Is it a rented trailer? If so you may not want to spend a lot of money on landscaping. Do you want to eat something or just look pretty? Are you going to keep the narrow beds or enlarge them?

For the east beds, impatiens and begonias will give you season long color, planted after your frost free date. Or you can seed lettuce and spinach 6 weeks before your last frost date. I sow them Mar 1 here in z6b. Actually you could do both, as the lettuce and spinach will be gone by midjune.

For the south bed you could plant petunias, vinca, marigolds zinnia, salvia, nasturtiums, globe amaranth, all heat loving and most available in 6 packs. For something to eat you could plant tomatoes or peppers.

You said that the long side faces east and you took the photo late in the day? But if it was taken afternoon why is there sun on the wall? And unless the photo is flipped, if the front (Narrow) wall faces south, the long wall we see would face west. Clarify this please

Welcome to Oklahoma, Honeybeem. Being from NY it may be quite a culture shock for you here but you will find the best people in the world here & a lot of them hang out on this board. I'm sure you will make a beautiful area around your trailer with just a little help from our friends.
Patty

It gets hot here in the summer and doesn't always rain. You will have to water. I would look for annuals that get a couple feet high mixed colors. Zinnias, marigolds, celosia, red salvia, cosmos gets taller, cleome are some that are pretty easy to grow. Some of those will reseed. For shade I second impatients. Make a tripod with stakes or straight limbs and grow a cypress vine or grandpa Otts morning glory in the sun. I don't know what your soil is like and can't tell if that narrow bed is free of grass. If the soil is very hard and poor get some big pots and use soil less mix like expert mix from wal-mart and grow a little garden in a big pot. Go to the seed exchange and watch the posts for newbe offers of seed. You have to keep watching because good offers go fast. They will explain how it is done at the seed exchange. Go look on the Ozark forum look at the cover your fence post.

Thanks very much for the replies. Mulberryknob is smart! You're right about shadows, the long side you see is west, sorry, my mistake! The shadow is from the in-laws house right next door. You are also right we don't want to spend a lot of money on landscaping, but do want something. I like the idea of impatiens and begonias. I was out walking earlier today and met a neighbor who had great success with impatiens last year, so I'm thinking I'll try them. Should they be started indoors so I don't accidentally pull them out when weeding? I'm going to do a separate vegetable garden away from the house so that will be fun. Pattyokie, thank you for the welcome! I have met lots of really great people here in OK, and though I miss my small town back east I like it here too.

Impatiens is pretty easy to grow from seed, but I would start it inside in seed starting mix not directly in the soil. You can buy nice plants in 4 or 6 packs in May after it is warm for not much expense. Your friend who grew them may have tips for you. They like a moist place in the shade. Landscaping can be free. I pick up rocks along the dirt road, get free leaves in the fall which I use for mulch. An elderly woman I know wanted some old timbers removed because weeds grew around them. I hauled them off and will use them for something. This is under a walnut tree. I have to keep this watered. My dogs love to lay on my plants in this bed.

That being a west wall, I don't think impatiens would do well. They can take morning sun better than afternoon. But any of the heat loving annuals recommended for the south wall would also do on the west.

Oh wow Helen your flowers are just beautiful. Nice work! I love the hostas? too. Thanks for posting the pic, it's really helpful for ideas. Hehe, I have two dogs myself and they looooove to lie on cool dirt in the summer.

beautiful combo, hostas and impatients... but neither is good for a southern or western exposure.

Moni

Yes you are right. Impatiens are for your shady spots; you need tough annuals for the west side. It looks like you might have a fence on your shady side; probably your dogs live there. I get galvanized tubs with holes in the bottom for $8 or so at flea markets cheaper at yard sales sometimes. They will hold big 2 cubic feet bags of expert perfect mix from wal-mart. Unless your dogs are young they won't bother your plants in them. This celosia reseeded in this tub; it is a tough sun loving annual.

On the other hand... if you like herbs, you could put herbs there. They LOVE the sun! and most don't need a lot of water. Well, except basil, that one needs plenty of moisture.

Moni

Herbs would be handy that close. I plant dill as an ornamental like to watch the caterpillars eat it and I think parsley and sage are pretty also.

Don't forget Rosemary Pineapple Sage, Lavender, and oh, well, I found what I was looking for:

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Annual - partial shade, rich organic soil.

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Hardy Perennial - sun or partial shade, rich moist soil.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Annual - sun (can tolerate light shade), any welldraining soil.

Curled Parsley (Petroselinum crispum crispum)
Biennial - sun or partial shade, rich, moist soil.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Tender Perennial - plant in a pot in the sun (will tolerate light partial shade) sheltered from wind, neutral
soil (not acidic).

Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Hardy Perennial - sun (will tolerate light partial shade) well-drained neutral soil (not acidic).

French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus sativa)
Hardy Perennial - sun (will tolerate light partial shade) well-drained sandy soil;

Thyme - Regular (Thymus vulgaris) OR lemon (Thymus citriodorus)
Hardy Perennial - sun (will tolerate light partial shade) well-drained fertile soil