Do you prefer to plant perennials or annuals or a combination of both?

I'd say forget flowers, and plant a collection of heucheras.
They love the shade, and their foliage comes in lots of different colours.

Hi thanks, I like to have perennials and a handful of annuals, my garden is very full and green with a bit of colour but i was looking for some bright flowers which tolerate being in the shade under trees. :-)

What about hardy fuchsias?

I have a lot of shade ,many of the hardy geraniums will be happy. Then Impatiens omeiana has a gorgeous variegated leaf with orangy flowers. Begonia sutherlandia is another shade lover.
There are the Astrantia flowers from palest green through to deep red. I also grow foxgloves, Aconitium blue through to white flowers. I find the pale blue and white forms particularly good in the shade.
Many of the Lamiums are happy in shade again flowers pink through to white, variegated leaves etc. Same with the Ajugas Blue and pink flower forms.

Cyclamen hederifolium, if there's a spot where you'd see them. I like them under herbaceous and deciduous stuff to give leaf interest over winter, but the flowers are sweet too.
Trollius, if it's moist enough, is robust enough to force its flower stalks up through other planting to give bright splashes of yellow or orange.
But as the others have said, heucheras, geraniums and foxgloves will be the perfect recipe.

I'll second geraniums but be choosy as some are better in shade than others. Daffodils of course, the smaller ones look best in a spot like that. Pink hellebores for late winter.
There are some gorgeous ones now - look at the websites of hellebore specialists.

Thanks everyone certainly something to think about.