Help not wanted

Ordinarily, I am perfectly happy to accept yardening help, especially when power tools or heavy lifting is involved. It is usually best if I do the weeding myself, though. For one thing, I know which plants are weeds and which are weedy-looking perennials. Not that I don't occasionally yank out the wrong thing, but I'd rather blame myself than some poor soul who only wants to be of service. More importantly, working on garden beds myself gives me the opportunity to examine the health of the plants and contemplate the future direction of the bed in question.

A case in point are the beds on the west side of the house, near the gas meter and air conditioner. When the meter reader still had to actually look at the meter to get a reading, I kept the dials visible by installing a pea gravel mulch. This strategy also helps the AC maintenance tech on one side. Once upon a time, I moved most of the tiger lilies and daylilies to this area, just to give them a place to sit and wait while I decided their future. Now I would like to move them elsewhere, and mulch that area with pea gravel as well. But pea gravel - blech. What could I do to prettify this area while still keeping it clear? AHA! Containers! So that is the plan for this part of the backyard.

Adjacent to this area is a newish bed that is a work in progress. The iris plants next to the house need to be divided and shifted to the west, so they will get more sun and hopefully bloom better. I divided and transplanted some "ditch lilies" to this area and added a few zinnias for the interim. In the back is some fleabane and catnip, but I would like to put a small shrub there. Any suggestions?

A non-gardening but beautifying chore is to clear the deck (literally). But first, must clean out the garage. It is amazing how quickly crap accumulates.