Ok, so I now have this 10 x 30 foot section of yard, see -- I covered it
with newspaper and a solid 3-4 inches of cypress mulch about a month and a
half ago so any weeds or grass growing there is pretty much history. :)

There's a nice sized crabapple in the middle of the bed as well as ample
trees in the yard that shade the area well (all deciduous by the way -- a
redbud, black walnut, couple of maples). I have a couple of roses along the
back edge (big white stone wall that is a foundation for the neighbor's
house) and peonies come up in the center strip, but that's it -- nothing
else grows in this area right now.

My goal, my mission in life -- to fill the area with bulbs. :) Here's the
catch -- in late winter and early spring, this area gets lots of sun
starting with mid to late afternoon. By mid spring when everything has
leafed out it gets less but still does ok -- by late spring when the black
walnut leafs out it will get dappled afternoon sun and that's it. By late
summer the pattern begins to reverse itself as the black walnut loses its
leaves (to give an idea, the tree is pretty much bare already).

I would like to come up with a planting scheme that will give me a variety
of interest in this bed. Some early bloomers through to late bloomers.
I've no problem with foliage (I plan on putting some hosta in there as well)
but I'd really like to see something that will attract butterflies, give
some much needed color, and so forth.

The full 30' back of the bed is bordered by my neighbor's stone wall
foundation. This is further painted white. The entire front yard is in and
of itself a microclime but this wall adds to that effect for the obvious
reasons and will benefit the bed.

So, I'm looking for some suggestions on what to put in the bed and how to
arrange them. We're in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6A, SW Ohio -- average
winter temps get down to right about zero with an occasional negative dip as
low as -10.

James