Boy your walkway looks SO out of place. That's what I first thought when you posted the driveway perspective picture. Then a few people mentioned it...but that was definately my gut reaction. Everything is so nicely curved, the beds (and the corner bed at the driveway - walk intersection), the plants, everything...then you have the straight as an arrow walkway throw in. Suggesting to replace it is obviously one way to deal with it, but what about creating a shallow bed along the walkway, with curved edges, perhaps that mirror whatever you do with your island bed? Or even extend the foundation planting bed on the right side of the door out away from the house a bit, then bring that edge all the way over to the driveway ("swallowing" the walking in the process). Perhaps mirroring some of the foundation planting plant selections in this bed would help the existing walkway blend in (or rather, not stick out). This approach would also sort of "lay the foundation" for a future walkway replacement... Also, my initial thought on your bed, from the picture taking from your neighbor driveway, would be to extend the bed to the left, towards your driveway. What jumped into my mind was a large radius that followed the curves of your driveway edge beds. The "vast expanse" of grass on the driveway side of your kidney bed sort of "visually weighs down" the whole picture to me. As someone said, too much grass over there. I would almost image a gourd shaped bed....although I don't know where that leaves you on the right side of the bed (no real good pictures of that side as a whole). I guess to me, the visual flow of your yard (again, to me) sort of leads to that big grassy space between the driveway and the bed...and there's no reward at the end of that journey. Sorry I started rambling a bit there. My main point is that your walkway seems terribly "un-integrated" and you have a good opportunity to come up with a cohesive design for your whole front yard which could address that "problem"

Without reading all the dramatic controversy here - I skimmed and saw posts about hypodermic needles, prostitutes...how we get from dandelions to that I don't care to know. But, I'll comment on the dandelions....or in my case, Creeping Charlie and neglected lawns. While I'm not an advocate of applying chemicals to my lawns, I do agree that the simple act of weeding is appropriate. We have a house in our neighborhood with weeds the size of hostas - and yes, there is an ordinance against letting weeds take over your lawns, and for good reason. When we purchased our home, there were weeds galore. We took an entire weekend weeding them out by hand. A lot of work, but the previous owners seriously neglected the property, unfortunately. But we currently use organic weed control and fertilizer - Cockadoodle Doo is one product and the other is Chickity Doo Doo, I'm happy with the results, but I'm also diligent about hand weeding when the products I use fail to do the job. The neighbor behind me, not the same one I mentioned earlier, has a lawn ENTIRELY covered in creeping charlie. And now it's beginning to creep into my yard. That's seems like pure laziness / or complacency / or ignorance / or ???? to let it get that out of control. Meanwhile, they spend their time adding a retaining wall / planting bed to the front of their home this year. Apparently, curb appeal is more important than invasive weeds spreading to your neighbors lawns. Ugh. If you can't maintain it, you shouldn't own it.

All the dissolved solids flushed from the soil are in the effluent - you don't want them making their way back into the soil, else why bother to water correctly in the first place? This is especially true when using fertilizers that have NPK %s significantly different than the ratio at which nutrients are used because nutrient concentrations in the soil solution and effluent quickly become badly skewed and create problems related to EC/TDS and antagonisms. And now the 'extra holes' are good for gas exchange? That's a switch from improved drainage. If we focus on providing plants with media that supports very little perched water, gas exchange won't be a problem. Gas exchange issues become significantly more limiting as water retention increases and air porosity decreases. Plants sitting in puddles, no matter how many holes in the container, is not conducive to good gas exchange or a well oxygenated rhizosphere. Something I wrote about using hydrogen peroxide several years ago: H2O2 has an extra O atom (compared to H2O) in an unstable arrangement. It's the extra atom that makes it useful in horticultural applications. Generally, we're not concerned with aerobic forms of bacteria normally occurring in container media or on roots. Since H2O2 is an unstable molecule, it breaks down easily. When it does, a single O- atom and a molecule of water is released. This O- atom is extremely reactive and will quickly attach itself to either another O- atom forming stable O2, or attack the nearest organic molecule. Reduced O levels and high temperatures encourage both anaerobic bacteria and fungi. Many disease causing organisms and spores are killed by O, and the free O- H2O2 releases is very effective at this. Additionally, when plants growing in water-retentive media are treated with H2O2 it will break down and release O into the area around the roots. This helps stop the O from being depleted in the water filled air soil air spaces until air can get back into them. High O levels in the rhizosphere can encourage rapid healthy root growth and discourage unwanted bacteria/fungi. . I know H2O2 comes in several different strengths, the most common of which are 3% and 35% solutions. Least expensive is the 35% product which you dilute (to an approximate 3% solution) by mixing 1:11 with water. I have used the 3% solution at 1-½ to 2 tbsp per gallon as a cutting dip/soak, and have mixed it into irrigation water for plants in extremely water retentive soils at up to 3 tbsp per gallon, both with good results and nothing adverse apparent. H2O2 in high concentration is a powerful oxidant and quickly oxidizes almost anything it contacts, so be careful with it if you use it. A solution that is too strong can destroy any organic molecule it contacts. I’ve seen this chart posted several times as suggested strength solutions for use in watering plants. You may wish to start at a lower concentration , such as I’ve used, and experiment. TO THIS AMOUNT OF WATER ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 3% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE --OR-- ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 35% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE 1 cup, 3% - add 1-1/2 teaspoons … 35% - 7 to 10 drops 1 quart, 3% - add 2 tablespoons … 35% - 1/2 teaspoon 1 gallon, 3% - add 1/2 cup … 35% - 2 teaspoons 5 gallons, 3% - add 2-1/2 cups … 35% - 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon 10 gallons, 3% - add 5 cups … 35% - 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons 20 gallons, 3% - add 10 cups … 35% - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Al

I'm thinking now these may be some kind of round leaf dandelion. Went back over today and took a longer look at them. In less dense areas these leaves have a rosette pattern like dandelion. I just don't recall seeing dandelion leaves with such round leaves before, but I'm not a dandelion expert. Could these purple leaves be dandelions?