KMolli, the url in your fourth post is the same as the working link in the second post. [Keep in mind that what you see in Preview is what you'll get in the final post. So if you don't see a photo in Preview, it won't appear in the final post. And if a link isn't clickable in Preview, it won't work in the final post. It is possible to post more than one photo in a single post; I believe you need to choose the "html" address from the different possibilities Photobucket offers.]

Juliann, I'll post a site from the UK that has pictures of various types of gardens. This link goes to their Cottage Garden which they say is "contrived to look uncontrived". There are many other types of gardens there that might provide inspiration. Which plants you choose depends on which climate zone you are in. I'm in zone 3 so am somewhat limited in what I can grow. I'll post a pic of what I call my wild bird garden. It's an area in my large garden that has the birdfeeder and birdbath. I allow the flowers to go to seed for the birds so they self-seed. This area has changed over many years altho I initially seeded shasta daisies (the butterflies love them) and yarrow and planted a few established perennials. The yarrow seeds I planted were a mix of red, pink, and white, but the white resembles the wild yarrow we have so we pull it out and it's mostly now only tones of pinks and red. There are also Lamb's Ears because they seed all over my garden but I leave them in this wild area (the bees love them). There are a few other plants, a pink mallow that's 'weedy' but it fills the space and is quite pretty and we also have several lilacs here. Near that area there is also a drift of common old irises which we've allowed to spread. They are in the lower part of the rockery and I will eventually weed some of them out as the bloom time is not very long. If I were deliberately planting a wildflower garden I would not buy a wildflower mix as there could be invasive plants in it. I planted a mix about 14 years ago and still have Dame Hesperis (Dame's Rocket) altho pull out many every year and try to dead-head them ASAP before they seed. It's quite a weed in warmer climates. I would choose seeds of plants I like that are hardy but not invasive and mix them together. Another option is to plant in swaths with various plants and grasses hardy to your area. Keep in mind the moisture requirements of the plants as you decide. The area where I have shastas, mallow, and yarrow needs little watering and only a spring weeding so is easy care. Here is a link that might be useful: The Garden House

It's always a bit sad to see grade problems that came with a new house because the builder didn't want to fix them in the first place. Whenever shopping for a house, Always buy one where the grade drains away from the foundation walls, not toward them. Don't know where you are, but for starters I'd be looking for a plant that spreads with underground root parts, or is viney and spreads by rooting wherever it touches the ground. Maybe you already have such a plant in the mix, I can't tell. Or maybe what you have could be divided so that it becomes solid more quickly, which is always the goal with groundcover. It's necessary because it is part of what keeps weeds out of the bed. This project will be much easier (and I think much better looking) if you have a SINGLE groundcover covering bank. A mixture that looks like odds and ends, just looks messy ... especially with weeds. If this were in Atlanta, I would consider English Ivy as a possible groundcover as it has many good qualities. But as with most groundcovers, one MUST learn how to control its edge. I don't know where you are so have no specific plant recommendations. Besides learning to control the edge of a groundcover, one MUST keep the weeds out, and here, it looks like the weed-free ship has sailed! This creates problems of such magnitude that, often, it's almost better to start over from scratch. If a commitment to keep a groundcover area weed free is not made at the outset and maintained diligently, the battle will never be won. Let's ascertain ... what groundcover plant is there now, and does it have the ability to be divided so a solid groundcover can be created?

Inspiration photo showing tall groundcover around tree. We just tapered the asphalt to help direct stormwater to its sewer and are doing some backfilling. The area gets occasional stormwater, but is fairly dry. clay. zone 6. I am trying to plan the area to the left of the stairs. I like the idea of breaking up the area with a light airy tree or shrub (red twig dogwood?) or tall grass, surrounded by a rectangle of a taller groundcover centered in front of the balconies. And then and then a workhorse low viney ground for the balance. What about a border next to the parking lot and next to the stairs - salt tolerant. wild geranium? wild onion? canada anemone? giant liriope? 1-3 ft sedge? The area does not need shade and I'm a little afraid of getting back to my BEFORE pictures. Doom. leaves. debris. Drawn to scale - each block is 5 ft. The sloped section of the leftmost rectangle where I am starting is 15ft x 50ft. Stars are existing shrubs, trees. Any suggestions? Thank you for reading