Hi, I had the same question before we put in a 10' flagstone path last year. I decided to do the gravel and sand base. However I ended up removing the sand between the pavers in order to grow ground cover. I don't believe sand has any nutrients, it didn't seem to me that anything was going to be able to grow in it. If I had it to do over, I might have still done the gravel and sand base. (Maybe...just added a few additional stones to the ends and they seem quite stable dug into ground without the base.) I would definitely skip the sand between the stones. I would just put back well-amended soil. I don't think this would have caused any issues with the stones shifting because a) our underlying ground is compacted clay and b) it doesn't get *that* cold here in zone 7 northern VA. Plus with a good amount of space between paves, a little shifting isn't going to be the problem it is if the flagstones are abutted against each other. Re what to plant between the stones. Well, our path runs from full shade to full sun so finding one thing to work the whole way has been a challenge. Last year I planted Steppables--Scotch moss and a couple of others. I'm drawing a blank on what they were, sorry. Absolutely no sign of them this year at all. Not sure if they were a casualty of our hard winter or the rain water that runs through our deck onto the path. I just put in dwarf mondo grass a couple of weeks ago and so far it is doing well. Oh, and I discovered that our normally very pricey local nursery sells mondo grass by the flat (24 pots for $29) which was much more economical than the individual little Steppables. Let me know if anything above doesn't make sense. Deanna

2-3 hours of sun, regardless of the time of day, is just not enough for full sun perennials. But there are lots of perennials that will tolerate part sun/part shade conditions.......and many that are very "cottagey" in appearance as well. Some that come to mind immediately are columbine, various hardy geraniums, silene, saxifrage, delphiniums, anemones, dame's rocket, campanulas, foxgloves. And I'd not worry about lack of color in the more shady areas. Bring in variegation on foliage (shrubs, hostas, grasses) or golds and chartreuses and lots of seasonal color - impatiens, begonias, fuchsias, caladiums, annual vinca. Lots of colorful perennials and flowering shrubs for shade as well - astilbe, ligularia, toad lilies, corydalis, bleeding heart, azaleas, hydrangeas. And buy yourself a gift with a copy of The Complete Shade Gardener by George Schenk - you will never feel like your garden is "too green" again :-))

Although the photo is not complete enough for a good ID, looks more like a western red cedar than a Doug fir......and that can complicate your planting choices. Cedars tend to have much broader canopies than firs and a very widespreading root system with a heavy mat of fine feeder roots right under the surface that makes establishing any plantings of size very difficult. Even a lot of native plants are not inclined to grow directly under the canopy of large cedars - too little light, too little moisture. Vine maples will simply languish in such a situation - I wouldn't waste my time and money. You need to look for plants that will tolerate dry shade and for best results, plant small and have the patience to allow them to grow to size. And most plants happy under these restrictive circumstances tend not to grow very tall and won't be very effective for screening. You may get much better and faster screening if you utilize large planters, like 1/2 whiskey barrels. Then pretty much any shade loving shrub (with adequate irrigation) will work.

How much work do you want to do? If you water, your hosta will be touching each other in a few years.(three growing seasons at the most at my house) Anything large like ferns, ginger, will soon be in the way and you will want to remove them. Right now my ajuga is in bloom so I would vote for that. I have three inch flower spikes this year. Beautiful in my hosta garden. If you plant a few against the wall very soon they will move forward and fill in all around your hosta. Mine took two seasons to fill in a space your size. I had a few plants given to me by a neighbor. If it were me I would stick with a ground cover and feature your hosta. Creeping jenny, vinca are also nice and would fill in, giving you a living mulch.