Thank you! Yeah it looked like there had been one previously, or maybe some other kind of landscaping, honestly these apartments were neglected for awhile. So we decided to build a rock wall around it and make it something other than dirt and moss. Don't worry the landlord is cool with it, though when she sees the end result she might get jealous.
I assume you live in a cool-cold climate and/or in the southern hemisphere? Violas/pansies wouldn't perform well at all this time of year in my part of the world, it's far too hot.