This is a cute garden that I snapped a picture of the other day. Could I do something like this with the addition of some shrubs or other taller plantings as focal points? Although there are a lot of plants, it doesn't look too terribly hard. Lamb's ear, sedum, not sure what the variegated ground cover is. I should have added in my first post that I have a 3 y.o. and 1 y.o. and a large vegetable garden in the back, so I'd like the front to be relatively low maintenance. I am not opposed to covering the whole bed with shrubs and ground cover, then adding interest as the years go on.

I think that solving the main problems is going to boil down to two things: the walk; and the making the entrance visible. The walk should definitely be wider - 5' could be a goal, maybe wider near the stoop - and then it should make a better connection with the drive. I don't think this means to necessarily cut across the lawn with it. Given that the yard is small, you could widen the drive a bit with whatever the walk material is, continue on by widening the city sidewalk with the same material, and then turn the corner with the walk, heading to the entrance ... in effect bordering the yard with a "U"-shape "invitation" that extends from the drive to the entrance. (The portions adjacent drive and city walk would not be the same width as the main walk to the entrance. They would be like decorative borders.) When it comes to the portion of walk that heads toward the entrance, I think it would be beneficial to pull it away from the neighbor's drive and incorporate and "S"-curve into it. That way, room for a SMALL tree could be created between the walk and neighbor's drive. It would also have the benefit of making it look like it belongs to your property without any question. Note how entrances are typically clearly marked by some type of enlarged, often raised, paved area, and a roofed covering that offers shelter from the elements. I think you need to create such a structure over the walk, in the front yard, near to the house. It would be the obvious first "entrance" that people reach when approaching the house. But after they've reached it there would be no question about where they would continue to in order to reach the actual house entrance. The structure could be a very nice arbor, or it could be more architectural in nature (such as with brick columns and an actual roof.) BTW, I don't think there's the first thing wrong with your yellow brick. Maybe you're bored of it and that is the driving force behind staining it. But I think it would be a mistake, or highly inefficient at the least, to attempt to change it to another color. If the brick was flat out ugly I'd be all for it. But it's not. You might end up creating, after spending a lot of money and effort, something that is not near as nice. If you could replace the top panel of the garage door with one that has windows all the way across, that would resolve the boring quality of the existing door. There seem to be two main approaches to planting: smother the house with hedges; and smother the house with a variety of all kinds of plants strewn in a randomish fashion. You might consider "matching" shrubs to windows (like steps would be "matched" to a door) as the main shrubs of the landscape scheme. Perennials and annuals can be fit around them in some artistic scheme, keeping it simple preferably. I would plan on keeping shrubs below the window sill height. I would hunt for a spot for another small tree at the right side of the house. (We can't see that area.)

I think planning for the mature height to not impede the windows is the key here. Basically filling in the space. Plant a nice vase-shaped shrub on the right side centered in the open space under the upper window. Then fill in the bed with colorful perennials that have different bloom times. Is this full sun? Always plant in odd numbers and form triangle groupings when possible. On the left side, I would plant another tall, vase-shaped shrub or small tree (peegee hydrangea for example) on a 45 degree angle, half the distance of the mature diameter, from the corner of the house. The idea is that it balances the plantings and softens the edge of the house without crowding the window. Then more perennials. I personally try to vary my colors and textures for some interest, but do what speaks to you and works with your zone.

I don't want to take all the fun of selecting shrubs away from you! Check locally and see what plants are easy to maintain at the sizes shown and have the personalities (leaf size/color/flowers/evergreen, etc.) that appeal to you. There would be a few options. The flanking space is that to each side of house front. We can't see how the house fits into its surrounding.