I am looking for some ideas on landscaping this drainage ditch. Currently I push mow the whole thing every week and it's right in our front yard so I'd like it to look good. I'd rather not fill it in with a culvert because that would be cost prohibitive. I'm looking for some ideas on what to do to make it less maintenance and look better.

Welcome to the site!
Looks like the perfect spot for a rain garden

https://extension.umn.edu/land...

Maybe this would be of help:
A storm drain situated on one edge of my backyard collects the runoff for several homes up the block so my yard had a wet muddy strip that ran through the middle of it for several years. A landscape designer suggested that we convert this area to a dry creek bed. We removed the grass and added rocks and several plants that were tolerant of wet conditions. Through trial and error I've found that iris and Japanese Blood Grass will tolerate the portions that have the most standing water at times. This has been a great solution for us. These plants require no maintenance and thrive in the wet conditions.

Looks beautiful Abby! Welcome to the site!

Thank you!

Wow Abbey, that's gorgeous!

Thank you Lucy!😊

I had a similar problem. The drainage ditch was too deep and the sides too steep to mow, and the water flow went from a trickle to a torrent fairly quickly when it rained. I looked at making it into a dry creek bed and other decorative ways to turn it into a feature, but it was just too much of a hassle to do and far too hard to maintain. I ended up digging the drain out and putting more agricultural drainage pipe in the ditch, then filling it over the top with soil and having the whole thing disappear underground so I could mow over it. It has saved me a lot of angst over how to maintain it in the future and it looks great.

Hi Y'all, Perfect Pictures and Constructive Comments! I understand the desire to beautify the ditch and make maintenance easier. My mom's house has drainage path that is between her and the neighbor, actually on neighbor's lot. A previous neighbor put rocks along drainage path, no plants. I'm sure it helps drainage, slightly unsightly. Mom can't do anything with it since it is on neighbor's property. Since we have wetlands here, the yellow and purple Louisiana iris are lovely in spring. When blooming stops the green foliage is still pretty. One thing to avoid is trees or plants with root systems that may clog drainage ditch. My neighbors planted a cedar tree over drain. Tree grew well due to water in ditch. However, roots clogged drain, causing poor drainage in heavy rains. Then the tree caused problems when it had to be removed. Now drainage is better!
Will love to see before and after photos!