On to my new flower bed! This area just needed some "oomph", so we got out the shovels...

After digging up the layer of grass and tilling the remaining soil to even it out, Voila! Rather than buying stones to border the bed, I used the many, many, MANY rocks that are found in the yard. I planted a Laceleaf Weeping Japanese Maple tree (Acer Palmatum Dissectum) which will grow 6 to 10 feet, or an average of 8 feet. This tree must be "trained" or pruned as they grow to encourage the weeping top and I am on my way out the door to do some trimming as soon as I post this. My other favorite plant that does great in this area is a Delphinium. It isn't flowering at the moment but around mid summer it will produce beautiful blue towers of flowers that last into fall. There are also various colors of lilies scattered throughout; spearmint and peppermint are surrounding the bird bath.

I hope this gives you some inspiration. With a few hours of hard work and some creativity you can give a boring landscape a little personality!