Michigan Gardening: Foundation plants, 1 by pjadams49417

pjadams49417 wrote:
My house is in the woods. We have a very small grass area just around the house and the lawn is sort of a free form shape, with woods all the way around. Very informal, even wild. So my plantings are all that way too, no formal shapes at all. More like a cottage garden except mostly green.
The north side is ivy and holly and looks wonderful and woodsy. The east side is ferns, ivy and hostas. Again so informal. The south side is seldom ever seen. That foundation planting edges the garage and is day lilies and lunaria, and I'd like it to be also black eyed susans and echinacea. They've never done well there, always die.

Now, the front, the west. I have vinca, bulbs and mums when they grow. It gets full west sun and is in a sharp rectangle bed under the livingroom windows and hard edged by the front walk. The front NW is ok with the vinca, mint, columbine etc because it gets so much shade. But today I see the mint and goldenrod have really taken over so maybe I have to start fresh here also.
(see fist pic)

But that rectangle bed is messing me up! Yday I realized that our house is all edges and squares, but especially that front are...it looks almost modern and the walk makes that bed look confined and modern, stark. (see 2nd pic)

Could it need to be a formal bed? Wouldn't that be out of place with the rest of the property? I don't know what to do but I've got to do it.