I would take your pictures of the area to your local nursery (garden center, preferably an independent, not one the the big chain stores , & seek their advice.

Yeah, i already tried that...they werent that much help. There is only one near me and they just didnt have much to say to help.

Wow, that's strange. Since the climate where I live is drastically different than yours, my suggestion would be to check out "Annie's Annuals & Perennials" zone 7a for suggestions. Google that.

No hostas. They like shade. Not too sure about your zone, but what about a low growing rose? Maybe a Knockout or the new dwarf in that same series--just released this year. See if you can find a good online source of info. For Texas, where I am, the Tx A &M Extension is super. Many of the state universities also put this kind of info online.

This is a simple fix. First, no hostas. They love shade.

Make a large curvy bed. Get rid of the squared off lines you have now. You can start with a hose to draw out your bed. Then spray paint the outer perimeter. Finally, take a shovel and edge the bed along the lines.

Near the edge of the bed, I would suggest coneflowers. They are showy and bloom most of the summer.

Remove the monkey grass near the driveway. I'd fill that with pebble stones. To repeat the pebble stone idea, you could create a small "riverbed" through the mulch bed. I would line the pebble riverbed with river rock (4-6").

Remove the pan under your downspout an divert it into the riverbed.

I would pull all of those bushes out...they will get too large and out of control. Replace with perennials that show for 3 seasons. Autumn joy sedum and Siberian iris. The sprouts and leaves are coming up now in my yard. After the flowers are done blooming the leaves keep their shape and nice texture for fall. I usually cut mine back in late fall. Autumn Joy sedum grows to about 2 ft around (after a year or 2) so space them accordingly. For the spot next to ur garage, plant some annuals or get a tall-ish narrow pot to hide the outlet without obstructing access. Good luck!

does your property extend all the way to the public sidewalk?

Yes property does extend all the way to the sidewalk. I will def look at all the plants suggested so far!

As for rocks to make it a riverbed, hoa won't allow that. I have to stick with their mulch

The Annie's website was very helpful!!!!

A scouting trip to the local botanical garden or municipal park gardens is a fun way to research plants. I like to see what they use for bright color, easy to grow plants

Yeah we live in a huge community so I did a lot of walking around to see what others have. Even the models are all the same plants that we have...the ones that mostly died. Almost all new (with in a year) so the neighbors haven't done much with their yards either.

You might see if you can find some perennial geraniums. I had them in my yard and they bloom all summer long. They have a nice, neat mounding habit as well. I think they would be pretty around your tree.