what about the blue star.. on the far side of the sidewalk .... lets think outside the box for a moment.. why are you limiting yourself to those little spots ... and why straight across the house ... its.. well... boring ... second pix.. start on the far left side.. about 4 feet down the side we cant see.. and make a large 10 foot circle.. then dip back in toward where the rhodie is.. then back out toward the outside of the sidewalk ... at least 3 feet.. i could Photoshop it if you had a pic of the whole front .... instead of all the individual pix ... does any of that make sense???? its not really the best planting time.... w/o supreme TLC ... get all those pots out of direct sun.. we dont want to cook the roots ... the north side of the house would be best.. keep them damp.. but not dripping wet .... if you took a few weeks to define and build some great beds.. you will have enough space for all you have.. plus have the space to set them properly .... and then you will be more in line with a proper planting time in sept [depending where you are] .. when cool nights offset the warm days... that is root growing time .. i am not reading where you are.. or what zone you are ... and.. what is your soil type .... unless i missed it on review ... ken

I love seeing photos of landscaping, too. It is great for ideas and inspiration. To tide you over with some juicy photos, I linked a website called "Landscaping Ideas". At the top of the website, you can filter your search by Yard Type (front, back, side), Location (zone, state), etc. Lots of landscaping eye candy. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Yardshare - Landscaping Ideas From Your Neighbors

Welcom, Soxi! Thanks for posting the photos; they really help. I would agree with those that suggested that you plant on both sides of your entry sidewalk. Your walkway will go through the garden instead of being the edge of the garden. Over the years, I've yet to make a garden too wide, but I've often had to widen them. I've also had to whack things away from the house so it could be painted, so I'd suggest leaving a minimum of 2-3 feet between where the plant's width will be at 10 years (the usual info given for mature size, though most will get larger) and the house. I also don't like the look of plants lined up - I prefer having layers of plants, and I include bulbs, shrubs, vines and perennials to provide a longer season of interest, so bed depth is needed for that. I try to include at least some hardscape (like a trellis, birdbath, etc) or evergreens in most of my gardens so that there is some visual interest between when the first frost kills most of the foliage and when everything is buried in snow (or in years like last year with little snow, for most of the winter.) As Mad Gallica mentioned, often this period is several months of the year, so anything I can do to make March and November and any other snowless months less dismal outside, is all to the good. This isn't a foundation bed, but this could be done on a smaller basis in a your beds. A good chunk of its interest is year-round, and the evergreens and trellises add interest as background and support for the flowers in the growing season as well as providing all the interest during the 6 or 7 months in the non-growing season. From December 2010 In laying out the shape of the beds, be sure that they are easy to mow - don't make those inner curves too tight. I use the black plastic edging buried up to the top bead just outside of the bricks which edge my beds; the grass hides it and it keeps the grass from growing between the bricks. The lawnmower wheels run on the bricks and the blade misses the plastic edging, so a separate pass to edge the bed isn't needed. While I don't find the plastic aesthetically pleasing, it does reduce maintenance without being too obvious. Here's a photo of a bed edged this way, and you really can't see the plastic. From June 5, 2012 As a relative beginner to gardening, it's easy to get caught up in just the flowers, but also try to think about foliage. Varied leaf shape, color, and texture will add to the appeal of your garden even when there isn't a lot in bloom. Check to see if any of your plants have nice autumn colors. Try to plant so that you have at least some plants in bloom all through the season as well. The annuals will help with that, but also try to spread out your shrub and perennial bloom.

Ignore the last photo, if you guys could help me apply a basic layout formula to this building, we can then work the rocks in, even if it is only to add groundcover to softer the sides. Should the 2 building be viewed as one? larger trees on outer corners? welcoming entry in the middle? Welcoming entry to the front and center emergency doors feels wrong and confusing. The center tree needs a few more limbs off... Thank you everyone here for all the help you provide. I was clueless, now I see that there is so much to know that my head is spinning. Thank you April