What would you do with this area for gardening?

[AJDem]

Hi, we recently purchased a home and would like to do some gardening with the area around the house. Mainly, the front corner,
and the side of the home. The whole area had originally been covered in about a foot and a half of ivy. We spent a few weeks in October trying to remove it all, but a lot of the roots remain.
We are located in Baltimore, Maryland.
As far as the soil goes, there is dirt for about 1.5-2 feet, and then it is hard clay.
Right now, the front corner area has around 6 rose bushes and a couple of hydrangeas planted. The side of the home has 4 rose bushes and one other bush planted. The backyard area has several shrubs surrounding the patio.
We would like to incorporate a raised garden bed somewhere in the backyard patio area to grow herbs and some veggies, although unsure what size or placement would best fit the area.
All the roses and hydrangeas were planted in I believe November.
We are okay with moving/removing them if need be.
We also have some Gladiolus and Dahlia bulbs that we would like to plant somewhere soon.

We really don't have any idea what we are doing, we just planted them where we thought they would look good. Any tips or corrections, or information are greatly appreciated! Please feel free to ask any questions as well.
Pictures:

https://imgur.com/a/CFHcOYW

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Nice looking house. Is that your paved path or a public way? It looks as though someone takes a short cut from it up to the house, unless water comes down there when it rains. Looking at the shadows I wonder if this the North side? That little corner shaded by the trees would probably look good with cyclamen growing under it, plant a few and they spread and join up with nice flowers, usually white or pinkish, and patterned leaves, so there is nearly always some interest. The hedge in front of the bay window looks like it would spoil a view, or does it spoil the neighbour's view of your room ? Your Dahlias and glads would probably like a sunny place. Gladiolus is great for cut flowers, but they don't stand up well to weather, and tend to produce hundreds of small corms which stay with you, so somewhere sheltered from the wind that you won't mind digging over a few times to get them all out.
If the roses have recently been put in I would be reluctant to move the poor things again unless you really don't like them there.
It is exciting to have a new project, but try and think in terms of "Over the next three or four years ..." It can take things time to settle in, and you don't want to find out they clash with what you want to do in eighteen months time.

 

[AJDem]

Nice looking house. Is that your paved path or a public way? It looks as though someone takes a short cut from it up to the house, unless water comes down there when it rains. Looking at the shadows I wonder if this the North side? That little corner shaded by the trees would probably look good with cyclamen growing under it, plant a few and they spread and join up with nice flowers, usually white or pinkish, and patterned leaves, so there is nearly always some interest. The hedge in front of the bay window looks like it would spoil a view, or does it spoil the neighbour's view of your room ? Your Dahlias and glads would probably like a sunny place. Gladiolus is great for cut flowers, but they don't stand up well to weather, and tend to produce hundreds of small corms which stay with you, so somewhere sheltered from the wind that you won't mind digging over a few times to get them all out.
If the roses have recently been put in I would be reluctant to move the poor things again unless you really don't like them there.
It is exciting to have a new project, but try and think in terms of "Over the next three or four years ..." It can take things time to settle in, and you don't want to find out they clash with what you want to do in eighteen months time.

Hi! Thank you for responding!
So the front area is facing south, while the side is more south-east. The paved area is the public walkway. That whole area that looks like a dirt path under the tree was actually covered in ivy up until this past winter.
Should we do anything about the ivy roots that are still in the shaded area before planting something like cyclamen?
Thanks for the tip about glads! Thinking of maybe isolating them now.
Will leave the roses as is, and see how it looks later this year.
One thought we had was simply mulching the whole area, to give it more contrast from the roses already planted. But our concern is having just the roses would be too little.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I am not sure if what you and I call 'ivy' is the same thing as I see Americans cultivating 'English ivy', but my experience is it always returns, but I can just pull it out in a long string without much damage to anything else.
You could try mulching in individual circles around the roses for some contrast, and they would probably appreciate it. Roses grow in all sorts of different forms, but they do grow, and when you prune and cut them back they grow even harder. Have yours been pruned? It should be done before Spring when they really take off. For most types think take out things crossing through the centre and weak branches, then leave three good buds on the rest. On the other hand there is a lot of guff talked about pruning roses. I have seen a video of two identical rose beds, one was pruned over three days by experts, the other was chopped down to size with a chain saw straight across the top, six months later they were both covered in flowers and looked almost identical, but I don't think it would work so well year on year. It is nearly always worth seeing how things look, waiting a bit, and thinking about it. Plants take time to establish themselves which makes it worth getting things right. As James Thurber said, "He who hesitates is sometimes saved."

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Hello neighbor. I live in Chester County , PA. My garden has a thread here named Welcome to Esther's gardens. Most of the plants are for shade, as I see your open bare spot your wondering about is also in shade. I am seeing a slope situation. So plants that have a good root system is good. Part of me thinks to put in a few curvy rows of rocks and make a step situation. Keep in mind with shade plants your looking at the color of the leaves not always the flower. Thinking some coral bells would look good, mixed in with low profile yellow green hosta's .

 

[lifegardener]

Hi, we recently purchased a home and would like to do some gardening with the area around the house. Mainly, the front corner,
and the side of the home. The whole area had originally been covered in about a foot and a half of ivy. We spent a few weeks in October trying to remove it all, but a lot of the roots remain.
We are located in Baltimore, Maryland.
As far as the soil goes, there is dirt for about 1.5-2 feet, and then it is hard clay.
Right now, the front corner area has around 6 rose bushes and a couple of hydrangeas planted. The side of the home has 4 rose bushes and one other bush planted. The backyard area has several shrubs surrounding the patio.
We would like to incorporate a raised garden bed somewhere in the backyard patio area to grow herbs and some veggies, although unsure what size or placement would best fit the area.
All the roses and hydrangeas were planted in I believe November.
We are okay with moving/removing them if need be.
We also have some Gladiolus and Dahlia bulbs that we would like to plant somewhere soon.

We really don't have any idea what we are doing, we just planted them where we thought they would look good. Any tips or corrections, or information are greatly appreciated! Please feel free to ask any questions as well.
Pictures:

https://imgur.com/a/CFHcOYW

Without knowing your sun exposure, as a guide, find other plants which do well in these same conditions.

Suggest letting your gardening grow organically, where you have time to manage it.