If you are
renting don't invest in it at all. You will simply be enriching the owner
unless he or she agrees to credit it to your rent. What you could do is set out a few nice
planters, large pots, or hanging baskets, etc., filled with interesting and
colorful plants. For that matter some
yard art or even a few garden ornaments.
Then when the time comes you can take what’s left with you when you
leave.

If you just
can’t help yourself keep it simple. I’d
suggest a little mulch around the foundation and tree. Perhaps a little grass seed where it will
grow. Other than that trim the bushes, keep the grass/weeds cut low, the trash picked
up and be done.

Ok great thank you, I would have put some ornaments but I'm trying to avoid it look like something out of Beetlejuice. Mulch is a great idea I didn't even think of that. I live behind 2 schools so people throw their crap down and it blows onto my yard.

Thanks again!

Weedkill in the gravel area with a roundup or other weed killer. This will make the gravel look cleaner. If u put in edging border to the drive of pavers or something it will help keep grass out. Also if u put a bed of plants around the tree it will help. Grass probably won’t grow so close to the tree because of roots taking moisture. Ask for credit or half the bill.

Good deal, thank you. I was originally going to try Roundup but someone said pulling them out by hand would work better. I'll try to research what plants to put around the tree. Edgers are a good idea right now the driveway has railroad ties. Thanks again

Any advice what color mulch or edgers to use? Also red candy stripe down two front columns for Christmas: good or bad idea? My goal is to pick just the right colors and shapes not just put stuff down to put it down. I want the house to look sharp from the road.

You can’t go wrong with a gray edger. I don’t even know why people use red and black mulch. I don’t think it looks natural. I would stick with brown mulch.

Great advice, thank you!

Almost all of this depends on where you are. Light values vary depending on latitude and the tendency of cloud cover. So how colors look under the different lights vary.

I'm in southern Mo. I guess I meant more with the colors looking good against the house and steel roof. I thought about using landscape timbers along the front where the bushes are, but they'd have to be White....and the house is too white already, and also too long

You need to move any questions about interiors to one of the Home forums :-) In addition to this forum being populated primarily by gardeners and landscape designers, this forum has already been diluted to the point of it being almost worthless by the Houzz hand in linking Design Dilemma questions and various interior forums to Landscape Design. There is virtually NO overlap between landscape design and interior design issues!!

I almost always hand pull, but I think it’s a mental condition. Lol. Roundup is great when things are actively growing. I just got a flame weeder. I’m hoping to make my teens hate weeding a bit less with that.

Lol yeah I tried doing it by hand but I couldn't pull then out, I'm waiting fiercly to save up enough to buy a weed torch, just hope I don't burn anything.

And if you have any ideas for the side railing going up the 3 stairs I'd appreciate it. Also I still can't figure out how to make the grungy area where to road meets the grass/driveway to look streamlined