Aside from normal maintenance, I'm ready to call it a season. I don't see myself planting anything new.

My front yard as it looks nearing the end of the 2016 season.

"Maintenance" basically means weeding, (which is needed on a continuous basis), and mulching. This is the time of year when the leaves begin falling from the trees. So I use the bag attachment on the mower and dump the resulting "homemade mulch" as needed. I've been able to encase the front of my Random Curved Shape with the homemade mulch.

I've managed to surround most of my Random Curved Shape with homemade mulch, (only a small area by the ornamental grass remains).

I didn't have a homemade mulch border on this side of the yard originally. The falling leaves this time of year allow me to expand the border every time I mow.

The goal is to surround the entire shape with homemade mulch. As of this writing, I'm about 90 % complete.

Only the area beside the ornamental grass remains to be filled in with homemade mulch. As the leaves continue to drop throughout the fall, I'll have this area filled in very soon.

I'm reading where this is also the time of year when the irises can be divided. I'll have to think about that as a project for October.

The rose bushes.
Success level: Iffy at best.

This area has been a mess since I first tried to do something with it. I started with a Blushing Knock Out Rose in April 2014. The Double Knock Out Rose arrived the following month. I've made several attempts at getting other plants to cooperate since then with varying levels of success:
~ Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass: All of them died.
~ Crocus, Tulips, and Alliums: One of the few ideas that has done well.
~ Relocated Daffodils from the back yard: Grew, but didn't flower.
~ Relocated Creeping Phlox: Seems to be doing ok.
~ Mystery bulbs from a friend: Still not sure what they are yet.

But more than anything, I seem to have a bunch of weeds. And I'm not sure what the taller plant is on the left side of the photo. There are several of them in varying sizes, some of which flowered.

I have no idea what this tall plant is. Several of them appeared, and some of them produced flowers.

I have no idea what they are or how they got there.

The mystery bulbs grew, but never produced any flowers.

The front of the house.

Otto Luyken Cherry Laurel.
Success level: Cautiously Optimistic.

This is the third location for this plant. I originally planted it in the back yard in March 2013 where it never really grew. Moving it out to the mailbox area in May 2014 thinking more sunlight may be beneficial didn't seem to work either. I moved it again in April 2016, swapping locations with the Eleanor Tabor Indian Hawthorn. So far, it seems to be happy.

Frostproof Gardenia.
Success level: Wonderful !

It's basically quadrupled in size since I planted it in April 2014. A few white flowers made an appearance this past spring.

Yucca Color Guard (L) and Eupatorium Joe Pye Weed (R).
Success level: Unknown.

I planted the above two plants in September 2015 after moving the Chinese Snowball and Small Anise Tree that originally were in this location. The Yucca looks exactly the same as it did when first planted. Some variety of insect appears to find the Joe Pye Weed quite tasty.

Chinese Snowball.
Success level: Negative.

I originally planted this in front of the house in April 2014, immediately after which it flowered quite nicely. But I had to move it in September 2015 after realizing that this plant can get pretty large. While green and (I think) still alive, it has done nothing since the move. Not sure what happened.

The leaves are green, but seem to have something going on around the edges. I'm wondering if this is some kind of disease.

Leyland Cypress #1.
Success level: Good.

I originally planted two Leyland Cypress shrubs next to my front steps, (about 15 feet to the left in the photo above), in March 2012. I moved them in May 2013 after realizing they have the potential to reach 50 feet tall and 15 feet wide. While that would be impressive, it would also render my front door and windows basically useless. Not too long after the move, the local deer population decided it would make a great scratching post and broke a bunch of it off. It's been steadily growing since the resulting pruning and shaping.

Small Azalea.
Success level: Moderate.

I found this single azalea trying to grow in an area covered with English Ivy on one side of my front yard. I moved it to the opposite side with the rest of the azaleas by the driveway in March 2013, but put it in the dumbest possible spot I could have found. I moved it again in March of this year to an open spot by the pear tree. It blooms beautifully each year, but hasn't grown any bigger.

Reeves Spirea.
Success level: TBD, but very optimistic.

The Bridal Wreath Spirea I planted next to my mailbox has been a wonderful success which inspired me to plant a few more spireas in March 2016. All three have grown substantially since planting. Hopefully, I'll have a lot of white blooms next spring.

Cleveland Select Flowering Pear Tree.
Success level: Good.

One of the first new residents in the front yard, this tree has grown significantly since going in the ground in April 2013. Spring blooms, however, have been somewhat sparse.

With a name like "flowering pear tree," I would think that what I am seeing in the photo above is some kind of pear. I am reading where birds love them.

Crimson Red Crape Myrtle.
Success level: Good.

I planted three Crape Myrtles in May 2015 to add some flowers to the yard at a time when flowers may not be present, (Crape Myrtles flower in the summer). The Crimson Red has grown substantially and continues to produce red flowers.

Plum Magic Crape Myrtle.
Success level: Good.

I planted three Crape Myrtles in May 2015 to add some summer color to the yard. The Plum Magic has more than doubled in size since then.

Purple Magic Crape Myrtle.
Success level: Good.

The last of the three Crape Myrtles I planted in May 2015 is also doing very well and produced beautiful flowers over the summer.

Windmill Palm Tree.
Success level: Neutral.

This spot was originally occupied by another Windmill Palm Tree that I first planted in the back yard. Palm trees don't grow well in the shade. So I transplanted it to this spot in a futile effort to save it. After it died, I replaced it with the above Windmill Palm Tree in April 2014. While green and apparently alive, it has done no growing of any kind. If anything, it seems like it is slowly shrinking.

