What would you do with this area?

[Totreeornottotree]

I have two planting beds in the front garden, I particularly dislike both of them they're so drab and depressing and remind me of old swamps 😂💀

One area directly under the lounge window, another runs along our front path and separates our garden from the neighbour.

What would you do? I love the idea of a climber up the house, perhaps a Lilac? But other than that I really don't know.

We have a lovely cherry tree in the middle of the lawn which will be staying.

Shrub roses would be nice, underplanted with ground cover such as thyme and some bulbs.

Planting scheme of hydrangeas, heucheras (in a variety of leaf colour), and helleborus, interspersed with spring and autumn bulbs would provide an easy to maintain area with year-round colour and interest.

What direction does the front of the house face- how many hours of sunlight a day? Roses with companion plants would be beautiful.

Sorry I should have added the front of the house is east facing so gets morning sun then nothing after about 11ish

Is it the same for the separate bed not under the window?

Hydrangea petiolaris on the wall and osmanthus burkwoodii in the other bed

Yes that's correct, they're both in the front garden. One is along the side of our front pathway to the door and the other is under our window. Lots of light in the morning but not much after lunchtime

I'd have a star-jasmine or clematis to grow up the house on a trellis - you can get shade-tolerant clematis and they look great.

then for the other bed, I'd have sarcococca which is shade-tolerant and evergreen and has a lovely scent. Also daphne and ferns for year-round interest. Maybe a variegated holly too - get one with berries. And a Salvia because they will tolerate shade, have a very long flowering season and a nice scent.

I'd put sarcocca in the bed by the path. Like a pp said it's evergreen. Also the flowers are out and scented when everything else looks dead. It's wasted in a back garden when you're not using it during winter but lifts the spirits in a space you have to pass everyday.

Under the window id put a mix of evergreen ferns with some ostrich ferns dotted inbetween. The ostrich ferns are deciduous but add to the lush look during summer. I'm not sure they're good for shade but I've had alliums dotted around ferns before and it's worked very well. If you're not willing to risk it, a few purple or pink astilbes could work well with ferns.