What zone are you? Which direction is the house facing? I know you said not much sun hits…. I’m wondering if any is it morning/afternoon sun?

Looks like it’s under roof so no access to rain water….

I’d like to help with ideas with a little more detail :)

Hi! Thanks for your help! Home faces east. And yes, no rain water. I had to look up zones, I had no idea.. we are zone 8

Not sure how deep those beds are but if you don’t mind watering occasionally you could do astibles for some height and texture. They are perennials and will multiply on their own… maybe some baby white wing begonias to border the door side? They’re annuals so you’d have to replant but they’re not fussy and can take the heat.

Amost no sun+no water= bummer. The easiest fix would be to slab cap them. If you get deliveries, you could install a drop box on one side. If you see snow, it's a good parking spot for salt/shovel/boot scraping. Yes, I know you said zone 8, but seems like that sees snow sometimes depending.

Just playing with ideas. Bridal astible is a fave of mine but they have many colors available

What have you planted and why did it die? That's the most important question. If you weren't watering the plants, you should either plan to water, install some automatic watering or put something that isn't a plant in them.

Sometimes, a lifestyle doesn't mesh with watering plants. For example, if you go on month long trips or spend the summer or winter in your other house.

I'd plant some shade-tolerant annuals, like Coleus or impatients and water them. See if that works. If you just aren't watering them, then replace with some sculptures in a bed of river rock.

Thank you all for the GREAT ideas and visuals!Im in Texas and guilty of not enough watering. So whatever I pick has to be a survivor- I’m kidding. I will take all this into consideration and come back with results. Thanks again!

I think you can go artificial with lava rock mulch. Amazon.com: Collections Etc Artificial Floral Rose Bushes - Set of 3, Maintenance Free, Red, 18" H : Home & Kitchen

Another alternative is boxwood.

Boxwood Greenery Balls | Frontgate

And real boxwoods will do fine in your low light conditions.

How cold does it get where you are?

If you don't have freezing temp.s, you might try some traditional houseplants - they usually pretty tough and don't require lots of sun, fertilizer or water - things like Philodendrons, Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen), Dracaena, Sansevieria (snake plant), Tradescantias, Peperomia, and Cordyline (ti plant) might do well in that spot. We have most of those growing in pots on our south facing porch, and they're all attractive and fairly low maintenance. All come in a variety of forms and colors too.

For instance I have a combo of tall Dracaena and trailing Tradescantia zebrina in a large pot on our porch.

Dracaena - marginata?

Tradescantia zebrina

If your budget allows, consider wider steps that are the width of the landing.

I wouldn't strive for symmetry. I think something tall and colorful on the right, like Carol's zebrina. On the left, a low, massed succulent planting meant to be attractive viewed from above, perhaps using multiple colors. I'd remove the plants currently planted on the right in front of the porch and replace them with spiky grass of some type, with some fluidity and separation, not a hedge planting.

Ex of tall plants, photos 1 and or 2. Ex of low succulent plantings for left, photo 3. Ex of spiky grass, photo 2.