Small Anise Tree.
Success level: Good.

In another "what were you thinking" moment, I planted a shrub in April 2014 that has the potential to reach 15 feet tall directly in front of my living room windows. I relocated it in September 2015 to an area by the driveway better suited for something that large. It seems to be quite happy even though it hasn't flowered yet.

Japanese Maple Tree.
Success level: Good.

Originally, this spot was occupied by Leyland Cypress # 2 after it was relocated in May 2013. But a coworker gave me a Japanese Maple tree in May 2015 that I thought would look great as a "feature tree" in this spot. So Leyland Cypress # 2 got moved to the back yard, and the Japanese Maple took its place. So far, it seems to be doing very well and has grown quite a bit.

Vitex Shoal Creek.
Success level: Good.

I planted this summer flowering shrub in April 2016. It produced flowers shortly after going in the ground and continues to grow quite enthusiastically.

Mystery Ornamental Grass cluster.
Success level: Good.

I found this large cluster of ornamental grass growing in the back yard that looks like some variety of liriope. It's perfect symmetry made me think it would look great in a corner by my front walk. So I relocated it in April 2016, after which it produced a bunch of blue flowers.

Mexican Pony Tails Feather Grass.
Success level: Moderate.

I've always liked ornamental grasses, especially the taller varieties. I thought planting a bunch of them together would produce a nice effect. So I planted ten of them in May 2015, all on one side of my Random Curved Shape in the front yard. The above group of four fit nicely in a smaller space.

I planted the remaining six plants near the previous four, but separated by other plants. They have grown somewhat since planting. But they don't look all that healthy or happy.

Pink Muhly Grass.
Success level: Wonderful !

I separated the two groups of Mexican Pony Tails Feather Grass with a cluster of six Pink Muhly Grass plants. All have grown well since planted in April 2015, and continue to produce beautiful pink blooms in the fall.

The Pink Muhly Grass plants look great !

Indian Hawthorn.
Success level: Negative.

At least, I think they are Indian Hawthorn shrubs. I forgot to take a photo of the sign where they were sitting at the plant sale. After I got them home, I discovered that there were no tags on any of the plants. And checking my email later revealed no detailed description on my receipt. So this is a complete guess. It's pretty obvious from the photo above that this idea didn't work at all, but not for the reasons you may think.

I planted these shrubs in April 2016, at which time all four were green and flowering. Then I suspect the local deer population discovered them and mowed them to the ground. I have no idea what to do with them at this point, other than wait until spring to see if any of them recover.

Husker Red Beardtongue.
Success level: Good.

I planted these plants in April 2015. They flowered immediately after planting, and again this past spring. They may look a little tired now at the end of the season. But they are doing very well.

Super Blue Lavender.
Success level: Roller Coaster.

I originally planted five of these plants in May 2015.  One of them died not too long afterward.  The remaining four produced lots of beautiful flowers in the spring.  But not too long after that, they all turned pretty sad looking.  This same pattern repeated itself this year:  Sad looking - beautiful flowers - sad looking.  Time will tell if they well recover next spring.

Yellow Flag Iris.
Success level: Wonderful !

A friend of mine gave me a small cluster of mystery bulbs in March 2012. I had no idea what to do with them, and planted them by the patio in the back yard until I could figure something out. They grew, but never flowered. It took me a while to realize that these bulbs need lots of sunlight which is not plentiful in the back yard. I also discovered during the dividing/relocation in May 2014 that they have multiplied profusely. After three years of waiting, I finally saw a few flowers in May 2015, followed by a bunch of flowers in April 2016.

Coronation Gold Yarrow.
Success level: Good.

I planted the yarrows in April 2015. They have done very well and continue to produce a bunch of beautiful yellow flowers.

Star Magnolia.
Success level: Slow and steady.

This was another of the first group of new residents in the front yard from April 2014. It has grown since being planted, albeit very slowly, and produced a couple of small flowers this past spring.

Silver European Fan Palm tree.
Success level: Neutral.

I originally planted this palm tree in the back yard in April 2013, a particularly dumb idea considering palm trees like sunlight. I relocated it to the front yard in April 2015. It seems to be surviving ok, but not doing anything that resembles "growing."

Goldmound Spirea.
Success level: Good.

I planted them in April 2015. Since then, they have grown a little and produced a few flowers. The shrub in the back had an encounter with fire ants, but seems to be doing ok.

October Glory Maple tree.
Success level: Good.

This was the first new resident in my blank canvas of a front yard. I planted this tree in the center of the front yard in April 2012 and have continued to expand around it ever since. It's a slow grower, but looks great. The Happy Returns Daylilies I planted in April 2014 continue to be snacks for the local deer population.

Pampas Grass.
Success level: Good.

I originally planted six Pampas Grass plants in the back yard by the patio in March 2013 before I realized that they need full sunlight. After two of them died, I transplanted the remaining four to the front yard by the mailbox, (the large one on the right in July 2013, and the others in August 2014 and March 2015). The massive dose of sunlight has done wonders. I haven't seen any blooms yet, but I'm hoping.

Eleanor Tabor Indian Hawthorn.
Success level: Negative.

I originally planted this in front of the house in March 2012. It did ok in that location, but didn't seem to live up to its full potential. I relocated it to the mailbox area in April 2016 where it proceeded to drop most of its leaves. Being an Indian Hawthorn, I wonder if the deer found it as tasty as the other Indian Hawthorns I planted nearby.

Bridal Wreath Spirea.
Success level: Wonderful !

This was planted in March 2013 and delights every spring with a beautiful bouquet of white flowers. It's easily my favorite attraction of the whole yard.