this is not very origunal but a dense planting of colorful impatients under the shrubs would be be pretty and low maintence. however they are annuals.

You might join together the mulched area under the birch with the shrub border eliminating the mulch ”path” between two areas. that would unify what are now separate areas into a flowing border,

that leaves you with an empty awkward space between the two areas. which is what it is now with the grass.

i should have asked first: what is your goal? do you want to start a woodland perennial garden or just brighten up what you have?

perennials will not provide consistant color because they grow, bloom and most then sit quietly rest of the season. i dont think their best qualities are shown off as

”facer” plants to formal- ish shrub border.

if you really want a woodland perennial garden patch you may have to rethink that entire area.

are the shrubs on the right a variety or all the same.

its beautiful property with a beautiful house.

My next thought is elimate the grass. you could fill the area with a variety of shrubs with varying shapes anf textures such as red osier dogwood, forhergilla gardenii ”blue shadow” some hardy azaelas and yak rhodies

and groups of hellebores. it could be stunning.

What a lovely entry way to your house! LOVE the trees!

I cant quite tell what you have in there other than the hostas, but how old are the plantings? Consider mature size when adding more stuff.

Heucheras MIGHT do well there? And there are sooo many colors to choose from. I wonder if astilbe would work in your soil...? Ditto to MG's suggestions too.

You could add some pots of coleus or tuberous begonias. Perhaps a nice bench to invite people to rest and enjoy the spot.

And yes, I have to agree with Marie - while not very original, a nice border of white impatiens, although annuals, makes a lovely (IMO), classic and long-lasting show of flowers for the season and brightens up the shade.

Let us know what you end up doing!

:)

Dee

Would ultimately love a woodland perennial garden (and love experimenting), but impatiens are a great suggestions. The hostas are two different varieties (they are about 12 years old but divided multiple times) .

Woodland phlox would be beautiful in your garden. I could see a large grouping to the left. These are spring bloomers and one of my favorites. Pictured in the center here with creeping phlox at top and bottom...

Just plant impatients now and enjoy them while you mull over your options.

most of us stand around doung ”nothing” while fantasize how to transform our spaces into something beautiful. go out sude muliple times a day and stand in different places. imagine you are framing a photo or pictureis . whats in the frame?

whats behind the shrubs at the top of the berm? Empty space?

i dont think i could say a lot more until i understand the lay of the land better, especially knowing more about the shrubs you already have.

I just dont see an effective mixed perennial border in the space betweeen the driveway and the shrubs. yes a lot of flowing phlox subulata, maybe mass planting of day lilies,

again i believe the grass would have to go. isnt it a pain to mow it?

Love all these ideas!

I wouldnt remove all of the grass as it has a good flow with the trees. But I would remove a small amount near the shrubs just to give you more room to plant in. No daylilies please, too messy for your lovely space.

I kinda like the grass too.

While I love hostas, and in particular I love the variegated ones like you have, I think yours are all too similar in size. Perhaps a nice giant hosta as a focal point would work, maybe even two (of the same variety), on the side towards the driveway. A Komodo Dragon or Humpback Whale or Empress Wu. My heart would really want an Empress Wu La La, lol but I think since you have those lovely variegated hostas already, a plain green/blue one would be a nice backdrop/focal point. One near the point of the right bed (right in the photo) and one further back between the trees. Heck, put a third one on the left too, just to create some continuity. I guess then three of them wouldn't be a "focal point", lol, but it would IMO create some visual interest.

And yes, agree with some kind of groundcover like woodland phlox. Green/bloom/living is always preferable to mulch, IMO.

And looking at GardenHo's photo, perhaps put in a piece of garden art for interest as well.

:)

Dee

i would like to know more about gallicas reaction to irrigation of this area.

Kitasei2, The short answer is that it causes a lot more problems than it solves.

• regular watering discourages plants from putting out wide ranging roots. So they essentially become 'addicted' to watering, and will suffer greatly if watering stops.
• in this climate, most unwatered plants do just fine :-)
• it encourages weed growth
• it encourages fungal diseases
• it wastes water in areas where water systems were not sized for a lot of outdoor water use (see point 2)

Mostly, its about understanding where you live.

I garden on the other coast but have a similar full shade front yard. One plant that does well is the Japanese forest grass - adds a nice contrast to the big leaf hostas and heucheras. And bonus, the light color brightens the spot.

mokotes by Japanese forest grass are you referring to Hakonechloa? If so I was going to suggest that but I wasn't sure how much shade it could take. I have grown it in a bit more than half sun, but it was a very moist spot so I didn't know if the moisture helped it. Good to know it can do well in deeper shade! I agree with you - beautiful contrast and brightness!

:)

Dee

I've found hakonechloa to be hit or miss enough that I'd want to know just how far 'north' is this particular 'northern NY'.