Nice job clearing the land. Will the buckthorn and garlic mustard continue to be a problem? I have both, and they continue to be a problem because the neighbors around me refuse to even make an attempt to control their BT and GM.

The possibilities are endless with that corner. Are you considering any type of water feature?

ohhh, so much work! but....i can just See the hostas there. happy planting, andi

I strongly recommend raised beds. It will be alot easier to plant and better for your plants. Use rocks for edging and build up a bed behind them. Put plastic along the fence to protect it and to help keep the neighbors weeds out.You might consider a horseshoe shape with a nice place to sit in the center. Have fun.

Theresa,
Garlic Mustard: The key to garlic mustard is to never let them go to seed. Hand-pulling and RoundUp where it grows thick and rampant works, but you have to get on it early.

If it does go to seed, the best thing I can tell you is pick it and bag it right there in the spot. Remember that spot and watch it like a hawk the next year and the year after. Never carry a wad of loose garlic mustard across the yard to toss it in a weed pile. You'll sow seed everywhere you walk. I forget the stats, but there is an INSANE number of seeds off 1 plant...and they are TINY. They will easily burrow anywhere.

If it's growing in the lawn, that's okay. Mowing keeps it cut off and the plant will naturally die either that same year or the next year. If I recall correctly, an individual plant lives 2 years before it dies naturally.

I know garlic mustard is a hard one, but I've had success. When I moved in, I had it everywhere. Now, I hardly have any, but I do watch and maintain very carefully.

Buckthorn: I've found the buckthorn have shallow roots, so they are really easy to hand-pull...even saplings a couple feet tall. The spread of buckthorn happens when the seed/fruit drops. Those seeds germinate and sprout extremely easy.

I am obsessive around August-September when the fruit starts to drop. They are like small plums. When they drop, they are still hard and can be raked up. If the fruit is left on the ground, it will soften and break open in about a week and there are the seeds. The seeds look like cocoa bean mulch, and there can be so many of them that they WILL form a mulch layer if you have as many as I did...and still do.

I rake like a maniac at least once a week until it's all over. Last year I carried out 1-2 five-gallon buckets of buckthorn fruit per week. (I have an entire vacant lot I'm clearing, not just this corner). This year, I hardly have any new seeds or sprouts in areas I cleared. I haven't had any trouble with buckthorn in my grass despite the bazillion mushy ickies getting stepped on.

For the cleared area:
I am considering a water feature (fountain...not pond) in that spot. I can easily run electricity thru my garage for the pump.

I'm considering a brick/stone circle in the center with seating & plants surrounding it.

I'm considering a circle path to walk the perimeter and plants on edges & in the center.

My rainbarrel and compost piles are right there, so I want to do something to camouflage and divert attention elsewhere. I'll likely take out the cinder block dividers for the compost piles and do something prettier.

I have a lot of considerations, don't I? So many options. I've been tossing ideas around for a year & now that I'm getting close, I still don't have a game plan aside from lots of hostas.
Gayle

Well done. It's your garden , make it say something about yourself. Take an idea here and an idea there and then add your own touch to them.

Make sure we see the results and even the process in pictures please.

Connie

love the before & after photos!

you've done fabulous work!

I agree about building up to get some elevation. Raising the plants makes them visible from farther away, drawing the yard and garden together.

Raised beds can do it... I've used treated lumber and used railroad ties to build tiered raised beds. We've also used piled dirt to creat an earth mound. Nice free form curves are easy when you are dealing with a dirt mound.

The two can be put together - a "retaining wall" corner for the back side of the pile, with the dirt sloping to ground level in the front. That puts the highest plants back closer to the far wall.

One of the great advantages to raised, in addition to how it displays the plants, is the ease with which you can get good soil for your plants. Amending soil and digging around tree roots can be a pain... so much easier to make a good mix and lay it on top!

One warning - make sure the trees are not the kinds that are severely distressed by a layer of dirt. Some trees can be killed by raising the ground level over their roots by even a couple of inches...

I like Connie's comment... put together something that expresses something about you!