I love inheriting a garden with good bones that someone else has started. It takes away the hard work of starting from a blank canvass and gives fun landmarks around which to design.
I'd think of a braided evergreen and cottage garden. Create curved, teardroped, and wedged zones - I drew an idea of some below, in which to plant perennials. Play with texture, height, and various volumes. I'd love to see hakonechloa in the green tear drop I placed in front. And, find some that flower starting in late summer, early fall. Let it evolve organically depending on what you find in nurseries and over the course of a year or two.
Get inspired by pics that show evergreen shrubs and perennials together, even if they are nothing like what your actual garden looks like.
Are there area on the side of your driveway or the sides of the house where you can carry the perennials around past just this bed?
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