The Better Homes and Garden website has a lot of design ideas, and generally lots of garden info. Go to:
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/

There are lots of other websites with garden design info, just search on "garden design".

Also, there are a lot of lovely garden magazines on the newsstands right now - buy a few that look interesting and browse for ideas. There are endless books out there on garden design, you could check your local library for starters.

Making a garden in lawn is a bit tricky, you need to try to minimize grass regrowth. For smaller gardens I'd try to strip the sod off and compost it, and then dig pretty deeply, adding compost, manure, perhaps peat moss, to enrich the soil.

Research your plants - typically people plant taller things in the middle, smaller plants around the edges, but of course that depends on your layouts. Create "bones" with perennials and shrubs, and then fill in for the first few years with annual plants to help fill in the bare spots till things spread. Lots of people like to mulch, and it is good for the soil as it breaks down, plus it holds moisture, but it can be expensive so I tend not to. I also like my plants to reseed, and they can't do that easily onto mulch.

You have a wonderful opportunity to create new gardens - always fun!!! Enjoy yourself - gardening is a process, and they evolve over time.

Regarding your shade garden and wanting to add new plants, some I love with my hostas are: heuchera, brunnera, japanese painted ferns, solomon's seal, pulmonarias, astilbe.... I like contrast in foliage color, shape, and texture.

Hi Jim and welcome
Old fashioned bleeding hearts do well in shade, They are perennial and come back every spring. Astilbes also do well in shade and again they are perennial. They have fern like texture but add color with their feathery plumes in white or pink. Pulmonaria is also a good plant for shade. It is low growing so does well down in front of a bed or around a tree and it has little blooms in shades of pink or blue, purple in early spring. Native columbine can take sun or part shade, does well in rocky soil or amended aoil

For full sun I like Salvias, Agastaches and Penstemons. They are also deer and rabbit resistant and drought tolerant once they are established which means they take care of themselves. There only soil requirement is well drained soil.

Penny

welcome to gardenweb!

gardenweb is a big place. you should also check out the perennials forum and shade gardening forum for more ideas. They are much more active than our local upstate NY forum.

Also watch this space - we have a local plant swap every June that is AMAZING!

welcome, jim. i must say the plant swap is fantastic. you will meet a lot of very helpful, incredible people there. i went last year for the first time and loved it. can't wait for this year's!! ;)