big city name location

I was just about to write “charming” as well. Your current plants look strangled jammed up against the porch. consider removing them and painting the support concrete a very very dark green and then growing vines up the concrete. Keep the vines trimmed so they dont reach the wood parts of the porch

i was also thinking trellises and clematis ... you really dont have ground space for much else ...

paint once.. paint for life.. i would not paint any cement ... and i dont really see what green adds to all those grays ...

but i dont understand when the circle stuff is under the porch.. cement blocks.. or wood .. i respect a stained concrete block.. otherwise.. the brown if painted.. doenst match the color scheme either ... and being already painted.. its easy to change ...

ken

I was thinking something like a row of dwarf yew. There are shade tolerant varieties & they're amenable to pruning to keep in bounds of the narrow spot. Don’t need to be sheared. Thinking the shape of needles would soften edges of porch. I would add a couple of larger pots of summer color annuals to both sides of the steps - larger pots than the ones you have & with color.

I would do simple boxwoods and planters on the porch with maybe mini lemon trees or something

@cecily 7A Thanks! The beds are 22'' deep from the fascia of the deck to the inside of the belgian block. Right side is 9' and left side is 17'.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 Bayville, NY. Zip 11709

@User Thank you. If I paint the concrete and grow vines, do you think I will still have room in front of the bed to plant some annuals to add some color?

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 Does the clematis take over the entire bed? 22'' deep x 9'-17' long? Or still room for annuals? FYI i have since removed the old plants/bushes since I took those pictures

@KW PNW Z8 Good idea. I am thinking evergreen too my wife is trying to fit color in the bed! What about vibernum?

It is hard to tell from photos but you must be very careful not to dig deep around the base of your house and run the risk of having drainage and water problems that affect the structure of your house and the wood of the porch, and your driveway.

Perhaps the simplest and safest thing to do is buy planters and fill them with colorful plants and set them down on the ground without digging. (I would still paint the concrete a dark color). If you want more color you can also put flower boxes or flower pots on the porch railings. Since this is a place where people park, your colourful plants will get the best visibility if you hang them from the soffit of the porch, in hanging baskets. You can ask at the nursery which plants to grow for shade.

I think it is less important that the area between the parking and the porch has evergreen plants or flowers than that it is tidy and looks well maintained.

I'm sorry but a 22" width is not sufficient room to grow much of anything other than annuals or some smaller perennials. About the only evergreen shrub it could accommodate is dwarf English boxwood and even that would need to be routinely sheared to keep it in bounds. Spreading yews could work as well but they would also need routine shearing - they grow faster and larger than the box.

From a design and aesthetic viewpoint, your charming home (and it is indeed very charming) is being unpleasantly upstaged by the massive expanse of gravel. Unless this is a B&B or you have a fleet of cars you need permanent parking for, pull it back and allow at least some semblance of a front garden. Get rid of the brick borders and pull those beds out even with the stone landing at the very least.

Personally, I'd likley get rid of 75% or more of the gravel. Other than convenience, it is adding nothing to the curb appeal. The choice is a parking lot or a garden.

Agree 100% with what Garden gal said. Lovely, lovely home fronted by a parking lot with only a very narrow bed for some greenery.