All I see when I see open ground is what hosta would look there! I think Sagae and Liberty would look great back there. And/or a large or giant, like Sum and Substance, Sum of All, Niagara Falls, Blue Angel, Earth Angel or American Angel would be great. IF you have room after that, you can put something non-hosta there. :-)

Diane

how about some ferns, the lacy foliage always looks nice with the bold foliage of the hosta, or bugbane which has lacy foliage plus spikes of white flowers, ligularia if there is enough moisture the yellow flowers will stand out in the shade, or if it's light shade try clethra, its a shrub with sweet smelling flowers that attract hummingbirds. There are many possibilities.

I don't know how much light you have in there during the day, especially in the spring and fall.

1)I like Japanese Painted fern because it won't take over like a lot of other ferns. Love the color, too.

2) Is it too cold in your zone for a hydrangea in your biggest open spot?

3) Right now my Japanese anemones are blooming. They do best with a few hours of light. The ones with less light bloom later than the others, but that's fine. Extends the season. Love the dancing flowers in a breeze. Attractive maple-leaf foliage.

4)I am a big fan of bulbs, as long as your hosta plantings are permanent. I favor Red Emperors. Large long-lasting flowers (unless shortened by global warming heat wave) They bloom in early to mid- April here, and the leaves and stems are gone long before the daffs and later season tulips are done. My daffodil leaves hang on for freakin' ever. I don't cut anything off, since I want them to return. The fosteriana group perennializes very well. I plant 8" deep, and nothing digs them up or tunnels down that far. They come in other colors, but the red is the BEST!

5) I love the Globemaster allium. Blooms May/June. Flowers last a LONG time, unlike the Gladiators, which are much less expensive, paler and less pretty. The Globemasters have a bright lilac color, dense flowers, small *footprint*, increase in number, aren't eaten by rodents or deer, have very stout stems, look great with hostas.

These plants come to mind quickly.

~Bunnycat

Vicki,
I would recommend something that will form a pleasing backdrop to complement your hostas in the foreground. Therefore, I would choose something that will get larger and slightly taller than your largest hostas, that would look natural in a woodland setting, and that has a fine foliage to add contrast to the big leaves on your hostas. Ferns would be great. My #1 choice would be the Ghost Fern (Athyrium pictum 'Ghost'). It's much like a Japanese Painted Fern, but stands more upright and gets slightly taller (about 36"). So it will be tall enough to see. It doesn't flop over like the Japanese Painted Fern. It has very fine, lacy silvery fronds which look superb with hostas. Another option is to plant some shrubs to form a nice background. You will need to evaluate how much sun this area will get. Select some that will eventually get a little taller than your largest hostas. Some that would look great are: (1) If you want dark maroon/black lacy foliage, try Black Beauty Elderberry (Sambuscus nigra 'Gerda'). This lacy dark foliage is a perfect complement to bright green and blue hosta leaves. (2) Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' is an excellent shrub that looks natural in a woodland setting. It's very floriferous, having many double white blossoms that are held on the top side of its branches. It gets 8-10' tall and wide. An excellent shrub. (3) One of my favorite shrubs is the Daphne 'Carol Mackie.' It has very fine, oval green and white leaves. But the best thing is its wonderful fragrance- just outstanding! These shrubs are a little slow-growing, but will eventually form a globular shape 4-6' high. They don't like to be transplanted, although I've successfully transplanted several I'm growing. They look good with hostas. (4) Another unusual woodland-type shrub/small tree is Aralia. It has a very large, lacy compound leaf. You can get one that's all green, or green and white leaves, or green and cream leaves. My favorite is green and cream. But they are all wonderful and look very natural in a woodland setting with ferns. (5) Rhodendrons would also form a pleasant background for your hostas in this setting. Hope this helps. Happy gardening! Don

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Sambuscus nigra 'Gerda'

Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake'

Daphne 'Carol Mackie'

Aralia elata 'Variegata'

What about something that has a drooping habit, like Bleeding Heart?

I was at a nursery last weekend, and the owner highly recommended epimediums as shade tolerant plants that do well in any, including the most marginal, growing conditions.

There is a wide range of varieties available, so you'll need to do some research to see which interest you. The common name for the plant is Bishop's Hat.

If you go with a fern deffinitly do not pick a wanderer. Autumn fern has nice color.

WOW!! Lots of great ideas, if I provide the brats and beer will some of you come and help, LOL...seriously though...I should probably given a bit of geographical info. First off our soil is pure sand. I am having to constantly compost and add to the soil, which is helping a lot. Also, I took the advice from this forum and I water deeply at least twice weekly (we have our own well, thank goodness). I get NO sun, however, our oak and black cherry trees are pruned high, so I do get bright light. I already do have alot of spring bulbs, bleeding hearts (both kinds) and bugbane. I do like the ideas of the ferns if they will tolerate my soil...I already have a "patch" of Japanese Painted fern. We did have some Unique/Tardiva hydrangea planted about where the "blank" spot is but they struggled and we moved them a year ago out into the sunshine part of our property and they are now very happy and blooming well...also have the Elderberry but again in the "sunshine beds". My no sunshine is such a limiting factor with shrubs. Forgot to mention that we get alot of wind and this area is at the top of our property adding to the drying factor. I notice this because my bugbane needs to be kept very moist or the bottom leaves dry out on me. Where the dirt "stops" in the background of the picture it goes down a bit of a grade and we have a "dry riverbed" look in blue/gray slat and boulders with hostas planted between...oh, one more idea of how my shade affects plants is that I have Climbing Hydrangea planted lower on the wall and although it has taken over the wall and climbs up the oaks it does not bloom for me. Well, anyway, I am going to look into some of the ideas you have sent and thank you again for all. Vicki

Vicki,

I also have black cherries and oaks! I like Ligularia "The Rocket" in the background on mine. It grows beautifully there. Here's a closeup. It's the deep green foliage with the yellow spike flowers.

The purple flowers in the foreground are bee-balm. That area of the bed gets more morning sun.

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Here is the larger picture so you can see it in greater context of the hosta bed.

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Char

Large Rock!