Your new shed is not unattractive, but as it is, it's still a utilitarian feature rather than a decorative one. I agree that the door needs to contrast less with the siding color.

If you want to draw it into the landscape as more of a feature, you could possibly build a shallow arbor that's just barely wider than the shed and a bit taller than the door, and plant climbers on it. This would break up the lines a bit and make it blend with the leafy background better. Some potted shade annuals near the door and a bit of path leading to it and lending a playhouse or potting shed look might work. My first reaction, however, is that a japanese maple would call attention to the shed and make it a focal point. I don't think you want to make a shed a focal point, personally, any more than you'd make a refrigerator a focal point of your kitchen. It's a necessity, and need not be ugly, but not a focal point.

If your aim is to make it blend in rather than stand out, a large shrub planted in a border that curves out slightly toward the patio from the existing low planting to the right of the shed would partially obscure it. Lower shrubs in front of the taller ones could be used to add colorful flowers or foliage. Extend the bed on the left as well, with another ornamental shrub or two, leaving an opening large enough for easy access to the back.

No need to hide it completely, but make it a part of the landscape around it, instead of making the landscape part of the shed, if you know what I mean.

An arbour might be nice at some point. I like vines and I did have climbing hydrangea on the old shed (in an attempt to hide it!) Those vines got moved to the north and west fences last fall. But building an arbour is not in the cards at the moment. DH sort of freaks about construction and one major project at a time is all he can bear :-) I have a different project going elsewhere at the moment that takes priority over something like an arbour for the shed!

There is a path that comes out from under the pines at the right side of the bed to the right of the shed. The path runs across the front of the shed and angles down past the shed on the left, heading to the wet corner. The low planting you see on the right is just the south edge of the garden under the pines. That bed is about 20-25 deep, from the lawn to the back fence. There are rhododendrons across the back and mixed shrubs, perennials and groundcovers coming forward to the lawn, with a path running through it. The center path runs between two large white pines. You can see the path through the center of it on the right edge of the picture, behind the ash tree and you can see, on the right side of the photo that it swings around to the north to continue in a 15 or so wide bed leading up to the patio. There are several smaller trees (white redbud, serviceberry, dogwood) in the area leading up to the patio. (Im afraid the ash will succumb to old age or Emerald Ash Borer so have planted trees to maintain shade conditions when/if the ash dies) The south side, to the left of the shed, is also a garden of ~15 width that is a mix of perennials and shrubs with the red oak as the dominant tree. Im aiming for the lawn to be a glade in a woodland. Id like to fill the now-empty bed to the right of the shed with a shrub (I was thinking rhododendron what would you suggest?) without bringing it too far forward and affecting the current paths (which double as racetracks for the dogs!) Reading your comments and thinking about this area more, Im wondering if I should get rid of the log edge on that bed, just slope it down to the path and let whatever shrub gets planted there soften and round the edge of that bed. That little bed was a sandbox overgrown with blackberries when we bought the property. We cleaned out the blackberries, added soil and planted some things that we moved this spring because they needed more light. So now its a blank area waiting to be filled. I also want something that will screen the side of the shed. There were elders along the old shed but I didnt like those. I thought a Japanese maple might be attractive and give good fall color. There is a burning bush in the center back of that area now. Perhaps I could try a green Japanese maple instead of a red one?

The issue of a path from the patio to the shed is one I cant decide on. I feel there should be one there but I cant figure out how to make what it would do to the lawn look attractive. It would cut the lawn into two odd shapes and I cant think of a way to make that look right.

"The area is in heavily dappled shade from the ash" If you are anywhere in the path of the Emerald Ash Borer you won't have that dappled shade for long.

I ditto the trellis idea.

And I can relate to the eight years to actually get a shed. I dithered for even longer, where to put it that it wouldn't take up precious garden space and look right. I finally found plans for a very small shedd that fits against the back of the garage. Everyone makes fun of it but it is just the size to hold all my hand tools (long and short handled) and keeps them out of the garage and dh's way.

I've just been doing the same thing this summer. An old metal shed blew down in a windstorm last winter. I let it go last year, but this year I am more serious about landscaping, and need the shed. Like you, I started out with a completely utilitarian (read "inexpensive") model and then as I thought about it convinced myself to get something that added to the yard and could be the focus of a new area.

