Without a geographical location people can't help you.

Can you get a better picture. Middle is too dark to make out what's there.

I think it would be helpful if you visited one of your local indeoendent nurseries ( not HD,etc.) & get their suggestions. Btw, your ”Foxtail” ferns will widen quite a bit & fill in some of that bare space. Something to consider, container plants require more maintence (especially watering ), at least where I live, coastal So Cal. unless on a drip system. Mine aren’t but I enjoy caring for them ( problem though when I’m away).

I have hostas under my oak. They are thugs, which means they do just fine right up against the trunk. Coleus has color and does well in shade. They are annuals, but they might last for a long time since winter might not be coming that soon for you. They are cheap.

@K Laurence, Thanks! I did plan to go to a nursery with my photos to see what they recommend. I just thought I’d also ask here as well since this site has been so helpful for me.

Thanks for letting me know about the foxtail ferns! I hadnt even comsidered they migjt grow! i’ll do my research!

And I too love container pots! Before i lost all my grass I had container pots. Time comsuming to water but like you I enjoyed caring for them. But yes, it was a pain to go out of town - it’s like having pets! Ha! Will be looking at some native, drought tolerant plants to help with that!

Thanks for responding!

@Sigrid, Thanks for responding! i was considering coleus but I had to look up Hosta! That’s a new one for me!! Beautiful plant!!!

When it comes to container plants, drought tolerance doesn't carry much weight. The confines of container growing and the proper potting media pretty much remove any drought tolerance considerations that the same inground plantings have. My entire "garden" is planted in containers, including a number of what would be considered drought tolerant species, but they still require the same frequency of attention to watering as do all the others.

As your climate is very different from mine, I don't have any specific plant suggestions for you but the advice to get input from your local nursery is excellent.

Remember that the containers themselves can also add color so select carefully. They don't need to all match but the coloring should be similar. Get a range of shapes and sizes as well.

I'm in Maine 6a. You may not know hostas because they don't do well in Texas. I've discovered over the years if I see a pretty plant someplace further south and I don't know what it is, it's usually because it won't grow anywhere near Maine. I have no idea if hostas are a great plant for you or as hopeless as foxtail ferns in Maine.

The potted succulents are gorgeous! But they will not survive outdoors in winter in a zone 9a.

Succulents in pots can be brought into the garage, under the porch and covered, etc. if a hard freeze is expected. The soil should be dry. It's not freezing all winter in 9a.

Hens and Chicks, Sedum, Ice Plant tolerate a light frost. We have had luck with these and with cold hardy low water non-succulents... Dwarf Flax, Cactus, Mexican Feather Grass in similar Climate...like this:

" It's not freezing all winter in 9a."

No but it is cold enough and wet enough to make these types of plants very unhappy. Lugging heavy planted containers in and out all winter is not everyone's cup of tea. Also, I doubt they would thrive in the amount of shade being generated,

As I mentioned, we live in a similar climate to Texas.

We use succulent/cactus/palm potting mix so it drains well and does not get muddy

Our Sedums are happy all Winter in outdoor pots, wet and cold, frost and snow...Zone 9b California at altitude, mixed with ornamental Kale and Blue Boy Rosemary, Violets... very pretty. .like this:

We also have succulents in almost full shade no problems, they would appreciate the relief from Texas afternoon sun. Aeoniums.

So effective to mix and match plants of various shapes and height.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) @tracefloyd Thank you both for your input! Those photos of potted succulents were gorgeous!!

I did some research today on container succulents in Austin, TX and according to the Austin Cacti & Succulent Society, outdoor Austin container succulents is a thing! But the key is they have to be the right species or you are doomed! I will go by their store for a consultation!

@tracefloyd I appreciated the comment that my yard looks fine as it is. It caused me to reflect on how much work do i want to do! Maybe I’ll just hang a colorful floral basket from the porch hook and call it a day!

I could also place my old hanging basket and coloful pots that i used last year and just fill with new plants! Those babies survived through December!

I am probably way overthinking this! Thanks for everyone’s input!

Because the containers will be viewed from some distance (the driveway or sidewalk or street) I would stay away from containers with small plants. You need containers and plants that are large enough to read well at a distance. Also, containers dry out much faster than garden beds and will need to be watered more frequently than plants in the ground. For this reason, I agree that succulents are a good idea. Maybe large potted agave.

Agree on the importance of size. Any containers and plants in that position need to be big and bold to look good. Small containers could look fussy and have little impact.

When I view your house straight on, the view of the front door is blocked by 1-2 of the large green bushes. If removed, you could put some large pots with plants/flowers closer to the front door.

Thanks for the response. Someone did a masterful job designing the yard and I love the clean architectural lines and incorporating the original hedges. I would not fussy it up with a bunch of small pots.

Something for each side of the garage would be the same design concept but fit in a narrow space. Something tall and with a simple bold shape.

Cuddly Cactus has no thorns.

Horsetail Reed but they need water every day. Ours are on a drip system.

Snake Plant.

Make sure any of these work for your area or shelter them in a hard freeze.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK@Design Fan (NE z7a)@Kendrah Thank you all for responding! HOUZZers are so helpful!! Now I easily see why big containers are the way to go! Duh, I hadn’t even thought about the street view or the size and scale factor! I do feel it’s important to keep the full row of boxwoods.

@tracefloyd! Thank you for all the photos of what I can take to the nursery to see what is native here that is similar! Much appreciated!

