Hi I live near London and I am trying to create an exotic looking garden. On one side I have a bed that gets very little sun due to the tress next door, however it is bright. The soil is clay. I have lots of flax and ferns there at the moment and last yesr tried dahilias. Could you advise me on what plants would be good in this situation? Ideally I would like some colour, maybe reds or oranges....thanks in advance!

A first suggestion :
Elephant ears (Alocasia sp.) often thrive in an area that is shaded but bright, provided they have plenty of water during the growing season.
More generally, large-leaf plants are not that keen on full-sun locations. So I'd advise you investigate genera such as Musa and Tetrapanax for instance.

[ Edited by GreenThumb on 2006/7/26 7:46 ]

Maybe you could try some variegated Hedychium, Alpinia, Globba, and related.
Many of these plants should be root-hardy in the UK. Even if they don't bloom (many Hedychium should, however) they will be good foliage plants, adapted to shade / semi-shade / bright situations.
Regards
Etto.