Eslee's Frontyard garden

There is so much we want to do with the front yard, but first we have to make major improvements for drainage. The front yard is bordered on the west by a line of trees and shrubs (and a ton of weeds and honeysuckle). Consequently, The front yard gets full sun until noonish, and then partial to full shade in some areas as the day goes on. We have a bed prepared that runs the length of the front of the house, but due to the drainage issues have recently pulled up the shrubs that existed when we moved in (we didn’t like them much anyway). We’re not quite sure what we will eventually do with that, but we’re thinking a rock garden. That bed also varies in the amount of sunlight it gets since the porch is covered. We also plan to plant a shade tree and do some landscaping to improve curb appeal, which is funny, since we don’t have a curb. We are on a gravel road, and there’s barely a dip that separates yard from road right now. An additional issue I’m always seeking suggestions for: the gas line terminates by the road but dead center of our property. It is a tall, bright yellow stake that we are not allowed to move. We have a lovely view that is completely interrupted by this hideous thing, so I’m trying to figure out what could be planted near it/in front of it/around it/growing up it that would cover the yellow. Again, until we pretty much dig up the whole front yard, we can’t really tackle any of these projects, since it’s currently a swamp when it rains.