Pic below

A low groundcover.

or just rocks as you said ... and bees wont come to rocks ...

thats not really enough space for anything ...

when asking about plant ideas.. ALWAYS include big city location ...

there is space there for trellis or netting.. and growing vertically.. like morning glory or clematis ... if those might work in your area ...

ken

An upright ornamental grass might work. Looks like a taller plant might get more sun.

I thought about a trellis too, but any blooms will attract bees.... maybe go with the low groundcover idea - or maybe some dwarf hostas? - and then hang some cool artwork on the fence

:)

Dee

Is this a walk by the front door or back door? It would help if we had a picture showing the house and yard.

Hostas

there is insufficient room for a vast majority of mature hosta.. and the tiny ones would not look great.. against an 8 foot wall ..

what is the bee issue.. allergy... or fear ... i respect allergy.. but i could offer some insight on fear ....

i suppose there are non blooming ivy if you wanted it green ...

ken

Hi thank you for the feedback . We’re in the city of NY . It’s part of the walkway on the side of the house . We have an awning that’s why the partial shade . We have lavenders out-front and have plenty of bees 🐝. The kids are afraid of them and plus we barbecue in this section they love to be around the food.

I will try to take a better pic tomm

"...they love to be around the food...."

Are you talking about the kids or the bees? :)

I agree the dwarf hostas would not look great there, but they would certainly look better than just dirt, or even mulch, IMO.

Pehaps just mulch the area, then put some pots, preferably tall (and long/narrow if you can find them), and put sweet potato vine in it. It will cascade over the pots and will stay green all summer. Maybe some coleus in the pots as well for contrast, if it's not too hot and sunny there.

Or you could hang window box-type planters on the fence and do the sweet potato vine etc and let it cascade down the fence. But I still like the idea of some artwork - something colorful, or intricate iron work, mirror art to reflect light, etc.

:)

Dee

Bees are not interested in human food. But wasps are. Not having flowers wouldn’t make any difference to wasps.

How wide is the strip of soil?

bees nor wasps dont congregate for the heck of it.. they dont hang around your barbie to be sociable ...

get a few adult beverages... and the lawn chairs.. and sit there in the evening.. and figure out where they are going ...

most come home at night.. so at dusk.. you can see them returning.... in stead of all flying in random directions.. they are all flying toward one destination ...

and you might find out how to go about fixing your problem ... either a nest in an eave ... or one of those paper ones hanging in a nearby tree .. or a hole in the ground ...

even if you dont do anything about it.. its always good to know where to avoid.. instead of avoiding your whole back yard ...

ken

ps: if you do use the adult beverage suggestion .. i recommend fighting them some other day when you are sober .... we dont want to see videos of drunken bee fighting .. lol ...

I certainly didn’t suggest a dwarf hosta. Something like the Blue Angel.

Blue Angel would not fit in there. That was Ken’s point.

tj

Oh, I see that! At last count I had 626 hostas so I must not see more confined quarters! Thanks. 😀

Here’s a better pic

Pic#2

27inches wide by the trees and gets narrow 20inches

Since the sidewalk is busted up, I’d just remove it and put in large pavers to cover the area.

*I* suggested dwarf hostas, and I still do. It would look better to have that there than just dirt, or mulch, imo.

I guess perhaps technically "dwarf" might be the wrong word to use, now knowing that the area is 20 inches wide, (I originally thought it was about a foot) but there are small hostas that would fit there. Yes, it might not be the best thing visually/spatially for the spot, from a garden design outlook, but it's a plant that the OP could easily cut the blooms off and it would still look great.

:)

Dee

I repeat, low groundcover--sedum, liriope, groundcover Thyme, Geranium 'Biokovo' or 'Karmina'. All flower but only for a brief period. And unless someone is allergic to bee stings, it's good for children to learn that bees have no interest in stinging them. They're interested in the pollen.

The OP is in NYC: several of the groundcovers laceyvail suggested would be evergreen there.

yikes .. blue angel is easily a 5 foot wide hosts.. and well grown.. up to 8 feet ...

Thank you everyone for your suggestions you were very helpful . My kids are afraid of bees and we are teaching to not be afraid . I guess there so many out front by our lavender plants it can be a bit intimidating . Now time to go plant shopping lol

Very pretty

I think I would probably put pots there, rectangle ones if I could find them. Digging around the fence posts could weaken the fence if loosening the soil causes the the posts to get wobbly. The area under the fence looks like the ground is a little higher. If so, disturbing the soil could cause it to wash-out, onto the walkway.

I tend to agree with J Steel. The path is in poor condition and narrow. The space looks to be very much a utility area. If possible I’d relay it wider to improve access. You can always stick some pots on it later. While you’re at it, the blocks with holes in look unfinished. If they could be capped the whole area would be neater and more useful.

Yes @jsteel we will be removing the blocks and replacing with pavers .

though of this post when i saw this this morning

the more you learn about your advisory.. the easier it is to deal with them ...

ken

https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/08/why-pesky-yellowjackets-want-something-sweet-and-your-meat-this-time-of-year.html

Makes sense thanks

How about planters along the fence? I have a better example in one of my Houzz idea books…will try to post it.

https://www.houzz.com/hznb/photos/compo-beach-house-modern-landscape-new-york-phvw-vp~177482252

Here’s the other pic

I like the first pic you added, RP, similar to what I had in mind when I suggested. But the 2nd scene is so perfect, it looks fake. Straight lines and sharp edges are not relaxing to my eyes. You will end up cursing the gravel, unless you live in a desert, or are willing to poison your own property in the name of weed control.