Thanks everybody! Dee, I understood what you meant! That would actually probably be better than what I was thinking. Originally I was going to dig out the middle which would actually probably be the original main root system, like Ken was talking about. If I just put the plant I want to add to the side rather in the middle it will be closer to the plant I want the new plant next to. Wow, now I feel like I am being as clear as mud! Very helpful! Thanks again!

daylillies range from the short hybrids with 'fans'( the leaves) only a foot or so tall, to the local 'ditch' lilly, which can have 40" fan in full sun, and the flowers are right in my face in the summer (I'm 5'7") the ditch lilies have the advantage of being cheap or free- and they spread freely in anything short of drought conditions. but they are the tallest. the forsythia is a full shrub, can get 8' square without thinking about it, or can be pruned to shape. they can also be propagated by 'stapling' a branch to the ground, and letting it root. in a full sun condition, there are a few other choices- spiderwort spreads like hateful gossip in the sun, forms dense clumps, and I'm in love with the deep violet-blue flowers...and if you planted it now, you could dig the clump up in september, divide it, spread it out, and have six or either clumps by next spring ( if you're in Bucks Co close, I can provide them for a fraction of what the nursery will want for them) gout weed (I prefer the name 'false lamium' which sounds a little less painful) is another damned aggressive monster that's impossible to kill, and isn't unattractive- green and white striped foliage, spreads by seeds, runners, and roots, not too tall (the stems fall over when they get about 14" tall, and tend to root where they touch the ground) groundcover roses is a lovely, but pricey option. Rocks, since you're a local, can be a good option to interplant with the plants. the upright sedums are also a viable choice for a slope around here- mine came from a single leaf I plucked from a roadside planting, it was a cauliflower-sized clump that fall, and it roots REALLY fast- you can break a 'branch' off and it will root in the dirt in a week with no trouble at all.

Thanks for your response GGG. I ammended the bed with mushroom compost and natures helper a couple of years ago when I started the bed. But maybe there was just too much rain for it. I am going to put them in again this fall and see what happens next spring. I think they would be so pretty hanging down the wall. Thanks again for your help.

I have three creeping phlox two in front of my house and one out back ..it’s totally dried Out like hay and it hurts to touch very prickly . We didn’t get a lot of rain last three weeks everyones lawns were yellowing. in Maine .