Great house LM! I think your garden ideas sound lovely, you've got a lot of my favorites in there. For me, you're sort of painting a picture of something that sounds like a cottage garden, and from the looks of your house, seems like you like that style. You might find some ideas and advice on the Cottage Garden Forum. Also some ideas on how to add winter interest to such a scheme. The only other thing I would comment on is your color scheme, which seems a little blah to me when up against your grey house with white trim. I'd punch it up a bit with more red, pink and burgundy, and yellow. At least that's what seems to look good in my yard with a drab grey brick patio. I've seen a varigated green and yellow mock orange, which was probably bred to compensate for that shrub's boring appearance 90% of the time. Not sure about the size of that shrub though, maybe too big. Maybe switch the position of the goldmound spirea and the mock orange and get the varigated mock orange. Some ideas to consider for winter interest--a sargent crab. Small tree with white flowers, but bright red berries in winter. Red twig dogwood. Winterberry holly, (although bunnies and deer do a number on this deciduous shrub.) Harry Lauder's walking stick, a fine small specimen for winter interest. Any of the many, beautiful evergreens that are available in the nurseries. In my yard, I have robusta juniper, dwarf hemlock, goldmound arborvitae, a dwarf balsam fir, and I just purchased a dwarf japanese white pine. That's kind of tall for your garden, but there are dwarf mugo pines, dwarf austrian pines, and dwarf spruces too. Maybe a red-leaved weeping japanese maple for a fall show? Those are some of the things that really add "punch" to my yard. But then again, maybe if you have a few larger silhouettes in the yard, you don't need year round interest for this summer pleasure garden. Oh, and I'd plant a lilac so when I was out working in the yard in the spring it would bring me a lot of pleasure. If you add that, then you've got spring, summer and fall scent from your choices. I had a dwarf flowering almond ouside of one of my houses, and except when it bloomed in the spring, it was a snore fest. I wouldn't choose it as an anchor tree in a bed. For that, I think you can't beat some of the other trees I mentioned. Or how about a small Serviceberry. Arnolds Promise witch hazel is another smallish tree that blooms in the late fall and has pretty red leaves, nice silhouette so is kind of year round interest. Supposedly smells nice too, when it blooms. Just some of my favorites, there are many, many other options. I'd just think about the colors and textures and shapes of the plants you're picking, when they're not doing the thing that they're most known for. That's the secret to a pleasing garden IMHO, do you like the plants even when they're not in bloom. Rhodies mixed with evergreens like barefoot mentions is a very nice look in the winter, for example, and yes, really stunning in the spring when they are in bloom.

i wish i had a dollar for every time i write this ... start by understanding.. that foundation plantings.. are planted TO HIDE THE FOUNDATION .... not 'ON' THE FOUNDATION ... of most importance to me.. is to leave 2 to 3 feet at the foundation to walk ... for xmas lights.. window washing.. ladders ... maintenance.. etc ... so i would start by building some nice foundation beds .... on the left ... by the steps ... the garage.. i would build a wall ... to make a leave bed ... its not hard.. but it needs to be done properly .... and in that bed.. i would go with perennials .... nothing big ... just a selection of plants that will give some flower interest all summer and fall ... is there a man or a burly son available.. to move retaining wall bricks ... its not that you cant do it.. but it can get heavy ... [after messing with your pic.. i dont know about the wall.. lol] .. its hard to grow things on a steep hill.. one solution is the retaining wall and leveling it all .. but that might be a long term plan i would then put a minimum 3 to 4 foot bed on the outside of the sidewalk ... and go all the way around the front of the house ... but not a straight line ... and then i would go 20 to 30 feet out in the lawn.. and look for some trees or shrubs.. to lend a vertical to it all i am not familiar with the 'new england look' ... so be this what it may ... use your money to build good beds.. and get a few of the bigger plants in ... and fill in with some annuals for this year ... and consider the rest your new 'hobby' .. lol ... check out the link for how to do the beds .. and use the search function above for 'building new beds' .. or some such thing ... your worst mistake IMHO .. is to think that this has to be all done this year.. and only with that budget ... build the backbones.. and the rest will follow ... gardening is a lifetime thing.. and usually not instant gratification ... [and i bet those are the landscapes you are not liking in the area ... unlimited budget.. and had to be done all at once ...] and just cruise the 'hood' .. and steal ideas ... lol .. and see if you can differentiate between those peeps who jammed it all right on the foundation.. and those that have used the area ... as i tried to describe above ... i bet the ones you dislike.. were perfect the day they were planted.. but those darn plants just keep growing.. and all of a sudden.. it looks like the jungle is trying to swallow the house ... [in fact .. take pix of the ones you dont like.. and post them here.. and we might be able to tell you why you dont like them .. its a back door to figure out what you do like] after the backbones.. and the beds.. i just collect thing i like.. i dont really care what others think.. nor how 'professionals' [and i use the term lightly] ... would do it ... its my castle.. its my realm .. and i am the king .. and if you dont like.. bite me.. lol [actually my boy did once.. dont say that to a 3 year old.. lol] my bottom line.. i just wanted to get your head out of that small space between the walkway and the porch.. and make you understand you have a big ugly lawn out there.. use it ... who needs grass to mow ... ken ps: we can work on the back of the house next year.. and the side in 3 years ... as the budget allows ... dont spread yourself too thin.. do it right the first time ... and dont look back ... in fact.. with $1000 bucks .. we can build the beds all around the house.. and get some backbone large plants in real easy.. if you can do the labor yourself ... i am hitting send .... cuz this thing may never end.. lol .. Here is a link that might be useful: link

Lord knows I love Hicks yew, but it grows 3-4 ft. spread and 8-12 feet high. I would not put one of those next to my house. You can prune them into a hedge, but pruning is not everyone's forte. Looks like Novice has some kind of yews already up against the house. That's why it is very difficult to advise someone on plant choices, because everyone is different in terms of taste, desire to do maintenance, family, pets, time, etc. Your landscaping really isn't that bad. It just needs to be maintained and pruned for the most part. I'd focus on the area around the front steps, and just edit the edge islands, there seems to be weedy plants in those areas and the mature trees and shrubs could be pruned a bit to make them look more aesthetic.

The limestone would make good short retaining walls around a patio or a fire pit. Add solar garden lighting to highlight the stone as seen from the house. It'd be a good idea to hire a professional landscape designer.