I just offered some info in response to a similar question that could apply to your situation also. Does this help?

The dead foliage in the photo appears to be daylily (hemerocallis) and not true lilies. Is this correct? I think it would be a good idea to preserve this type of treatment but consider the following; select medium height daylilies like Stella D'oro or preferably Happy Returns (nicer colour, I think). Both are repeat bloomers but need to be dead-headed after the first bloom to keep them tidy looking for the remainder of the season. Dig out (but shake off the soil) all grass, weeds and existing daylilies and discard or save to a width of 2 feet (this width is the same as the height of the plants when in bloom, a good ratio to use for all beds). Use stone edging to separate the lawn from the bed. This will make it easy to cut with a mower and will help prevent the grass from creeping back into the bed. Mix plenty of organic material into the bed and then plant your daylilies about 18 inches to 2 feet apart. Water well and then mulch with bark. On the other side of the path I would again plant daylilies but not exclusively. Mix in peonies if there's enough sun or hostas if there's enough shade. Again, astilbes if there's enough sun or ferns if it's shady. Use the same procedure regarding preparing the bed and mulching.