hi: congratulations on the new garden. :)

I've had similar to you for almost 15 years.

I've got the maple, probably Norwegian ...lol.... it's about ? 40 years old so pretty big.

it's got good points and bad points. But first of all let me just say my husband severely, severely pruned it about 2 years back and now we get more sun.

Bad:

1.incredible invasive root system ... very dense mass of roots...very shallow rooted plant.

2.those roots will be competing for water and nutrients with your plants. (the tree absolutely will win....look at the size of the tree ...it's a giant ...your plants have to adapt to the tree because it will not be adapting to them) :) If you do plant something like an impatiens ... you'll need to water so much more....just keep that in mind. ... and you can't cut the roots ...they'll just come back.

3. (I think) the roots compact the soil to make it harder - but maybe that's just because nothing can be dug in or because my yard was full of very hard clay soil.

4.drops an unbelievable amount of leaves which cannot be left to rot on ground because they do not break down but form a clumpy solid mess in spring which will kill/choke other plants.

Good:

1. it's a nice big tree, lots of shade, blocks the afternoon sun. The squirrels are amusing. :)

so ...planting underneath it? in shade? hostas!! :) different ones, different sizes etc... green and white is pretty in shade.

I can share but i'm not sure what the zone difference would be ... but ...it wouldn't be until next year - i'm not even in Canada right now.

I would also recommend adding a berm (soil mound on top), you can even add shredded maple leaves depending on how fussy your plants are. (i'd recommend going with unfussy plants.)

Your plants would need to be able to stand up to the bullying that is maple roots... crowding and having water and nutrients taken from them constantly.

if you have a fence you can put up hanging baskets that would be good too ... if impatiens were still around they would be ideal ...at least in the summer.

As for the sunny part of my garden ...again ... gardening is not easy ... the roots of the maple are still there... I've built it up a lot (berm) and planted about 9 lavenders ...and a few daisies ...I had Persian mint there which did really well ... mostly anything which likes it dry and sunny. But you don't have that problem ...the sunny part ...you've just got dry :)

As for food ... i have a rhubarb near another maple that has been there for ? 20 years but I can't comment ... I haven't used it.

all the best. :)

ps: looked at your link ... beautiful plants... but i'm not sure which will want water etc.... forget me nots ...are fine... they go crazy but they're dead by early summer ... ferns are no problem ...at least here ...but I pulled them out - the ones I had weren't that pretty ....you have a plant that is similar in looks to bergenia (in the photo)... the primula ...well bergenia is another amazing plant ... and very, very tough ... I grow a lot of it in my front bed and have not put it in the back so I don't know how it will react with maples but might be worth a try.

Clematis ... I have tried and will be trying to move the ones I planted 3 years ago ... they've deteriorated ... they were doing fine in other places but I don't think they like maples.

bleeding heart ...I've had one for several years and it has seeded too .... it is white ...it looks wonderful but not all summer. ... But ...not under the maple.... mine is in another part of the garden in a largish berm, full dappled shade.

lilly of the valley ... I found it very invasive .... and took me years to get rid of.

pulmonaria ..(lungwort) ... not so great under the maple, was moved several times and is happy now in another shaded position .... (it took 10 years to find a happy place for this plant but i'm glad I stuck with it.)

can you post photos? Id say, take a hint from what the previous owner has done. You probably wouldn't grow much around the tree and maples do suck out a lot of moisture.

Thank you. Good news (sorta): the maple is probably a silver maple. I cross referenced the samara and leaves with some photos and it is definitely not a Norway.

Attached is a photo (it was the one in the listing, ha ha. There are more beds on the right side of the garden as well. And one dead and one alive (not sure what it is) tree. I am thinking about keeping the dead tree for now, and use it for a climbing plant.

I might also reduce the seating area and enlarge the beds in the near future. But for now, I'll keep it as it is and fix other things about the house.

looks great ...lots of fun ahead for you ...glad it's not as frustrating as my maple but you'll still have some problems with the roots ...probably....... all the best.

Working on some plans. Here: http://www.growveg.com/garden-plan.aspx?p=669797

Yes...the bark is Silver Maple, not Norway Maple.

Did you check http://plantcatching.com/en?

Yes, I discovered it and have been keeping an eye on it. Brilliant idea.