What I've done so far...the front bed

What was there: old hollies and boxwood, stereotypically overgrown, two very unhappy looking azaleas, some liriope, a crepe myrtle surrounded by bright green, perfectly mounding boxwoods and a yucca.

1. We trimmed down the hollies and boxwood so they weren't blocking the windows, and cut them back so they weren't crowding each other so much. This job has been repeated twice, most recently in the Spring; you can see how long that lasted!

2. We weeded the bed and add the thickest, ugliest, mulch I could find. It didn't work! Since then, this Spring I finished the 4th major weed in less than a year. This time I put down layers of newspapers and covered the area with a 4'' layer of mulch. Guess what? Liriope volunteers and a particularly heinous weed have returned despite my efforts! That's it to the left--anyone have any ideas? It gets 2-3'' long thorns and never flowers (last year I thought it might be a yet unidentified plant so I left it.) As dismaying as it is though, it's nothing compared to the way it was!

3. I moved the variegated liriope which, having been set 18''-24'' back from the sidewalk, allowed lots of crabgrass to grow in front, right up next to the walk. I'm looking forward to it cascading; it's almost there.

4. In between the liriope I've alternated Coreopsis 'Golden Showers' and Geranium 'New Hampshire.'

5. In front of the garage and some of the old boxwood and hollies I planted several Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Longwood Blue.'

6. At the end of the house, before the garage there is a "dry creek bed" except no water ever goes through it. The only thing that ever happens is that insiduous weeds get between the rocks. I've planted some succulents (some sedum, ice plant, hens and chicks) in between so the weeds have some competition. They seem happy, but it could use some more.

Future thoughts: Fill in bare spaces as much as possible! I'd like a yellow fall blooming plant for between the caryopteris and the lirope/coreopsis/geranium front. Move, okay compost, they yucca in the front and replace it with a boxwood like the ones around the crape myrtle that is inexplicably planted on the far back corner of the house. I suspect it was leftover.