Side yard at back back will put stone

Back entrance

Front of house left Front

Front of house right side

Actually shrubs, especially broadleaved evergreen shrubs or dwarf conifers, and groundcovers will be of much lower maintenance than will perennials. Just be sure to pick those that will stay in a size that will not outgrow the space or require periodic pruning to keep tidy.

I was also going to suggest shrubs.

Perennials do require maintenance..are you willing to take care of them? Or maybe you’ll get lucky and find a renter who likes to garden :)

Location matters a lot when considering what is going to be low maintenance. I wouldn't consider perennials or any type of rock garden to be low maintenance.

Another vote against rocks (unless you are in a desert area) and for perennials. Rock, either with or without landscape cloth under them, will still grow weeds which are far more difficult to remove from rocks than from a thick layer of shredded wood mulch. Shrubs that are appropriately sized for the space so that they don’t need pruning and underplanted with a dense groundcover are far easier to care for than perennials.

If you want some specific suggestions, give us your nearest large city and state along with measurements of the space you want to plant.

Here’s some info on the reasons not to use stone.

Stone

No stone please, for the same reasons others have already mentioned... it will likely look fantastic for a year or so and then become a leaf littered weedy mess.

I would mulch nicely all over and follow gardengals advice of a few shrubs and groundcovers. Pachysandra would be a good groundcover choice. It will look neat year round, absorb whatever leaves and twigs fall into it and eventually eliminate your need to add new mulch.

At our last house we had rocks in the garden with perennials and shrubs tucked in for years and didn't have any problems. We put down weed block and the river rock. The rock was about the size of a grapefruit or larger and rounded. We would just blow the leaves out in the fall like we would any other flower bed. I rarely got any weeds. If I did a squirt of weed killer took care of it. I defiantly would not use stones in a garden. It is too small and tends to end up in the yard and you can't use a blower on it. I used all kind of plants in my rock gardens. The plants didn't care if there was rocks in the garden.

Thank you all so much for all the great information. It sounds like i may have been going in the wrong direction. I will look at all your suggestions .

I'm another vote against rocks. You can't easily work in the bed with rocks. And perennials require periodic work in the bed. You don't show much of the surroundings, but my guess is that you could probably use more groundcover (that covers the ground solid).. And maybe a few shrubs and even fewer perennials (for a little interest.) If you get groundcover established, it is quite permanent and there is no need to add more mulch.

Irises and certain other perennials aren’t difficult to grow, but without regular deadheading can look messy. Since this is a rental, plants that need regular hands on maintenance aren’t practical if you want a tidy appearance. Around me (acid soil and cold winters) panicled hydrangeas are long blooming and if one is chosen to fit the size of the bed, never need pruning, just a once annual deadheading if wanted. Rhododendrons such as the PJM series are hardy, evergreen, unfussy in acid soil, and have cheerful spring flowers. There are lots of choices that will provide a nice looking bed, but without giving us a location, you will need to research options for size, hardiness and maintenance needs.

z6 is about half the US ... and varies quite a bit.. give us a big city name ... perhaps i missed it ...

daylily is nearly indestructible ...

if it were me.. i would shop late bargains at bigbox ... and just buy a few things that still look in good shape ...just watch size estimates ... though tags arent to be relied on completely.. they should get you close enough ... and keep in mind.. most things that get tall.. get proportionally wide ... and you dont have a lot of spots for either ....

fall is a brilliant planting time ... see link below ... the rules arent far off for perennials either ...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

I live 20 minutes north of Boston. My apologies as im new to the site and getting used to how to comment on

I would go for something like Landmark Rhododendron, Bird’s nest spruce, and Little Quickfire Hydrangea paniculata with an underplanting of Pachysandra or Veronica Georgia Blue.