As for the clean design, that was Chatgpt.🤣 I am relatively new to AI but I described my lawn troubles, uploaded the HOA lawn rules and a photo of my yard, and asked for a recommendation that would address the issues! I narrowed it down to three I liked, found a landscaping company, and that design was the one we landed on because it addressed all the issues, would be the easiest to maintain, and fit my budget.

Bravo!

I have to agree with tracefloyd in that I think your yard looks nice as it is. I really like the clean lines and geometric elements going on.

I CAN see that you might want some color there, but if it was me, I would keep it simple and do something in the middle, between the two trees. Agree on going big - something big, with consideration given to the color of a container/pot, if that's what you are going to use, and then filled with colorful flowers, but all in that central space to draw the eye, as a kind of centerpiece.

If you want more, you can use maybe one tall, big, central container with smaller containers placed directly around it, so everything is close together, or even perhaps a tiered planter.

Do you have enough sun for succulents? They are beautiful but i think they need more sun, no?

Seeing the birdbath in the last photo, even that with flowers ringed around the base might be nice. Or a fountain?? (always easy for me to spend other people's money lol!) I feel like in your yard it would be nice to have something more modern and geometric. (some ideas from google) I just didn't find many that had some color to them...

Or, a fountain planted with flowers/plants?? (see here) Again, I kind of feel like any hardscaping you do should be more modern than most of these fountains, but you might get some ideas.

Or maybe just go with some colorful garden art as a focal point. I couldn't find anything in a quick search that I personally would put there, but here are a few ideas on google and on etsy.

There's always this lovely.... art(??)... that popped up in a search lol! Lord, I can't imagine anywhere one would put this thing - MAYBE a children's garden??? Yikes....

Anyway, good luck and let us know what you decide to do (with photos, if possible!)

:)

Dee

Three large black pots along the edge would further define the property line and stop the eye from wandering beyond the yard.

Tall grasses would give nice movement in the breeze. Karl Foerster, though not native, tolerates some shade, we have one and it is a very beautiful grass. Needs to be cut down in winter and will regrow vigorously in Spring.

I don't have software but here is a sketch I drew to show concept.

These square ones with Karl Foerster are nice for your space.

Karl Foester:

I don't know what grasses these are but the pots are nice.

@tracefloyd and @diggerdee zone 6 CT, Thank you for the wonderful suggestions! You both have given me some options I hadn’t considered.

Ironically, when I was watering the grass yesterday, a woman walking her dog came up and said she loved what I had done with my landscaping and described it as ”tranquil”. We talked for a bit and like you two, she said she wouldn’t add anything, ha!

She also said that since this landscape is a ”new look” for me, I might want to just give my brain some time to adapt to the change. She likened it to getting a new hairstyle, ha!

I think that’s sound advice. The landscaping was done Aug 8 so its only been 9 days and each day I pull into my driveway I am more pleased and at peace with it as it is.

And with upcoming changes in seasons…

fall - fallen leaves and acorns

winter - bare trees and holiday decor

I think I’ll keep the landscaping as is and then when spring rolls around I will be better able to determine what, if any, enhancements can accompany the growing foxtail ferns (assuming they survive winter).

Thank you for all the input. I’ll refer back to all this in the springtime.

So.... you're not going with the pink elephant...???

:)

Dee

(Not sure if you saw all the links I put in - they are hard to see now since they changed the way they display them!!)

@diggerdee zone 6 CT, No! i didnt see any links! I thougnt you forgot to incluse them - or maybe I misunderstood and you werent actually including the links! I’ll see if i can find them somewhere here!😜

@diggerdee zone 6 CT -Nope, Unfortunstely, no links! i sure wanted to see what you were commenting about!🤣

If you hover over the words, the links appear in a green color that is rather hard to distinguish from the regular color. It's a stupid way to do it - who the heck runs the cursor over words when they read?? Any links should be an obvious color without hovering, or underlined, or something more obvious!

Hover over these words in my post above:

(some ideas from google)

Or a fountain planted with flowers/plants?? (see here)

a few ideas on google

and on etsy

this lovely... art(??)

I just checked and the links are there for me so hopefully you will see them!

:)

Dee

@diggerdee zone 6 CT Wow, Dee! I would have never known links might be embedded in people's responses! You are right...how bizarre is that!?! I've never seen anything like that - and to use light green on top of it. Who thought that was a brillant idea!

That being said, OMG, I love all of those succulent fountains!! If I could pull that off that would be awesome for that center space. And since all sorts of fountains can be made into planter fountain finding on more contemporary shouldn't be that hard (pricey maybe, but not hard). I actually like the old looking fountains as well. As tracefloyd initially pointed out succulents could work since that area does get partial sun. From what I've researched I would need to be particular on the species I selected - but a nursery could help me with that.

Initially, before I got into the container pot idea I was thinking some type of outdoor art piece for that space between the trees. After I realized container pots may be more work than I want to deal with, an art piece is could be just the think.

Now that pink elephant.... Ha! That will be a "No". I'm gonna have to pass on the pink beauty! Hee!

Thanks for educating me on how to locate links and for taking the time to drop examples for me!!

Aw, was hoping to see the elephant in your yard! ;)

Yeah the way Houzz changed the way they show links really stinks. I guess if I use them I should either just put the actual URL in the text so folks know there's link, or be really obvious like "see this link".

Those succulent fountains are very nice, aren't they? If you have enough sun for succulents that might be a lower-care / lower-maintenance way to go. Whatever you decide please be sure to update us - with photos please! Good luck in your decision!

:)

Dee