Every year about this time I am struck with with the obvious. My beds look empty and bare. I can see seedlings or perennials coming up and I know that in a month or so things will be looking better. I have been trying to get the right structure of my beds, getting shrubs and small trees going to act as anchors within the beds, but now I am thinking I need another structural element. The edge. I do not mean edging materials, I have been building up this with windfalls and cut limbs for that rustic/rural look. I mean edging plants. It seems a popular choice at public gardens is liriope or mondo grass, but this isn't really the way I want to go. If anything, I want to mix up the edging. A length of spiky plants followed by a length of... soft mounds? I don't just want the edge plants to define the border, I want them to be something to look at when the rest of the bed is asleep. Plants shouldn't be more than 2 ft in height or diameter. So far this keeps me looking at perennials, but so many that I have an eye for still have that period of dormancy. I did have Purple Lovegrass last year and I thought it was going to be one answer, but most of this went dormant after seeding in autumn (at least I hope they are dormant). I understand fully that dormancy is just a phase of the garden and I should be glad that we have such a short period of it here (and I am!), but this is as much for others as for myself. I have gotten compliments from Spring to Autumn about my gardens, but I can't help but thinking neighbors look at my yard in the winter and think it is just a group of unsightly brown areas.

Anyone have some ideas on what I can look into? And no, I don't really want to plant out the edges with winter annuals. I prefer things that I don't have to actively replace each year. As always, "Thank you" in advance.