another pic

these will be in ground tomorrow- August moon

shaded tree area

That is a beautiful area for a shade garden. My advice would be to make sure you give them space to grow, especially since it looks like you have plenty of that. Elegans gets large. I would move them forward from the tree trunk and further from each other, depending on how much overlapping you like. My FIL has a group of Krossa Regals planted close together so it looks like a colony of that, and that's fine, too...just a design choice- no right or wrong.

As for daylilies, I like the way they looked mixed in with hostas, if you think the area gets enough sun for them to bloom nicely. If you don't, over time, and as your hosta obsession grows, you will resent them for the space they occupy- I speak from experience, can you tell? Lol.

After that as far as adding other varieties, you just have to dive right in- you have a blank canvas there, so have fun!

This post was edited by coll_123 on Fri, Jul 12, 13 at 23:06

Welcome to the forum. You're in good company. You will gain a wealth of knowledge and good advice.

It doesn't look like your bed is a good place for daylilies. They need at least 5+hours of sun for optimal bloom. As Coll said, you'll be disappointed with a few pidley blooms. I divided two daylilies last year and planted on both ends of my garden, but I get morning sun for 5 hours. There are a lot of nice shade plants you can contemplate. Ferns, astilbe, and brunnera are good choices.

@ coll_123 the trees are well shaded, minimal amount of sun, and you are right since i have becoming obsess with hostas, i might hold of on day lilies. @DelawareDonna Thanks for your advise, Lovely picture of your hostas and dayliliees. i will not be planting lilies with my hostas thanks for the advise, are there any other companion plants for hostas than the ones listed? I like the look of ferns but not too sure about wanting them planted in my yard. I might have to research

This is only my opinion, but I think most things take away from the beauty of hosta and make it look "busy", especially if you have variegated hosta . I would suggest a good companion plant for hosta is a different size and color of hosta. Look at some of the gorgeous hosta gardens on Youtube. Many have been posted here as well, but I can't give you a link, although one is on the list right now. You will notice that the companion plants are not mixed in, but separate. Maybe someone will chime in who has photos of beautiful hosta gardens.

This is only my opinion, I repeat.

bk

Here is a link that might be useful: hosta garden

I'd start out considering some specimen hostas... and with the distance away, I'd go for the biggest and tallest... starting with some centerpiece plants, you can design around them

So number one rec. is Victory - handles a lot of shade, will fairly rapidly go to 5-6-7 feet in diameter and about 3 1/2 ' tall with 6' high scapes. Elatior - solid colored parent of Victory... same kind of structure, same tall scapes

Abba Dabba Do is good, too. Krossa Regal and Regal Splendor are also tallish, sculptural. I'd get an Earth Angel started nearer the front - gets large in diameter, but stays lower than other mounds of its diameter. Guardian Angel, too...

And I'd skip the daylilies, but don't forget there are some other great shade plants that can enhance the hostas...

I understand the reluctance to plant spreaders, like the big ostrich ferns... but Maidenhair ferns always get great comments in my garden... and a section of Japanese Painted or the newer silver hybrids can really create a glow in the shade.

I like Rodgersia - almost obnoxious in the huge compound leaves, often with reddish tinge...

and Kirengeshoma - Korean Waxbells. Tallish, almost maple-shaped leaves that get a waxy bloom in spring and fall go great with hostas...contrasting colors and shapes... and ornamental yellow flowers.

And red cimicifugas... for this place, I'd want the taller varieties...

I think heucheras (coral bells) look good with the hostas. Some of my better ones are Dolce Key Lime Pie, Caramel, Pinot Gris, and Paris. Also, astilbe, rhododendrons, siberian irises and mophead hydrangeas.
Looks like you have lots of room to be creative. Just take your time and figure out what would work best for you - unlike me. lol Still working on my patience with gardening.

Great property you got there. Fantastic shade garden canvas you have to work with. If you're looking for some flower-bloomers in the shade, I'd suggest experimenting with a few inexpensive Asiatic lilies. The reason I say this is I've got some in a bed where the direct sun is quite limited, and they are blooming very nicely right now. If they work the same in your beds, if you want, you can then get more (many, many flower varieties with the Asiatics). If it doesn't work so well, that's why I suggested inexpensive 'Guinea pigs' : )

Welcome to the forum, and please do come back often with progress reports, or questions. We love pics!

Best Regards,
Don B.
Westminster, CO.

Android, welcome to the forum where we love hosta.

One remark I wish to put in, don't cramp them up close to the base of the trees. Trees continue to grow, and some of the roots will raise up and make the soil rather thin for the hosta. Come away from the trunk a good 3 feet.

Think about your Elegans making a 48" diameter plant, and you'll see that it needs at least 2 feet or 24" between its root ball and the tree. You don't want to be digging it up for such a simple problem that is avoided now.

Come out a ways from the trunks, and especially with your day lilies, locate them at the edges of the tree limbs and the shade. You should identify which direction the morning light and afternoon sun comes from, especially if your location is away from a source of watering.

Love the look of your property. You will have a great time with your garden layout.

First off, welcome.

Secondly, where are you? We'd need to know that to make intelligent suggestions of companions..

Great looking grove of pines you have there. It looks like your grass is telling where the border of your bed should be, so don't be afraid to spread out. Otherwise, those hosta tucked underneath with all that bare ground with pine needles will look out of place.

What kind of pines are they?

tj (who is gardening under mature Austrian Pines)

Wellcome. If you want flowers, I have astilbe, which comes in many shades and Gold Bleeding Heart. I also plant begonias and impatients because I like flowers. They fit nicely between maturing Hosta. There are also Hostas that have nice flowers. You may want to consider some of them as your "compantion" plants.

Beverly