I renovated this front yard for a maintenance client who had leftover plants from the original "flipper landscape," which felt generic and out of place. The garden is partially shaded and has a mature Japanese maple, so I focused on plants that tolerate part shade, including natives such as red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), which has amazing pink blooms in the spring, and sticky monkey-flower.
I also included lots of colorful foliage, with red-leaf Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum), purple- and yellow-leaved Oxalis spiralis, and heuchera playing off the existing purple-leaved maple.