Beginner Gardening: Looking for Ideas - landscaping around large tree, 2 by RickALO

RickALO wrote:
I have an area in my back yard that is a pain to mow around, and think it might be a good place to put some plantings in. The best way to explain is to look at the attached photos...

Specifically, its the area around the base of the large tree over to the garden area on the edge of our property line (including the rock).

I was thinking of tying the garden area along the edge of the property to around the tree base. This area is on the South to SW side of our house, and gets some sun. The tree is ~30'-40' feet tall, and its leaves will block some of the sun.

We are located in NE Iowa (Waterloo).... any ideas (landscaping materials, plants, bushes, etc.) are greatly appreciated! With Spring finally here, I am getting antsy to get out and spruce up the yard!