Deb,
So far so good...you have made a good job of what you have! My first comment is to re-assure you concerning the trees that were cut down resulting in less shade at your home. Hostas are tough, they grow in shade AND also in sun. Actually some hostas (the yellow/gold ones especially) grow better in sun. Hostas dont absolutely need shade to grow. They are shade tolerant.
I would first start by choosing small to medium sized hostas that are slugs-free, that is, their substance is heavy enough and are not affected by slugs.

Papou

Deb- I live in deer heaven and keep them away from my gardens by sprinkling Milorganite around the plants. It is a fertilizer, but repels deer and rabbits.

Good luck with you beautiful yard.
-Sprout

I would look through the magazine articles on the link below and get an idea of what you want to do. Your hosta beds remind me of mine when I started out - I had a lot of the same kinds of hosta: Undulata (tons of them), Francee and Minuteman. At one time I had about 75 hosta with 85% of them Undulata. Over the past three years I have been giving the Undulata away and replacing them with various different hosta, and I have tried to use some of the ideas in these articles to help me with my design. Some people like to plant hosta in mass (meaning multiples of the same kind, with beautiful results), I generally have just one of a particular kind in a bed, with my multiples spread around the yard.

Looks like you have a good yard for hosta and your climate should allow for hosta in sun (mine doesn't).

Good luck...

Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta at Fine Gardening Magazine

Thanks so much for the responses.

sprout I had no idea Milorganite could double as a repellant! I've been shaving Irish Spring soap around the yard and hanging mesh bags of it from hydrangeas and climbing roses with some success. Just bught a scarecrow sprinkler and hope to set it up this weekend.

Papou thanks for the information on sun. Some of mine were burning (maybe from the sudden change?) and had to be moved but I probably did take it to an extreme. Slugs have not been an issue for me so far (knock wood!) but it would be good to strive for slug free varieties when I buy more. I don't think I've seen that designation on plant tags though - is that something only specialty hosta growers would provide?

jbranch that's a wonderful link - thanks so much - in my favorites already. Clearing out a crowded garden should be no different than clearing out a crowded closet. I regularly purge closets and drawers and call Purple Heart - I need the same approach in my yard. Thanks for that nudge!

dlm send me your email and I'll load you up with landscape photos of different types. It would take 3 days to upload to photobucket then to GW, I have slow I mean slooooooooow dialup.

wilddog_202@yahoo.com

Deb,
A tag will not say the hosta is slug-free, instead it may say "thick substance" which means the same thing.
I have numerous hostas that slugs never affected: Blue Mouse Ears, Paradise Joyce, Dick Ward, June, Blue Angel, etc. are just a few examples. I also am gradually eliminating the Undulatas. I used to have many, many Undulata Albo Marginata...a beautiful colored hosta...but come mid July in my zone the surrounding white simply gets eaten away...melted away...and by the end of July Albo Marginata is very ugly looking. Hybridizers have made such a good job producing new improved hostas, that I prefer buying those new hostas rather than sticking with the Undulatas....

Papou

Amazing how quickly my eye is becoming more critical from looking at your pics and other, Papou. A walk through my yard yesterday (between showers) had me mentally moving and replacing a lot!

esther you can email me through my profile here - thanks!

I've posted this before but I like the peaceful look in this area.

I also like this without hosta! And would not put a hosta anywhere near this spot.

{{gwi:1045321}}

Deb,

I don't see any gold or blue hosta in your landscape, so I guess I'd start there, interspersing some of the plantings with gold such as Sea Fire, Aspen Gold, maybe even Sum and Substance, or Midas' Touch.

Then you need some blues such as Blue Cadet, Blue Angel, Baby Bunting, Tidewater. That will give some variety and serenity to the plantings.

Just one woman's opinion, but I often say, if people would just ask me before they do anything, things would be a lot better in this world. (chuckle) I guess it's a good thing I'm not royalty.

Lainey

Lovely pics, eo - and thank you for the email also - gives me some ideas although I;m working on a MUCH smaller scale!!!

Lainey good suggestions - thanks for the specifics as that really helps me. I'm great at following a 'recipe' and then tweaking it. That's how I relate to my garden, too. Ideas that are vague (to me) play into my procrastinatin and inertia but I love working off a plan and adjusting. See? I'm doing my part to ask you before proceeding any further!

EO...I'm going to email you too for those photos. Please!