Are you able to start the plant in a block ,then when its a couple inches or so taller than a block put a block or two under (filled with soil )the original block then strip leaves off from bottom of the plant and place a block on top of the original bock with the plant sticking up thru the new top block and filling it with soil ,you also need to wrap the column ,I would just use a plastic wrap ,you will need to keep the soil moist , it might just work keep us posted

This looks like someone's brilliant, but bad idea. Someone is possibly trying to kill two birds with one stone by using downspout water to water the flower box, or they're trying to drain the flower box through the downspout tail. In doing so they've put a box right up against a wood fence so the fence won't dry out quickly and will rot away sooner. Why is the box necessary? There is dirt already at the edge of the walk. Plant directly in it. The gutter tail is buried shallowly. Please show where water empties out of it. If it has to come back up to the surface in order to empty, that's pretty much an eventual guaranteed clog. I would extend the downspout to a normal length (to about 12" above grade.) Attach a gutter tail, above grade, that extends about 3' or 4' -- beyond the stoop. At the end, possibly direct the water onto the walk with angle attached to the tail, whereas the walk is acting as a splash block. If not doing this way, you'd need a splash block at the end of the tail. (If this creates other problems, share information about them. We can only see a limited amount of information from these pictures.) Creating proper drainage is of the highest priority. Pretty flowers is secondary and comes after drainage is corrected.

This would be why you 'water' your foundations - pretty much all of Texas has clay soils, high temperatures, and random but alternating periods which vary in length, of drought then more rain than it can handle. Placement of the soaker hose that other posters have mentioned, seems to be a key factor in the success of your foundation watering process. OP, that skinny planter under the overhang and behind the larger one might be something that the builder did to keep roots from whatever is in the bed in front of it from growing and making their way into your crawl space. I can't be entirely sure because I'm not there to look at it in person. :P My parents had a bed planter along both sides of the garage which was on slab only, while the rest of the house had a raised foundation (this was in SoCal) and planters along that in front where the master bed/bath was as well as in the back where the other two bedrooms were. When they decided to extend the master bedroom about 6 feet and reducing the sqft of lawn from where the front of the house ended to the sidewalk, they had to add some additional supports that went down into the ground deeper than the ones that were there before and put in some kind of root barrier to keep plants with extensive root systems from eventually causing all of the supports underneath the entire extension from shifting and potential collapse in an earthquake or in the event of significant soil settlement. The neighborhood nearby had houses that sank and some that heaved upwards because the entire area used to be dairy farms. That one was all slab foundations, but whether the house was on a raised foundation or a slab, the possibility of sink or upheaval was a concern because the prior land use was dairy farming. Add to that, earthquake risks and frequent periods of drought, alternating with el nino weather events? We probably could have used some foundation watering ourselves. :P For the particular concerns about the clay soils where you are and the type of foundation you've got, I'd consider using containers, partial sun/partial shade plants, and hand watering with a hose for the narrow planter area underneath the overhang. The wider one in front of it, something with deeper roots but ones that don't grow like crazy in every direction and more of a ground-cover that is low growing/spreads horizontally more than vertically. I'd suggest going to a plant nursery (if you can find one locally that isn't at a big box chain store like Home Depot, Lowes, etc...that would be ideal) and asking them what they'd suggest, and show them photos taken of the areas you intend to plant in on your phone (since most people have cell phones and those tend to have cameras built into them) for reference.

"Joseph, the majority of people put faux topiaries next to the front door." That's a pretty broad statement and one that I'd have to say has little to support it!! I don't know of anyone that puts faux topiaries by their front door! And if they did, there are natural, living ones that could work well, even in almost complete shade. It is going to come down to a personal choice.....you can either tolerate fake plants or you can't. If you care nothing about nature and gardening and do not want to be bothered tending to living plants and just want them to provide a decoration, go for it. But not my cup of tea and also not the cup of tea for many others. In all honesty, I'd have to say I don't care for topiaries even if alive. An unnatural and torturous way to treat plants.