A couple of general points: Your real problem in the front of the house--a classic one--is that much of the bed is right under the overhang, so it will be very dry. Since the house faces east, you'll be getting only morning sun. And since you know the soil is not very rich and don't want to spend a lot of money, I'd suggest readily available perennials like day lilies that can take a very wide range of soils and sun exposure, as well as considerable dryness. Hostas and pulmonaria may also work.(You will have to water the area occasionally, however.)

The rear of the house you say gets only 3 hours of sun, not enough for the sun loving plants that hummingbirds need. If you can get 6 hours in any part of it, you'd have much better success.

Finally, compost and mulch serve two different purposes--compost will improve the nutirents in the soil. Mulch will eventually improve the soil as it breaks down, but its original purpose is to suppress weeds, and also hold in moisture.

BTW, your questions are not really landscaping questions--that is about design--but are about plant choice. The perennial forum might get you better responses.

It is very hard when you are only renting to walk the line between wanting to improve the aesthetics of your home and not wanting to lose your investment. That being said, however, I would take into consideration how long you plan on living in this house. It has a great yard with lots of potential, but as you say, you may not get to see your hard work pay off. Still, there are things you can do economically that won't break your heart to leave behind.

The space under the overhang is problematic because of the issues lacey laid out. Still, you could probably throw plenty of "ditch" lilies in there very cheaply and they will do just fine. I'd also suggest getting some inexpensive trellises, secure them to the wall and let perennial or annual vines make their way up. Black-eyed susan vine is a fast growing annual that is lovely and should be found inexpensively I have seen it potted up and growing on a trellis at the big orange home store and the monster-mart. (this late in the season, don't grow it from seed).

For inexpensive beauty that will satisfy, go to your neighbors and dig up their lilac suckers and forsythia suckers. They have to get rid of them anyway, so it's win-win.

Also, you can't go wrong with big pots of annuals. For a renter, I'd suggest investing in some great pots (bought inexpensively at odd lots type places). These will follow you to your next home. Then go crazy and have fun with annuals for shade and sun. These will likely give you more joy then trying to improve the overall landscape of a rental home.

Have fun.

I meant to add in my original post that you may want to invest in few shrubs next to your front door. The stark empty entrance would bring me down, personally, so it would be worth it to me to spend a few dollars (under 100) to put something substantial next to the stairs that will look good all year round. Rhodies and juniper look nice together; tough, and inexpensive, as shrubs go.

I'd also approach this less from a design and home-improvement approach and more from a hobby/fun/experience approach. No reason why someone renting can't still be a gardener and get a lot of experience to take with them to a future home they buy.

That's why the vegetable garden is a great idea--depending on where, sun, water. Still, there are a number of vegetables that accept part shade and also seasonal (spring)crops that grow before the trees have leafed out.

The container idea is great. Annuals and perennials from seed, starts from friends, all of those are great ideas. Also, if you create some "beds" that are clearly NOT actual landscaping (sort of like nursery beds, and also the container idea) then you can in theory take a lot of your perennial plants with you (if the moving logistics allow). Also, if you are going to be there a few years, you might actually grow things yourself to take to a plant swap.

So, I'd focus on getting my hands dirty and learning a lot about what different plants like and not be too worried about the aesthetics.

Maybe you should add just perennials ---- with the stipulation that you will remove them when the lease is up.

Question - Will the landlord want to care for the shrubs you plant - after you leave? Right now he or you has no maintenance.
Perinnals are easy to move, usually cheaper than shrubs and can be used at you future home you eventually my own.

I would tend to think shrubs, not perennials. You're going to need dozens, possibly hundreds, of perennials to make much impact there. Even another tree or two. Well-placed shrubs won't need much maintenance for years. I would check with the landlord before doing anything...

For sourcing, I'd go to places like your local craigslist or similar source. You can probably scavenge shrubs that have outgrown smaller yards (like mine), and if you place them nicely you will have enhanced the property, whereas if you leave perennials behind, at least 8 months out of 12 it will look like you've made a mess.

The vegetable garden too, if not reseeded in grass when you leave, will be a weedpatch if not maintained. Not that you shouldn't do it - just make sure that you have an uninstall plan as well as an install plan.

I think I would start with a couple of nice specimen-type plants in the front, not at the foundation and not a full foundation planting which, honestly, I rarely see done nicely. Tidy grass and a stark foundation are often underappreciated relative to a bad planting job, or undergrown or overgrown plantings. Unless you have no where else to plant, which is hardly the case.

KarinL

WOW! And here I thought that no one replied... turns out I just never got any emails about the replies.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who did reply for all the hints and tips. In the time that has passed I have walked with my landlord over the whole property and he's all for what I plan on doing here as he's been unlucky with his tenants to date not wanting to do any type of improving upon the aesthetics here. I can understand why the landlord hasn't put any type of money into the place as when we moved in last fall the whole back yard under all those nice shade trees was nothing but dirt. That's why the grass is so patchy back there. The tenant before us had 28 fox-hounds in a big caged in area under those trees... the area is almost completely filled in with grass that was seeded last fall, needs another seeding though.

Now that I've had more of a chance to pay attention to just how much sun each area I plan to plant gets I now know better what to plant there. The back of the house gets quite a bit of sun actually, almost 6 full hours of afternoon sun whereas the front gets full morning sun.

The place we chose for the veggie garden is in an area that gets sun from about 9am until dusk so it will have enough, plus it's close enough to the water hose!

I've also identified some of the "bushes" that I didn't know when I originally posted this thread. There are two large groups of Common or American Elderberry (one that is crowding out my snowball bush) as well as some honeysuckle bushes, a large Mimosa tree that's just about to bloom and a straggly looking red Mulberry. It's difficult to tell at first whether some of the trees are Black Walnut or Tree of heaven but I figured it out as the BW has it's fruits developing. There are still two unidentified bushes but I'll figure it all out.

Now that I've bored y'all with my uninteresting story I guess I should end this by saying that I will probably be posting photos of the design I finally chose for this large property. From what I've figured so far, the investment will be no more than about 2-3000. We are planning on staying here for quite a while... don't plan on moving until hubby's ready to retire (15 more years) and the landlord knows that if we do move most of what I plant will be moving with me. Especially the bulbs and anything easily transported to the new place.

So once again, thanks for all the replies.

ttfn
Mystic.

Black Walnut trees exude something called juglone, which kills some plants. Check online for plants that are resistant to it before planting near or under them. Good luck, and have fun.

Thanks for that tip saypoint. Although, I don't plan on planting anything under any of the BW trees... except mulch to make mowing a lot easier. ;-)

ttfn
Mystic.

Plan for stages of garden bed installation. It's easy to go overboard and get in over your head. Ask me how I know, lol!