Need opinions on upgrading a yard island

With summer upon us I suppose I should make this island look good. I live in Denver so my plant selection is a little limited. Just looking to fill it in with some flowers/shrubs. Suggestions are welcome thank you.

Evergreen hedges always look good

Mayabe some type of evergreen ground cover

What's the USDA zone 2-4?

[Sorry, had it in my head you wanted Edibles!!!!]
Probably could get away with some fruit, like Apple, or Plum. So hardy stone fruits. Peach is included here, but harder to find a heirloom with high altitude and short growing season character. Pear maybe.... Nuts might work too, filbert, black walnut, etc. Slow growers though. I am a fan of something called monkey puzzle tree from Chile.

Berries too, like Blueberry or Huckleberry. They could be planted for edible landscapes....

Heck, you might even be able to find some Chinese bamboo, that thrives in the mountains...

Anything like pine, tamarack [larch], true cedar [not cypress], juniper etc.....
will all be hardy evergreens and the last couple will be shrubby........ pine and larch probably won't?

LIBERTYCHICKEN said:

Evergreen hedges always look good

Mayabe some type of evergreen ground cover

Click to expand...

Ligonberry? very tasty too.....but thrive in shade

I love eatable landscapes

but with concrete on bolth sides that may be a mess , Their also may be zoneing issues

Walnuts are great (and they do grow fast) but the last thing you want is walnuts falling on your car all fall, and they will stain the sh*t out of concrete , not only in front of the tree but whereever the squerils drag the nuts to
The roots and leaves also have a chemical in them (juglone) that will inhibit most growth under and around it

Thanks for the tips. My height is kinda limited due to the tree that sits in the middle top, bought some daisy plants and some ornamental grasses.

A nice skinny raised bed along your walkway would be handy.You could plant tomatoes,peppers and herbs. Raised beds are nice because you don't have to bend over plus a little higher off the ground tends to be a bit warmer giving you a longer season.

You could do something like this along your steps

here's a few more good ones.

Dr.Pecker said:

here's a few more good ones.

Click to expand...

Those galv. feed troughs are nice to grow running bamboo in , as a privacy hedge

with the raised beds, I just saw someone put down pebbles that had ben painted with glow in the dark paint between them , Looked cool as hell .

^^^great use of Bamboo

I always like to throw some ornamental grasses in. They're easy, a lot are very hardy, and they're water wise.

LIBERTYCHICKEN said:

Those galv. feed troughs are nice to grow running bamboo in , as a privacy hedge

with the raised beds, I just saw someone put down pebbles that had ben painted with glow in the dark paint between them , Looked cool as hell .

Click to expand...

Just don't put those horsetails directly in the ground unless you want them EVERYWHERE. They will pop up 20 feet away...