Looking for ideas to mini-landscape..

Hey everyone, 

I'm gonna be straight up here, I've no creativity when it comes to gardening so I'm looking for ideas. I've attached some pics below of two small plots entering a house that are at either side of the drive. As you can see, they are in complete disrepair. 

Any ideas as to what could do to in this case? 

 Left Side

 Right Side

Front View

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated or if you've links to what others have done in a similar situation - thanks!

Hugo.

Hi Hugo,

What kind of soil do you have there? Is it exposed or quite sheltered? How much sun/shade?  Are you selling/renting the house and need a quick fix, or planning for the long-term.  Are the residents gardeners or need something very low-maintenance?  How much can you or do you want to spend? From how you phrased your question, it doesn't sound like it's your patch of soil so it really depends on who it's for

aitch

Hi Aitch,

Thanks for your quick response! To be quite honest, I'm not sure about the soil, it's fairly exposed with the sun rising behind the house so it can be quite shaded. It's actually my parents house so looking to do a good job with it as it has been neglected for too long - something low maintence would be great certainly. As you can seen there's not much to it so open to any ideas!

Hugo

Hello Hugo,

What I notice first is that your triangles get sunshine. To give some instant parent-pleasing impact, why not start off with some summer bedding? Weed out all the low-growing vegetation with a fork and then prepare the soil by digging it over and adding some organic matter. Tread the air pockets down and rake it smooth. Plant petunias, marigolds, lobelias etc. You can get these in bulk on special offer at this time of year. Because your beds are so small you'll be able to water them with a watering can. Unfortunately summer bedding is quite thirsty. Alternatively sow annuals it's cheaper and will require less watering.

In the autumn come back to the forum and ask what to plant for winter!

Good luck,

Emma.

gardenersworld.com team

Emma is right, annual bedding will give you great colour and sowing seeds is the cheapest option by far. Otherwise, have a look at the neighbours gardens for the kinds of things that are thriving.  Lavender is a good goer if you have gritty well-drained soil , it doesn't take a deal of looking after and smells great; rosemary likewise.  I tried one of those cheap 'bee and butterfly' seed mixes a couple of years ago and it did really well - just scatter on and rake in or you could go for the posher modern meadow mixes.  Yank it all out at the end of the season, couldn't be easier! 
If your parents live in a place that has quite mild winters you could try hebe's which you can usually buy in packs of 6 from the garden centre, if they're happy, they'll eventually fill out nicely and you can still plant round with annual bedding and a few bulbs until they get big enough.
Good luck, whatever you decide

Aitch