I'd use a low groundcover. Not sure what's hardy in zone 4, and looking at the overhand, it's going to be very dry. Pain in the neck to have to water. So.. if Geranium 'Biokovo' or 'Karmina' are hardy for you, that's what I'd go with.

I always wonder what the builder was thinking for spots like this . . . ridiculous! You perennial beds look great. Some of the plants you already have might work well - the low-growing Dianthus, some low sedums, perhaps some Iberis sempervirens (perennial candytuft) or Heuchera. Having a rock or three more than half buried might help break up the bed.

If you like succulents you could make a sedum/sempervivum border, lots of different colors and textures to choose from and if you have a place to store them for the winter few pots/containers of the more tender succulents, some taller, some trailing in amongst the lower growing ones. You have the ideal spot for one, that is if you like succulents, these don't need much care they pretty much look after themselves :). Thomas Hobbes did this on top of a wall, mind they were mostly the tender types, so very attractive. Google succulent gardens for inspiration, see if this might suit you.

Annette

yes babs ... designed by a builder/architect.. with no concept that the dirt left is a useless spot ...

i would go with annuals ... changing every year.. until you find something that please you ...

a ground cover like allysum and something taller would give you some height ...

you might also consider vines like clematis with some trellis.. to really go vertical ... with little foot space needed ... and of course.. there are annual vines like morning glory ...

nice outer bed ...

ken

Does Sweet Woodruff (Galium oderatum) grow in your zone? It is labeled as zones 4-8, so it should. It is evergreen, has small white flowers in spring/early summer, and will fill the spot nicely. It is low, too, so no worries about height against siding.

Ummm, sweet woodruff is not evergreen, even in my very mild climate. Dies completely to the ground in winter. And prefers a pretty shady area with even moisture - a south facing bed with a roof eave overhang is not a very suitable location.

Suggestions like the hen and chicks or low growing stonecrops/sedums are good choices - these are tough, durable plants that are not fussy about soil conditions or even light conditions as long as drainage is good. Another possibility is to layer the area with river rock and then use taller containers with seasonal color in summer to provide both interest and some verticality.

Not every patch of soil needs to be or should be planted :-) Sometimes it just doesn't make a lot of sense for various reasons and then some out of the box thinking that Ken likes so much is in order!

Oops, you are right, gg. Not evergreen.

Thanks, all. You gave me some ideas to visualize. So hard for me to think outside the box, so I appreciate the input! Maybe I will do some annuals next year to get an idea how it looks planted and what heights and shapes look best there.

I'm thinking the spot is crying out for something vertical. I would either do as Ken suggests and do something on a trellis between the two windows, or look into a Sky Pencil ilex or two, or something similar. PrairieMoon has experience with Sky Pencils so maybe if she pops into this thread she can say whether or not it would work there.

You know, you can even put a fancy trellis and just grow annual vines up it, and leave it to be admired in the winter months. My cousin has a gorgeous old iron gate she got at one of those architectural salvage places - it's about 6 feet tall by 3 or 4 feet wide, and it's beautiful on its own, as a piece of garden art. I might consider something like that between the two windows.

As far as plants, how about something a bit narrower and taller, like daylilies? Sunflowers? Taller sedums? Tall cosmos? Verbena bonariensis? Bulbs for spring blooms?

Good ideas, diggerdee. I think you're right about something vertical. It really is a narrow spot- just over 2 feet- which makes just about anything overhang the sidewalk and get in the way. And I'd like it to look good all season. Maybe a cluster of ilex between the windows, and then extend the deck to the nearest edge of the big window, and that will give a defined space under the big window to plant. Much less intimidating to have the length broken up. So glad I found these forums. There is a wealth of plant possibilities out there I didn't know existed!

flowerdot, if you decide to do something larger and not drought tolerant, be prepared to water on a regular basis or put in a soaker hose. Because of the overhang of the eaves, it won't get much if any precipitation.

Thought of another, and one that doesn't need as much water - irises.

Had another idea as well. As I mentioned above, I feel like the space between the windows needs something tall. But it doesn't necessarily have to be in that narrow bed. If you place a taller, preferably evergreen plant in the large bed, and space it so it's between the windows looking from the street, that might work too, at least from a distance. Then fill in that strip with other things - although keep in mind that depending on the height of what you plant in the large bed, it might cast shade on the narrow strip. I'm not thinking of anything huge, but just maybe 5ft tall or so. Plus, it looks from the photos that you are on a slight incline, so anything in that large bed will look a bit taller from the street. Just a thought... :)

..I don't like that strip of ground much at all for planting, and I would want to remove it this way...

