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I'll transfer the pics over here for you. Those appear to be mature Willows to me. You can see in the first picture that the roots are visible at the surface level and that the grass is having a difficult time growing in that area. Planting small unestablished Hosta in that area is going to be very difficult. You can't just raise the soil level. Firstly, you need to continue to be able to see the "flare" of the trunk at the soil level. If you cover that part of the trunk in soil you will eventually kill those trees. Also any amended soil you add will just attract the willow roots. They go for the good stuff. BTW, the moss merely means that your pH is low. If this were my yard, here is what I would do. 1. Take a close look at the shade/sun situation with these trees. 2. Reshape the bed making the area that gets morning sun/afternoon shade larger than the side that gets the opposite. 3. When planting closer to the trunks of the trees use either pots above ground, or root control grow bags. Link below. 4. Amend the soil in the areas I am going to plant in the ground. 5. Use the biggest Hostas I can find from Hosta specialty nurseries. 6. Water, water, water. Water by sprinkler over a large area that includes areas beyond the garden, so that the willows can get what they need without strangling your Hostas to get it. 7. Put down a thick mulch of wood chips over even a larger area than the garden. The grass is competing with the Willows for moisture also. Do you see in that pic where the grass is greener? That's where you might be able to plant in the ground. What you are planning to do, can be done, but it's difficult. In the battle of the roots, the Willows have an enormous advantage because they are so well established, while the Hostas will be just babies. It will take lots of care and water to achieve what you want with the garden and not damage/kill those trees. Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Planting using spin out bags

What you are talking about is a permanent change in your property. I would suggest you study the question over this winter and begin planting in the spring. A little patience now could make a big difference later. Trees will be the backbone of the new landscape. Place them first and fit the bushes inbetween. The first thing you need is an understanding of your situation. If you are up on a hill you will want trees that don't windblow. If your property is soggy for days after every rain you'll want water tolerant plants. You ought to check and find out what kind of soil you have. Thompkins county is basically glacial till, but what you need is the details of what is on your property. If the soil is acid you need acid lovers. If alkaline there are trees for that. If your PH is roughly neutral you can grow 'most anything, but you need to know what you're working with. If you are in town then you'll want to pay some attention to making things neat and orderly so the neighbors stay happy. Out in the country you can do what you please. It could be as simple as stop mowing and see what comes. Walk around your neighborhood and see if there are trees and plants you like. Find out what they are. Go down to the arboretum at Cornell, see if they have any spiffy exotics you could grow. Browse through some nurseries and get a feel for what is easily available and how prices run. You house will have a variety of pipes and wires going into it. You will want to work around these so the trees don't fight with the house. I had to take down a lovely thirty foot birch because it would not stay out of the sewage line. I would suggest deciduous trees right around the house so you will get more light in the winter. A line of evergreens can be used for a windbreak if you're on a hill and have more wind than you need. In our climate the house may tend to be damp if you leave no room whatsoever between the house and the tree canopy. I personally think that an All along the entry to a property is a magnificent thing. Be sure to leave room enough that a fire engine can fit through. The factors that will go into your plan are time, money, energy, and expertise. To some extent you can substitute these for one another. You can't do it with none of them. You might want to do a rough sketch of your property, perhaps at a one inch to the foot scale. Cut out circles that have the same size as various adult tree diameters and move them around on your map, see how you can get good coverage without getting into the powerlines, hanging over the house, etc. You can then go out and sit boxes at the spots you chose on your map, pretend the adult tree is there, walk around and think if you'd like it there. If you don't, it is much easier to move the box than a tree. The trees will all start small, how small or large depends on what you can spend. Plant between them with bushes that will grow quick and give you fill-in shade while the trees mature. Decades from now the trees will kill off the bushes. By then they won't be needed. You can encourage things to grow faster by improving the soil. This is pretty easy to do, see the soil forum for details. I think a shade garden is harder to do well than a sun garden, but more comfortable to actually live in. Good luck with it!

Here is one: Gardening in Shade - GardenWeb - Gardening in Shade And here: Gardening Resources, Cornell University - Deer defenses Strategies, plants and products to reduce damage in your gardens and landscape.