Thank you so much for the suggestions lacey_vail and Yardvaark! Sounds like hostas are a good choice. The tree is a mountain ash, not sure if it would share the dirt well with other plants or not. Is it a friendly tree?

hosta will have no trouble surviving below it.

A mix of hosta and hakonechloa could be nice as well.

Considering that Donald J. Leopold, in Native Plants of the Northeast, lists 119 plants that tolerate shade - ferns and fernlike plants, grasses and grasslike plants, wildflowers, vines, and shrubs - a planting of hostas, even given the wonderful variety of hostas, is just plain boring and unimaginative.

Here is a great article that highlight perennials for shade. Make sure you mix texture with color. Do not plant an entire bed of one hosta.

http://awaytogarden.com/10-thoughts-on-successful-underplanting/

I disagree jaybar and agardenstateof_mind, I think a single bed of a single variety will have more class and impact than a bed of mixed things ... especially if the yard has any size to it.

Does anyone else notice the cemetery-like quality of the yard next door?

Wow, this is turning into a debate...I love it! I enjoy all of the different ideas & suggestions.

Agardenstateof_mind, I intend to plant more than just hostas like some grasses & ferns & perhaps some flowers, too. Thanks!

Jaybar, great article for ideas. Much appreciated!

Yaardvark, I am not next to a cemetery but many of the yards in my subdivision are quite plain and somber. That's why I want to spruce mine up a bit! It will take time & money, though, so it's not gonna happen overnight! It's also a small town & the availability of plants is quite limited. Shopping online seems expensive, but maybe I need to find the right sites. Any recommendations?

I also have to take into account my large black lab who likes to do his business in those corners, so that might create some obstacles in my landscaping agenda! :-P

Try Bluestone Pernennials in Ohio for online plant shopping. Very good, interactive website and exceptionsl shipping/packing.

For inexpensive healthy plants, Santa Rosa Gardens has a good reputation for perennials, and you may get other recommendations on the perennials forum. Ask on the Hosta forum for recommendations for healthy virus-free suppliers of hosta that don't need to be the latest new plant. Regardless, before buying from any mail order nursery, check Garden Watchdog for reviews since often inexperienced gardeners (including me at an earlier point in my gardening hobby) order from nurseries that send poor quality or dying plants. On the left side of the linked page, type in the nursery's name to get their reviews. There is also a space where you can type in your zipcode or the zips of nearby towns to see what nurseries are in your area. In my neck of the woods, which is quite rural, there are a surprising number of nurseries if I want to drive a bit. Local plants will usually be larger due to the cost of mailing large plants, so I mail order unusual plants and ones that I can't find locally, and buy everything else locally.

Often a short ornamental fence or a temporary fence can be used to train a dog to not use garden areas for play or toileting areas, though a vigilant eye may be needed when the fence comes down.

I tend to use a wider mix of plants where I will be near the garden to enjoy it, but in a garden I only view from a distance, I am more likely to use massed plants for better effect. Both styles have uses.

Thanks for the recommendations C.L. Sleger & NHBabs. :-)

Jaime, I know you are not next to cemetery. It was the look of shrubs/trees spaced all over that gives it the sense of cemetery ... minus headstones.

@Yardvaark- I think its a matter of personal preference, some prefer mosaics while others prefer a single varietal. However I can see your point on a large property and how the single varietal makes sense, because from a distance a bed with variety won't be recognizable. Far too often I see a single line of the same species of hostas and it often looks horrible.

@ Jaybar .... It is far more common that homeowners try to place too much variety (in some combination of forms, colors, sizes, etc.) in their yards, with the end result being that, instead of making any statement of strength, a busy jumble results. As far as a single line of hosta looking bad, you probably know I rail against LINES, too. Usually, lines of plants don't look near as good as blocks of them.

I removed the shrubs & discovered that it's very sandy in those spots. Will I still be able to grow hostas, etc?

You've got a tree and a shrub already growing there. Why wouldn't hostas?