Mysteryduck's front yard make over

[Bluenowhere]

I also though 1 is a hosta. The bigger stems are probably last years flower stalks.

[mrbadexample]

I do indeed! This is where I plan to grow my veg! It's about the same size as the front, split into 4 quadrants: a patio/gravel zone, a decrepit decking zone, a flagstone shed base zone, a patch of squidgy yellow grass, and a low wall separating the grass and the patio/gravel. It's currently a holding zone for random plants I find in garden centres.

Ok, that saves me from saying "dig out everything from the borders and plant parsnips."

I'm afraid I can't help with flowers.

[mysteryduck]

Googled Hosta and that's a keeper too! Hope it's purple

[mysteryduck]

Here's some more mystery plants!

A medium sized bush over by the front wall:


Two of these dark leaved bushes by the left fence:


And between those is a light leaved bush:


Numerous patches of this spreading green mass:


With a bonus picture of a rose! (I'm assuming these are going to grow back..)

[mysteryduck]

No love for the bushes? No worries.. if they haven't done anything interesting by the time I get round to them they'll get the chop. So anyway, I had to go away to Sweden for a bit.. but now I'm back.. and we've made some (limited) progress!

The intention was to remove two of the hydrangeas and dead head the last.. but after almost falling into the bush and spearing myself multiple times.. cursing whoever invented such a plant (with fluffy deadheads that are difficult to reach, fragile to hold, and impossible to throw into my pile of sticks), and getting freaked out by the spiders and snails living therein.. the new plan is to kill them all.

Trying to remove them from the ground took a very long time.. and my god, the giant snails living in the base of hydrangea 2 were horrifying.. yes it's still in the ground.. hopefully they haven't escaped (note to self: I hear spiders and snails don't like lavender or rosemary, so get down to B&Q and stock up!).. There are likely still roots in the ground, but we're getting there. And on the plus side, the soil is deep! Rather stony, but that can be fixed. Happy days

[nickdub]

Looks like progress is being made and your ideas on what to grow are forming up. Hydrangeas in an urban setting always look uncomfortable to me - a bit like a large animal in a zoo.

Couldn't help with your shrub id quiz BTW, as a lot of them look similar at this time of year - if you still want to know what they are, I reckon you'll get a better response if a photo with them when they are on flower is posted.

You'll probably need a load of gravel when planting up the sharp drainage demanding stuff like rosemary and lavender - if you can combine it with any paths or dry areas it may be worth getting a 1 ton bag delivered -much cheaper that way.

[Bluenowhere]

Sorry small leaved shrubs all look some what similar at this time of year!

Coming on well though.