Inspiration for 1x3m front ‘garden’

Cltaylor80

I have a patch at the front of my new build house which is currently planted with escallonia. The issue is the soil is shallow in places, you hit concrete from the surrounding driveways at the edges so the escallonia isn’t very happy. I have just planted a maple sapling in the middle (there is space for its roots to get down, realise this might cause driveway issues in the future but I don’t care, rather have a tree than an even drive way 😁) and am thinking of taking out the escallonia but what to do then? It attracts a lot of pollinators so I was thinking about wild flowers but would also like some year round interest. Don’t want to leave bare soil or just bark it. Thanks!

AnniD

A photo would help to give some ideas 
Taking the footings and the tree into account it sounds like the planting area will be pretty small which is probably why the escallonia is struggling. That and the builder's rubbish which may well be underneath. 
Is it a sunny or shady site ?

pansyface

I would have suggested pots that could be planted up according to the seasons, but having had pots stolen from a similarly sized patch in quite a posh part of London I’m a bit reluctant to suggest it.

Chris-P-Bacon

Yes, a photo would help but have you considered a tightly clipped small or medium sized evergreen hedge? I know on the face of it that sounds dull but sometimes formality in the garden suits a modern "new build" type of property.