On the subject of companion plants, my conifers actually started off as companion plants to the rest of my garden, which was a mess of perennials and deciduous shrubbery as well as a pretty big collection of hostas and ferns (note to Steve: try ferns!). For me, moving to conifers has been part of a move in my gardening to a more controlled, formal look as my gardening to that point seemed to be having the effect of uglifying, rather than beautifying, our yard. My experience of mixing conifers with other plants is that (a) anything deciduous or herbaceous messes up the look, and (b) my preference for intertwining/layered foliage doesn't always result in the healthiest conifers. A tall hosta or ligularia for example will shade out a conifer behind it and then, in fall, smother it by plastering it with wet dead leaves. I'm still determined to somehow grow conifers and other plants, but I'm finding it takes a good understanding of plant shapes, and some careful plant training, separation/grooming, and pruning depending on plant size at time of planting. And some things just DON'T work in my tight space, for example arching ferns just don't work next to certain types of conifers because planted as close together as they need to be on my little property, they try to occupy the same airspace. And a word for Firefighter about Rhodos: "boring?" You're looking at the wrong rhodos! If you really start looking at rhodos for foliage, you'll go weak in the knees and forget that they ever flower. I have a couple of plants on which I don't even like the flowers and grow them solely because of the beguiling foliage. I look forward to the emergence of new leaves way more than I do to the flowers, with very few exceptions. I'll try to get out and snap some photos, once it's gotten less cold and the leaves are looking good again. My ideal combo: conifers, rhodos, and Japanese maples. KarinL

Hi, I love Solomon's seal, Hellebore and Lobelia with mine. They all have different leaf textures than the ferns and stand out nicely. Japanese painted ferns look good in front. I also plant spring blooming bulbs to fill in for some early color. Jen

I also like the moss, and ordered a selaginella spike moss of some kind from Plant Delights. Then, on a visit to my local nursery, tucked back in a corner and forgotten, I found a pot of it all bronzed and happy and hanging over the sides looking for more territory....and picked that up for a much cheaper price, and NO shipping charges! I simply cannot document everything with photos as I'd like, and am falling behind on the hosta pictures as well. It's been a long summer and planning for the house remodel (just 2 years behind schedule) has distracted me. Hopefully this job will be finished in 6 weeks or so, ONCE IT STARTS, and spring will be a joyful time devoted entirely to hosta and the garden with planted (not potted) companion plants in between growing in a naturalized fashion. I'm hoping the columbine and solomon seal will do a great job of beautifying my green leaves.

msbaby, one of the greatest things about these gardenweb forums is finding out about the real-world experiences of regular people working with these plants! I love it... and it's gotten so I rarely buy a plant without looking it up in one of these forums (I also like to check the home forums for info on appliances, and all kinds of things there, before making a big purchase). Anyway, in searching the hosta forum for info on "hayscented fern," there are quite a few threads.... looks like that's one that people like, but that maybe you have to be careful so it doesn't go wild and take over. Here's one of those threads: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2010181/tokudama-flavocircinalis-through-the-years?n=10 I've been trying to learn a bit more about ferns too, and as soon as I have a little more shade (grow trees grow!) I'll be planting some. I especially like the looks of Autumn Fern... I just keep passing it by at the nursery, but one of these days I'll buy some.