
Albomarginata
Alvatine Taylor
August Moon
Aureomarginata
Big Daddy
Big Mama
Blue Angel
Black Hills
Blue Danube
Blue Blazes
Blue Cadet
Blue Mammoth
Blue Shadows
Blue Umbrellas
Blue Velvet
Bright Lights
Brave Amherst
Captain Kirk
Crown Jewel
Enchantment
Feather Boa
Fire and Ice
Frances Williams
Golden Sculpture
Gold Edger
Gold Scepter
Gold Standard
Gold Drop
Grand Tiara (but I think it's a regular Gold Tiara)
Great Expectations
Ground Sulphur
Guacamole
Hadspen Blue
Halcyon
Hi Ho Silver
Just So
June
Kabitan
Kiwi Full Monty (haven't seen him yet this spring)
Knockout
Krossa Regal
Lakeside Accolade
Lakeside Blue Cherub
Lakeside Knicknack
Lady Isabell Barnett
Lonesome Pine
Louisa
Love Pat
Lunar Orbit
Masquerade
Mistress Maybel
Northern Exposure
Paradigm
Paradise Joyce
Patriot
Paul's Glory
Pee Dee Gold Flash
Pilgrim
Pizzazz
Regal Splendor
Reptilian
Royal Standard
Robert Frost
Sagae
St. Elmo's Fire
Sieboldiana Elegans
Sugar Plum Fairy
Sum and Substance
Sum of All
Sunpower
Super Nova
Tattoo (thanks, Hostagirl! Still not up yet
)Tambourine
Thunderbolt (love it!)
Titanic
Tokudama Aureonebulosa
Undulata Mediovariegata
Venusta
Zounds
My short list of wants (currently):
Abiqua Hallucination
Du Page Delight
Jurassic Park (I know, dream on)
Little Sunspot
Midas Touch
St. Paul
Striptease
Tokudama Flavocircinalis
Whirlwind
Wylde Green Cream
Other Shade Plants
Heuchera
I have recently become enamoured with Heucheras as well, as I picked up a 'Purple Palace' two years ago, followed by 'Lime Rickey' and 'Amber Waves' last year. Amber Waves died off within 3 weeks, but Lime Rickey is showing off nicely. I had to pick up 'Marmalade' at the local Gardenfest this spring, and now I am really eyeing several others.
Others
I have really enjoyed topping off the shade garden with Ligularia dentata 'Othello', some Tovara, Astilbe, Solomon's Seal, and Toad Lillies (another personal favorite). Several different Hydrangeas and rhododenrons round out my shade gardens, and I have really enjoyed them all.