Is it both sides of the walkway and only where the mulch is, or will you be spreading it over where the bare dirt is?

Vegetable gardens to the contrary, landscape plants are chosen not so much for the ground space they occupy, but for what their attributes contribute to their surroundings -- the buildings, patio and views. Therefore, instead of seeing just the ground space, one designing a landscape would want to see all the backdrops and views. These are best shown looking straight on, not at an angle, with the garden in the foreground of the picture.

The problem living here is that beyond the mulch, it’s just dirt. Nothing grows and it is not my property to to touch. Beyond the dirt, more townhomes. This is the back of everyone’s unit so I guess nobody cares. I somehow go the mulch (maybe because I’m in the corner) and now I do t know what to do. The soil is very rocky and it’s possible nothing will grow! Ugh. I just want it to look half away decent. Without breaking the banks. I’ll add a photo from my window to show more of the space. this is what’s beyond the mulch area

Oh and bikes can be moved. The little loath is just to walk out. We mainly use the front door for that anyway. There’s a small patio set I like to sit on. It would be nice to look at something pretty.

If nothing grows in the native soil nothing will grow in it when mulch has been spread on top. Plants grow in the soil, not the mulch. That's just a surface dressing. The underlying soil needs cultivating or soil needs to be brought in.

To make plant recommendations people need to know your geographical location. You might do best to just have some large containers placed on top of the mulch. Then you can take them with you when you move on.

It’s possible that nothing grows there bc nobody ever bothered to try. there are patches of grass where the sun hits. But as I mentioned, It’s mostly shade back there.

Any ideas how to arrange the potted plants?

Use the biggest pots you can. Outside a formal garden odd numbers look best. Groups look better than rows or random dots. But other than that you arrange them as you wish. It's your garden.

Thank you!!! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I have to get over the anxiety of screwing up lol

Pots are a great idea.Like floral says, get the biggest ones you can. Vary the sizes. I like to look at Pinterest and other sites for inspiration. Do some research about what grows well in the shade in your area and in pots. Find a local nursery (not a big box store) and ask for help from them. Select plants for their varied colors, textures and heights. If you can get pots large enough, some small trees do well in pots and will add some height to your arrangements. You could add a chair or two (maybe colorful ones) to make it look inviting. These are all mostly foliage plants, but you could add flowering ones, too.

If large pottery pots are out of your price range, you can sometimes find pots made from something called lava stone or resin that is much lighter and affordable and looks amazingly like pottery. Check the big box stores for those if you nursery doesn't sell them.

Maybe add a little bench instead of chairs

I don't know how elaborate you want to get, but I thought this was a good idea. They piled up a few paving stones to set some of their pots on. It would add some interest for not much investment and ensure good drainage. Not for the whole area, but maybe the area closest to the wall and those back corners. Or one back corner a front corner

this has plants in pots and the ground, but you could do something similar in just pots. A few little stepping stones mixed in:

similar, but you'd have the plants in pots.

I didn't mean so much what's across the street. I meant we can't see the building it's in front of (except for the low down.) We can't see the wall at the left it's in front of. I'm wondering if a small tree (made of a large shrub) with groundcover below would work. Part of the groundcover could be flowering things -- various perennials ... daylilies & such.