I'd say more sun than shade, though not baked over midday, excellent drainage and soil that's not 'cluggy'. They do appreciate reliable water when they're in leaf, though. They seem to be indifferent about planting depth - at least in the first year. Somewhere between one and four inches underground. They appear to multiply grandly and 'dig themselves down' whatever a caring gardener might do. If the clump is thinned out and the bigger corms planted in mid spring to early summer (over an inch wide) - like Gladiolus. Put the smaller ones in a 'grow on' bed, if that suits you. Otherwise you can leave them to make a clump so long as they won't be in boggy land over winter. Some of them also do quite well in deep pots provided that they aren't forgotten when it comes to regular refreshing of the medium.

If you haven't heard from anyone else, I'm growing Karmina in Cincinnati. They get maybe 6-7 hours of sun, I've got osage orange trees on either side of my 80' wide lot so it's not true full sun. This is their second year. I spent a lot of time last summer improving the clay soil with peat, pine fines, and composted manure, and they have exploded. I put in 4" pot-size plants last July, and they're easily 18" across now! The foliage is about 12" high, the flower stems are maybe 16-18" high and covered with blooms. I'm so happy with them I've become a geranium proselytizer! They're in front of Shasta Daisies and the combination looks gorgeous all summer. Highly recommended! Kirsten