...I would rake off all the top soil, [bag it up for tipping somewhere else in the garden]... leaving the level area a few inches below the paving, then I would lay weed suppressing membrane along the entire length, the type with little perforations so water runs through... then top it up with beach shingle [I buy it bagged, here], so you then have a clean smart plant free strip....with the raked level top still just below the level of the paving.

...then, I would treat myself to 3 decent sized containers... placing 1 each end and 1 in the middle.... I like the round Greek/Aegean type.... if they are large enough, and shapely, then you don't even need to plant anything in them, empty decorative pots are fine, .... but if desired I would fill with compost and plant annuals, some to trail down the pots.... this way, nothing gets in anybody's way, and it looks permanently neat and tidy...

...obviously daily watering would be the only real chore...

I've done something like this here..

empty decorative pot.. I have a few of these here and there...

..shingled strip against wall... obviously in my milder climate I can take a few risks with plants..

I'm sure you'll make it lovely whatever you choose to do... best wishes, from over here...

in z4 i presume 4 or 5 months of snow cover ... i doubt evergreen is important ...

and if you use a snow shovel ... is one reason i suggested annuals.. as they need not survive snow abuse ...

snow is a great insulator.. but not if its piled high.. and collapsed into an ice berg ...

you would be better off.. blowing it out into the lawn.. for the most part ...

ken

I like Marlorena's suggestion, and I would use drought-tolerant plants in the containers to keep the need for watering down. The containers would give you some height without requiring a tall plant that might outgrow that narrow strip.

I'm not a big fan of plants and their roots right up next to a foundation, especially if there is a need for much in the way of supplemental water. Partly it's because I have an old stone rubble foundation with a history of drainage issues, but I also saw how my parents' early 70s house eventually had basement water problems -- which I think they may have either caused or exacerbated by installing an automatic irrigation system that watered the foundation beds a little too well.

I also like some space in case there's any need to do work on the house -- painting, etc. With container plants it'd be easy to move them out of the way for that.

Very good point, WoodsTea. The ground is carefully sloped away from the foundation to shed water, and then I consider planting things that would require me to poor a bunch of water there... Marlorena, your stuff looks wonderful. Not sure if it would like good on my house or not; maybe I'll work on Microsoft Paint and see what I think!

What is beach shingle?? :)

Shingle from a beach ;-) It's the rounded stones found on many beaches but not round enough to be called pebbles. Nothing to do with wooden roofing tiles. Comes from places like this. Shingle beach

...perhaps it isn't popular in America, but here it's also used for driveways... mine is shingled, as opposed to bricks or paving... it's also great for digging into soil to improve the structure, I use the small 10mm for that... although I prefer lawn, it's impractical here for me, so it's been replaced with the larger type of shingle...as in photo... underneath is a weed suppressant membrane which allows water through...it never floods even after heavy rain...

...I also like the different coloured decorative stones, coloured slates and large pebbles, nearly all garden centres will have a range here... the choice can be bewildering at times...

....I just don't walk on it, bare foot...

Marlorena, I sure wish we had something like shingle here, all we have that is comparable is either driveway chip or pea gravel, none of that lovely color,....just a wee bit envious.

Annette

Annette...

....I'm wondering if what you have there is the same thing.... I always call it shingle, but in fact it's sold here as pea gravel.... I imagine driveway chip is much like what I have for my driveway too... it sounds like it.... pea gravel is really what I mean to use, as it's quite fine... the gravel in my photo above is a larger type.... for some reason I always refer to it as shingle or beach shingle, sorry for the confusion...

Ahhh but we don't have those lovely warm colors in our pea gravel :(.

I agree with the advice Marlorena gave you when she suggested you dig a few inches of soil out of that strip then replace the mulch. It seems to be above grade and will always be shifting downhill. While this is not what you asked about, I envy your space for a big specimen plant in your landscape.

I agree. I wouldn't plant anything at all there because you would always have to hand water and you can't see that spot from the yard/street anyway. Plus, depending on which side of the house it's on, you might have way too much or too little sun.

I think the shingle is drop-dead gorgeous!

Excellent, glad you found something that works for you. And the good thing with annuals, is that you can really mix it up from year to year, especially if you have PADD (Plant Attention Deficit Disorder) as I do! I'd be itching to try different sunflowers, which I adore, in your space.

Wonder how a climbing rose would have looked between the large window and the small one to the right of it? Or -- still on the trellis idea -- 1-3 plant baskets mounted on a trellis? (Thinking of those half moon or half cone coconut lined baskets or even the hanging bags.)