Progress in the front yard!... maybe?

I've been trying to spruce up the front yard ever since we moved into this place and it's been a long, hard road! We've ripped out the overgrown hedges and removed most of the rotting railroad ties that were used in the landscaping. We've also tried planting flowers in various places in the front to add some color, but the heat of the afternoon sun beating against the house hasn't allowed for much to survive.

We planted some bulbs last fall (spent hours on the project!) thinking we would finally hit the jackpot, but thanks to a bizarre winter that brought an early spring and then decided to be winter again, the flowers bloomed early and then froze to death a few weeks later. I've now decided that brown mulch, rocks, planters, and decorative accents might be the only thing that works!

Here are some pictures of the "current" work in progress:

Yes, there is a pink trimmed bulletin board on my door! It's an ugly door...

I have a "black" thumb - just about everything I plant dies!

Kemsley found this for me at a thrift store... perfect!

the bench and side table on the opposite side of the front door

recent work - need to finish, but a big thanks to Ronda for the garden fabric!

haven't killed off all of the flowers yet!

The front corner by the driveway - this is finished! You can see the second tier is a mess.