Won't You Be My Gardener?

I hate gardening. I know, you're outraged. I'm sorry but I can't stand the heat, fire ants, lizards, SPIDERS (omg, it's ON me!!!) and whatever else jumps out at me without warning. I also don't care what each individual plant needs. Sun, shade, pruning, watering schedule, plant food? I'm still trying to figure out what I need in order to thrive.

But lately I'm looking at these ugly flower beds and wondering what fabulous thing someone else would do with them.

These concrete borders were there when we moved in. But they looked even worse. When we bought the property, vines were growing wild in these flower beds and snaking on up a nearby tree. Greg put in countless hours cleaning it up.

He had to dig up the flower beds, take an axe to the vines and put down landscaping fabric. I stayed vigilant, pulling weeds whenever I saw them. We finally got the vines under control and called the whole mess DONE.

But look. They're still ugly. There's a brick wall behind the flower beds (ick) which defines our property line. You're also seeing a structure beyond the wall that doesn't belong to us and will hopefully be torn down soon. Let's just focus on these flower beds, k?

Do I paint the concrete? Cover it with tile or stone? Rip it out? What do I plant in there? I'm told those bushes/trees are Crepe Myrtle. No clue how to maintain them. You have to remember that I'm gone a lot. We can't plant anything that needs a lot of attention. And by the way, I've been banned from buying potted or hanging plants because they always die. I have many talents but obviously, gardening ain't one of them.

I'm curious to hear what someone else would do. I know there's potential here. It's just not something I'm good at.