Advice needed for new flower bed

[Idlewild294]

Hello everyone, my wife and I recently moved to a new home, and we are in need for some landscaping help. There is an area that I have wanted to make into a flower bed, but I'm at a loss on where to start. The area runs alongside the foundation of our home, and the land is properly pitched away from the foundation. There is no room to physically add 6" or so of compost, mulch, etc to add a raised flower bed due to the land running up a couple of inches or so below the lowest level of bricks on our home. There are multiple sprinkler lines, sewer lines, water lines, and valves below the surface that further complicate the situation. My questions are....How can I properly prepare and establish a flower bed while attempting to take care of existing grass and weeds without adding multiple thick layers to smother everything out? I had originally wanted to establish the area of the flower bed, round up the existing vegetation, plant some shrubs, and add a few inches of mulch. I know I would have difficulty fighting weeds and Bermuda grass in the future with my plan. In the attached photos: The area we want to add a flower bed extends from the existing rectangular brick flower bed to the corner of the house. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated. I'm up for any suggestions on what to do with the void area. Thanks in advance.

 

[DrCase]

Bermuda grass has to be dug out, You can dig it easy in pieces like sod, You will need a good border and fill the inside with better dirt and plant away.
I would step it out a few feet further than your brick bed

 

[suzjbibby]

You only need dig just the top layer and take away the grass layer then build your bed without disturbing the pipes etc further down in the soil, as DrCase suggested bring the bed out wider than the existing bed but keeping the rectangular lines would be more pleasing to the eye.
Yes that void is asking for something to dress it up ( depending on your climate though) you could use an upright shrub or perhaps instead a large piece of art work that is taller than it is wide and extends above the height of the windows

something like this maybe

or

or perhaps these in a staggerd diagonal

depending on your tastes of course, you may prefer vegetation instead

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

If a flower bed is going to be tricky then how about putting trellis on the wall and planting a climber at the bottom? It would look lovely! The type of climber would depend on your climate and which direction the wall faces, but there should be something to fit the bill.

 

[blueiris]

I would plant shrubs or bushy plants along the corner edge in front of the drain pipe for privacy and to frame the area in. I don't know if you can dig there but if not, you could get some huge plastic pots and place them in a row there. With your issues with digging, I would consider either potted flowers or vertical gardens, possibly.

I could envision a nice rectangular raised type bed about three to four feet OUT from your house and the brick built in planter. You could, remove the grass, put down a barrier, build up the soil and use a rock border for support and it would make a little path in front of your built in planter.

 

[Nath]

You could always dig down 4 to 6 inches and cover the bedding area with a permeable liner that allows for drainage and stops the bermuda grass from growing through, use a loamy compost mixed with some top soil and heap it at the middle a little bit and then the world is your oyster, you could plant flowers with shallower roots like Pansies, all manner of Primroses, Drumstick Primroses, Petunias, Anemones, Cyclamens and so on, you could have a very nice display, the lining will help keep just enough moisture retention without allowing the bed to get water logged, it doesnt cost that much nowadays either.

 

[Robert Cummings]

A nice Herbaceous plant selection would look nice, your local garden store should be able to advise and supply a good selection of plants.