Welcome to PNW. Rhododendrons would look great along the road. They would make a nice transition between the more natural forest look and a road. So would any other broadleaf evergreen shrubs like Mahonia (native and/or hybrids), evergreen Azaleas, Pieris, Camellias, Osmathus, Sarcococca, Vaccinium and such. These all do very good in open shade like yours. Deciduous Hydrangeas would also like it there, especially macrophyllas. Hostas are big in PNW but so are slugs so you need to bait like crazy to keep them looking good. Add some ferns, native or not, evergreen or not to contrast with the broadleaf evergreens and some shade loving grasses like Hakonechloa (gold and variegated cultivars are to die for!). Try to keep design fairly simple, that usually looks best in shaded areas where form and texture are more important than flowers. Great Plant Picks are a great source of information about plants tried and tested for culture in PNW.

Looks like up to this point it's a compacted road margin - what has been keeping it bare? If there has been a factor like vehicles suppressing the vegetation in that strip then that will have to be taken away before a planting will succeed there.

It was cleared when the home was built. Last year. In the strip cars and trucks had parked there, and the area was graded at the end of construction.

In the square a tree had been removed and the propane tank buried. Then scraped and graded.

What access will the tank require?

I'm thinking some 12x24 cement pavers around the green cap. The hose would need access either from the house side and up (where I have about 2 feet of crushed rock already), or straight across.

Yes, welcome!

It looks like you found a nice spot. I see deer are eating your Arborvitae a bit so anything you decide to plant will have to take that in account.

I would clearly establish drainage routes and work with it when you design rather than fight it. Water plays a big part in our landscapes. Where the line of rocks are should be a clean line, curved swale. Gravel on the roadside and a groundcover backed by ferns and shrubs on the forest side. As it is the rocks are in the way for the flow of water, maintenance, and looks.

I see you have some Big Leaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum. The leaves make great mulch, but used wrong they will mat together and not work very well. I usually throw them on top of a mulch of 6 inch twigs from pruning in the immediate area. Up off the ground a bit and they're just fine. Earthworms, salamanders and tree frogs like it too. It makes for a better habitat than fine ground bark. Sometimes I'll top the whole thing with a light dusting of wood chips. It holds the leaves down in the dryer areas and looks better until the groundcovers establish themselves.

Mike

Thank you all.

Mike: line of rocks. I put them there to hold back the gravel. The placement is about where we need to back up the cars.

The drainage rocks that run horizontal thru the photo is exactly that...for drainage, and it seems to be working do far.

I like the idea of the twigs and leaves. So many people want to remove the maples. I like them. I've been piling up the leaves in an informal mulch pile elsewhere.

So I didn't quite grasp "...clean line, curved swale..." how do I get a clean line without something holding the rock back? What is a curved swale?

Enith, good list I will investigate them.

Thanks!

Now I'm confused about your questions.

Is the gravel moving?

A curved swale is a swale that is not straight. That would be the area between the road and where you're going to plant. A shallow ditch with sloping sides.

One groundcover I use is a lot is hardy geraniums.

Mike

jn - if you have deer there, they will possibly be interested in azalea, camellia, hydrangea, and definitely the hosta from the list above. They are loving my camellias this year. I'm just going out with my second batch of repellent this afternoon - it helps but no guarantees ;) Sarcococca and osmanthus have been fine as has mahonia. But I've learned to never say never in my three years with this garden because they've eaten some really bizarre choices (to my thinking) that I wouldn't have guessed they might taste.

Hosta and deer, yes, we had about 20 types and called the back of the house the "salad bar." They eventually gave up...the hosta, not the deer.

I personally haven't seen many deer here but I know they are out there. The dog finds their poop. Good idea to plant to deter them if you can.

They tell me MN had 15 inches of snow and blizzard conditions. I'm sweating here from raking and clearing. It's a beautiful day. A pile of twigs and stuff I left in the fall was actually growing roots! My previous goal was to try to keep stuff alive through cold and drought. Not so here, I guess.

I've got some good plant ideas. Thank you. I enjoy looking up the plants. I will update this when I get planting. I have a work trip to do first.