I think your shed is lovely and unusual. The dark door and vertical windows make it obviously a space that some care has been put into.

I am doing as previous posters suggested and putting up vines along one end, making the "problem" of a bland wall into an opportunity for a vertical garden space. Actually, the vines will be the anchor for an area for plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, as that side of the shed faces my patio. From the picture, it looks like you have smaller spaces to work with on the sides than I do, but I echo the idea that a vine trellis would be perfect on the right side. Very dark leaves would echo the door, but deep reds would, I think, also provide a good contrast.

The other thing that comes to mind is something that will provide contrast against the side walls for winter interest. I am thinking of putting a red twig dogwood between the shed side and my living room windows, as the deep red branches will provide a nice contrast for (in my case) a clay colored shed wall. (And my door and shutters are deep red. Possibly a darker=barked plant with interesting winter form, like a deciduous azalea, would work as well in your space, somewhere between places from which you view the area and the shed.) Though with this idea, the summer growth might hide the shed, or partially obscure it, and I'm not sure you want to do that with a shed that is so pretty!

Of course, function is even more important than form, and you need to be careful not to block off the route to your utility areas. (If you're like me, you don't want to dodge bees or check for ticks everytime you go between closely spaced bushes to the utility area.)

Have you considered something other than grass as a walkable groundcover around the shed? This would allow you to define a space and also provide seasonal color and perhaps scent. A dark groundcover used for a small "entrance space" to the shed area might pick up the dark color of the door, frame the area, and still not get in the way of foot traffic, mowers or wheelbarrows. (Though personally I would avoid anything that attracts bees for an area that I am going to walk over.)

Mind you, I'm no design expert. Just a few thoughts from a fellow traveller.

tibs � so far, EAB hasn�t reached here (thank goodness!) but it�s been found in some areas of southwestern Ontario so it�s probably just a matter of time. But age might do the ash in sooner. Three summers ago the next door neighbour to the north lost their ash, which was the same age as this one, on a windy day. The trunk snapped about 6� above the ground! There was no indication that the tree was unhealthy prior to that. So I started planting other trees on the north side of the garden. If I lose the ash, hopefully I�ll still have enough shade to keep the garden going. The oak on the south side is young and healthy so I don�t worry about that side of the yard losing its shade.

doctorsteve � thanks for the kind words re the shed�s appearance. It�s custom built to a drawing I made. It�s built in the exact location of the old shed and has exactly the same footprint � so the property survey doesn�t change. But I need to repaint that door! Eastern white cedar shingles are still a pretty unusual material in this part of Ontario, especially for a small contractor like the guy who built the shed. Building the shed was an interesting experience since I had to source the shingle panels for him and then make sure he knew how to install them properly! (I�m from the east coast where such siding is more common.)

Knock-on-wood, ticks are not an issue in the garden! But I do need to make sure I don�t block access to the compost heap behind the shed. There is an access path on both sides of the shed.

I�d love to put a trellis (which would be less of an issue with DH than an arbour...) with a vine on the right side but I don�t want any vine that will cling to the shingles. And I can�t think of anything that could take the shade conditions there other than vines that would latch onto the shingles, making maintenance a problem. Is there a non-clinging shade vine that I haven�t thought of? With or without a vine, I think I still need a shrub on that side to fill in the empty bed. The elders did a good job of screening the wall of the old shed but they were too pesky re suckering and spreading so we removed them when we tore down the old shed.

I�ve never been overly concerned with winter interest in the usual terms. There are lots of paths in my garden and I leave the old foliage up for the winter. I like the contrast between smooth snow on the paths vs. the uneven snow on the perennial beds. The pines are a beautiful backdrop bare or snow covered. The red oak holds probably 25% or more of its leaves through the winter. All of that�s my winter interest. I don�t find the bare ground in fall or spring boring. To me, it speaks of the sleeping next year�s garden � it�s pregnant with potential you might say�:-)

There are more views of the shed at the link below so you can see it in the wider context of the garden. The picture in the original post was taken from the back porch.