It's a nice looking bed, but you have it pretty well filled up with shrubs. Unless you keep them pruned back pretty drastically, I'd imagine the bed is rather full when the Ligustrum and Euonymous leaf out. The Junipers at the edge of the patio really prevent you from doing much around them, again, unless you prune them back quite a bit.

I'd take a drastic approach, and I'm assuming you have yard space. I'd move the Junipers, and all but one of the Privet. Leave the Burning Bushes, because they're at the back. Now you have an open bed, with a few backbone shrubs to play off of.

You could replace the Junipers with low-growing carpet Junipers to soften some of the patio edge, and use small grasses and Hostas between them for contrast. As you work back into the bed, increase the height of the plants, and use the Euonymous as a backdrop, by planning contrasting fall colors in front of their dramatic red fall foliage. A couple of moderate height columnar grasses, like Calamagrostis x acutiflora ('Karl Foerster,' 'Overdam' or 'Avalanche'(the second 2 are variegated)). They'll bloom in summer, but hold their inflorescenses through the fall, and really stand out against the Burning Bushes.

Once you open the area up by removing a lot of the shrubs, you'll have many more options.

i think you could leave the juniper that is closest to the fence (it can act as an evergreen backdrop there, at least from the views in the pictures), but i would remove the other 2 and the privets. i am not sure that i would add creeping juniper, like blue rug, because i think it would be hard on the perennials. like donn said, i would graduate height as you go towards the backdrop (both toward the burning bush, and toward the juniper). in front of the remaining juniper, or in place of it if you remove it, i would possibly add a hydrangea. in front of that i would consider a low growing gardenia radicans. imagine the gardenia scent as you sit on the patio! ferns and hostas have lots of size variety. i would also look at heucheras and columbine. and mertensia virginica. (i could go on and on, sorry). and astilbe would give beautiful flowers and the ferny look (they need moisture). it will be a lovely area! take the opportunity, if you remove the junipers, to ammend the soil liberally with compost. all that said, i can't quite believe donn didn't mention grasses... i think you can add 1 in the background, or possibly add hakonechloa. if you want a ground cover, look at creeping veronica. the bright lime green is very pretty in front of evergreens.

"i can't quite believe donn didn't mention grasses.."

Look again!
;>)

Thank you both for the suggestions - I think it could be a very lovely area with a little work.

We orinally planted the junipers up front because we have little kids and I knew they could stand getting run over with a tricylce now and then! I'll have to find a tough little plant for the front of the patio, and try to teach the kids to stay out of mommy's garden!

I was also considering a pathway through the center to make it easier for weeding and also give the kids a designated area to walk. What do you think?

I just moved about 4 clumps of feather reed grass from between the burning bushes, because it wasn't getting enough sun (I assume - they didn't get any bigger/wider in 3 years). Could you suggest a taller grass that does well in shade/part shade?

Thank you again for your help - this forum and the pictures I've seen are quite an inspiration!

weird, donn...when i first read your response i never saw the grass paragraph!

digin'...whatever donn says about grasses gets my vote!

You definitely should put in a walkway or stepping stones to prevent soil compaction. First, you should figure out where the "natural path" is, that is, where the kids/dog/spouse will naturally tend to walk. Put the path or stepping stones there. It's much easier than trying to get others to change where they want to walk. Also remember for weeding how far you can reach into the area. For example, if you can reach 3 ft, an area 6 ft wide should have a path or stepping stone on either side. Another thing to consider is where the ball (baseball, basketball, soccer ball) is going to end up. Invariably, the kids send a ball into a bed. It makes sense to provide access for them to retrieve it (if possible).

It's not easy to find tall grasses which can deal with a spot shady enough to bother Feather Reed. Did those clumps bloom?

Wild Oats, Chasmanthium Latifolium, can hit 4' and doesn't mind shade.

Carex muskingumensis works well in shade, but seldom exceeds 3'.

Both of them are very nice tropical looking grasses.

There are lots of nice grasses for shade in smaller sizes. Deschampsia, Luzula, Sesleria and Hakonechloa (as inthegarden suggested) all come to mind.

I just bought a book that I haven't gotten into yet, but it holds out the promise of great advice on creating mixed garden beds like this with shrubs, perennials, annuals, trees, and bulbs. It's "The Well-Designed Mixed Garden" by Tracy Diabato-Aust. You might get some benefit from it; I'll put the link below.

Hey Donn -- I'm enjoying the seeds you sent this winter! Hope your garden is doing well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mixed garden book

I meant Tracy Disabato-Aust. Since you might search for her books, I thought I should correct it!

Stevation - that looks like a great book - I'll have to track it down - you can never have too many garden books...

Donn - I think I'm going to try moving the feather reed back to the area after all - it's such a good looking grass, and I really don't remember if it bloomed last year or not (new baby - sleep deprived!).

The junipers are going to a new home on Sunday, and the privets will be moved to the side of the house. Can't wait to start this little garden makeover!