You've got a beautiful chateau, and the landscaping ought to be in keeping - formal and symmetric. I could see a gravel courtyard with a low flower bed - annuals that would last a whole season, with a box edging? Or pillar roses or roses in BIG pots.

You might put either some very columnar evergreens at the corners of the house, and possibly flanking the door, or else a couple of fairly straight-trunked trees there if you wanted to soften the lines - laburnums?

I don't see any barrier to you landscaping this place in any way you want. Quite aside from the fact that this is not a free on-demand landscaping service, we can't possibly discern your taste, your needs, your budget, or your abilities from what you've posted. Except for easy care, of course, and that is exactly what you've got. Every additional plant you install will increase maintenance.

KarinL

I feel a bit like a broken record (for the youngsters out there, it's a flat round thing that plays music in a machine, and when it's "broken", it skips and repeats the same thing over and over) but I'll write it again:

Do a search of the forum for "blank slate", "foundation plantings", and "front yard". Read through the threads that turn up for a very basic education on what considerations are necessary when planning a landscape. There can be a lot more to it than getting some suggestions for specific plants and where to put them, and you may find that you get several completely different takes on what you "should" do, if not downright contradictory ones. Or you may get none, because landscapes are very personal things. Or at least they should be. Believe me, you will be more confused and unsure of what to do than you were before unless you are willing to take everything you learn and consolidate the parts you like into one plan.

You wouldn't walk into a furniture store with a photo of an empty room and ask them what you should put in it. They'll sell you as much stuff as they can get you to pay for, but will it be "good design"? The alternatives are to hire a designer to help determine what will please you, and then help you pull it off, or to study, read, absorb, learn about different plants, experiment, and come up with your own design.

I'll also repeat my suggestion that you go to the library or a very good bookstore and look at everything you can find on gardens. Once you have seen what is possible, you will know what you want for your own home. It's a beautiful home, a good landscape design will look awesome with it. Have you considered hiring a very good pro?

This is an extremely nice house. Looks almost like a mansion. I assume that it is in a very nice area of town and that the homes around it are very nicely landscaped.

This is a case where I would consult a professional. Get several opinions, so that you can get a style that you like.

The landscaping is going to be a big investment, so I would make that extra investment up front.

Maybe you can find some recommendations of a professional for your area.

Birdgardner: I do have several shrub roses just past the end end of the house. I had planned on using 2 large resin pots I have and planting some type of evergreen in them. When I went to buy them, the landscaper told me the water would freeze in the winter and break the pots, so I would need to plant them in the ground in the fall.
Karini: I realize this is not a free on demand landscaping service, but I thought it was a forum to receive and give advice, in addition to general discussion. I know I was being very general in my post. I guess I was just looking for suggestions, since I wasn't sure what I wanted. Actually, most anything would be an improvement from the huge shrubs that had been in the space.
Saypoint: I briefly considered hiring a pro, but I'm getting tired of putting money in this house, and I really don't plan on staying here too many more years, as I would like to downsize.
I actually went out over the weekend and decided to buy what I like and start planting. I will post a picture when I am done. I figure I can always dig up what I decide doesn't work and move things around or replace what I don't like. I will post an after picture when I am done.

In my humble opinion, the best thing you can do for this entry is get rid of the linear path that leads to a shear vertical wall that is the front of your home. A beautiful home like this needs to have some taller plantings out in front of it along a gentile winding path to the front door.
The height of the home and the squareness of it requires a landscape that softens the approach and lends an inviting quality to you front door. Curving the path and planting some taller and interesting shorter specimens of evergreen and deciduous plants will lend dignity and inspiration to your front yard. Even if you choose to keep the linear path I would still suggest the plantings along it.