What you suggest Lizzie I can all imagine in my head and it is beautiful. Don't hostas want a lot of water? What about Lamium maculatum and bulbs like fritillaria meleagris?
I'd make sure you add a lot of organic matter. Even plants which will enjoy the drier conditions you have will need a bit of help to start off with. The conifer will have depleted the area of nutrients over time. That will also help to retain moisture - well rotted manure is ideal. Even with that, anything that enjoys a good amount of moisture may well struggle once there's a lot of planting in there, unless you can get it well established. I don't know how much rainfall you get, but you may find yourself constantly needing to water if you don't.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Lamium Beacon Silver would be nice but not the rampant yellow one. Hostas do like damp places but I've found they are OK in dryer places so long as they have some shade.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Progress! The conifer is gone and the Amelanchier is in! Should I lightly prune the straggly twigs on top? Please tell me if you see anything wrong in the planting.
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Luxembourg
Even with that, anything that enjoys a good amount of moisture may well struggle once there's a lot of planting in there, unless you can get it well established. I don't know how much rainfall you get, but you may find yourself constantly needing to water if you don't.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Luxembourg
Established hosts will do fine there, I have a few hostas in my front garden that only get a little morning sun. I don't water mine too often.