I love minis as edgers, and use quite a lot of them. One problem I foresee with your plan is that if you use only one variety, it's going to grow differently in the three different areas you have. Golden Tiara, for example, will be a lighter green with a parchment colored edge in full sun, darker green with a bright gold edge in full shade, and somewhere in between in the partially shaded area. The height of the plants can also be affected, as well as the rate of increase. You might consider using three different varieties for this project if any of these factors would be a concern to you. As far as sun resistance, Golden Tiara will grow in full sun, as will Emerald Tiara, Jade Sceptor, Grand Tiara, Golden Sceptor, and Diamond Tiara, although DT will have a bit of edge burn the first year or two if not kept well watered. Avoid Platinum Tiara for full sun, as it will burn, but it's fine in about 3/4 sun. Lancifolia is a much maligned plant (strictly because it's an old, classic variety) that is a perfect edger if you are looking for a medium sized plant. It is one of the few hostas that can be planted in a nice serpentine row and with a year or two of growth, show a solid wall of plants, without any demarkation between the individual plants. Mature Lancifolia will reach 15-18 inches tall and clump out to 18-24 inches. Pacific Blue Edger is another medium sized plant that makes a good larger edger, with a mature height of 16-18 inches and a spread of 36 inches. In the mini to slightly larger size, there are quite a few choices for your situation. Some of the ones I have used or seen as edgers are listed below, in no particular order. Allen P. McConnell will take full sun to full shade, grows fast, and forms very attractive clumps. It's readily available, reasonably priced, and looks good all season. Slugs will eat this one, but it's not a slug magnet, and the use of Diatomaceous Earth will keep the slugs at bay. Kabitan is one of my favorite smaller hostas, and I use it for a border plant as well as a specimen, and have it tucked all over my gardens. It's a fast grower, looks good all season, and will take full sun. It's got somewhat thin substance, but the slugs don't seem to be partial to it. Baby Bunting is a nice blue/green mini, very hardy and a nice grower, and will take lots of sun if given plenty of water. This is one that I've not seen any slug damage on in any of the gardens that have it. Little Wonder is another of my favorites, a super grower under almost any conditions, widely available and very reasonably priced. It looks great all season, and is a very classy little mini. It also has very attractive dark purple flowers. Lemon Lime makes an excellent edger, with masses of attractive flowers. It will grow in full sun if given lots of water, and it's very fast to clump up. Gold Edger is a bit larger, topping out around 10-12 inches, and it's completely sun tolerant, not attractive to slugs, and attractive all season. Again, I know a source that still has a bunch of this, email if interested. Venusta would be a good option if you like really tiny hostas--mine tops out at about 4 inches, but grows like a weed and is very hardy under all conditions. It will take full sun to full shade. Feather Boa is another very small mini, quite hardy and a good grower. It will take full sun if kept well watered. Easy to find and reasonably priced, too. Blue Mouse Ears is a lovely edger, and it will grow in full sun, but will lose it's coloration fairly quickly in the spring. Green Mouse Ears might be a better choice. Neither of these is very quick to increase, so the cost of buying a large number initially might be more than you want to spend. Wylde Green Cream will grow to about 10-14 inches and makes a nice slightly larger edger. It will take full sun, but is somewhat more attractive to slugs than some of the other varieties. Very pretty in a mass planting, though. Lakeside Elfin Fire will take lots of sun, if watered well, and it is a beautiful edger. Almost too beautiful, as the one place I've seen it used as an edger, it got all the attention and the hostas planted behind it were overlooked. A bit pricy as well, but definitely worth the money. Saishu Jima is a unique small hosta that makes a terrific edger. It grows like a weed, tolerates full sun to full shade, and looks great all season. Golden Spades is a lovely edger, very bright and showy. It will easily take full sun. It is an average grower, and might not be easy to find, but it's worth looking if you like a bright yellow. Lakeside Zinger is a good edger with an interesting, more upright growth habit. It has crisp white margins, seems to be quite prone to sport or streak, and grows well in full sun to full shade. Readily available, quick to increase, and reasonably priced. Thunbergiana is a wonderful edger in a slightly larger size. It has small, elongated, ruffled leaves, and grows to about 14 inches high. Very fast to increase, grows anywhere, and is very hardy. Also has nice flowers. Little Razor is a great edger, with a very different look to the upright foliage. It's hardy, likes lots of sun but will grow in full shade, and is quick to increase. Fair Maiden is one of my favorite edgers. It has a low, slightly spreading habit and beautiful coloration. It will take full sun only if mulched and watered deeply and often--otherwise it will burn. Slugs don't seem to like this one, possibly because it has somewhat thicker leaves than some hostas. Abby is a wonderful small hosta with subtle coloration and a very nice growth rate. It makes a fabulous edger in full sun to full shade, isn't a slug favorite, and looks good all season. It's very reasonably priced and widely available. Blue Cadet is a classic edger, a good grower and slug resistant. It will lose the blue coloration fairly quickly in full sun, but is still attractive as a dark green plant. Dark Star is a larger plant, growing perhaps 12-14 inches tall and spreading to 18-20 inches, but it makes an outstanding edger if you have the room. It increases quite rapidly, looks good all season, will take full sun to full shade, and it reasonably priced. It is somewhat slug resistant. Dragon Tails is a very cute mini with great plant habit, nice coloration, and good growth. It will take full sun to full shade, although the coloration will be slightly different under different conditions. Still new enough to be a bit pricy for a mass planting, but it would make a gorgeous border. Lemon Delight is the reverse of Twist of Lime, and a much tougher plant than TOL. It will take full sun, increases very quickly, and looks good all season. A super hardy little mini that would make a nice edger. Sherbourne Swift is a very pretty small blue that will tolerate full sun and is slug resistant. It will green up more quickly in sun, but still looks good all season. A bit hard to find, but worth looking for. Veronica Lake or Pearl Lake are good edgers. Both very hardy, quick to increase, look good all season, and will take full sun to part shade. Both are fairly easy to find and reasonably priced. Special Gift is a very old hosta that isn't widely available, but it makes a beautiful edger. It is about 10 inches tall, with grey-green leaves, grows very quickly, and looks great all season. It's slug resistant and will take full sun to full shade without noticeable changes in the appearance of the plant. Floradora is a somewhat similar plant that is another older variety. There are many others that would also work, but these are a few of the ones I grow that make especially good edging plants.

Birches generally are pioneer trees seen popping up in nature where there is good light exposure. Also you have planted a tree of some size that becomes a significant landscape feature in time. Birches grow in a wide range of soil moisture regimes. But how your planting reacts to the wetness there will depend on what the details are. If it will be sitting under water for extended periods it may not like that. Finally bronze birch borer is a problem for this species in much of the US. Have you checked to see if it occurs in your area?* We finally got it here, where European birch has been a quite common landscape feature - both planted and naturalized - for years. And now it appears the majority of specimens in places I go are being spoiled, with large sections of their tops being bored out and dying. *For best results from discussions here indicate the geographic locations of plants being asked about