I'm not sure I understand your dilemma. Or if you even have one :-) To my way of thinking, not having a garage be front center and virtually the focus of the entire front yard, as is so often the case with newer construction, opens up a whole range of possibilities. What makes you think you are at all limited by this rather desirable (IMO) configuration?

My major concern would be circulation - is there adequate access from the drive to the entry? Most offset garages have their own, less formal entry to the residence but that may not be what you wish to have visitors use. A clear delineation of how visitors get from a parking area (assuming it's the drive) to the entry is critical. How you plant to compliment or accent that is pretty much up to you.

I'm not sure if this is any help to you at all but my own house occupies a corner lot. The front entry faces one street, the drive and carport are on the adjoining street. Because they are well separated, there is no confusion as to which is the primary entry but neither is circulation between the two elements critical (there is off street parking in the front). I would also hesitate to call my front garden anything like a foundation planting - there is no lawn and other than a very generously sized, meandering walkway, the entire front yard is planted.

One book comes to mind that illustrates this very nicely - it is Sunset's "Reinvent Your Garden", a series of rather simple landscaping makeover projects. One such project is a revamp of a front garden with no (obvious) indication of a garage present. The focus is on circulation - conducting visitors from the street and from the side (assume that's where the garage is located) to a very private yet welcoming entry. Plantings - there is no lawn - are very low key and accent the pathways, drawing the visitor in as opposed to being a barrier-type foundation guarding the residence. I recall a number of other rather well done books on designing front yards that might serve as inspiration as well but don't remember specific titles. Your local book store should help.

Thanks Gardengal - Our library has the book you mentioned and I just put it on hold.
I think the reason I'm getting stuck is that I don't have room between the sidewalk and house for a large corner grouping like so many landscape designs show. I know it would look really nice to start all over and put in a wider walkway that isn't concrete but that's beyond my budget. : ( I should get out and take some more photos but right now, everything is covered with snow so you can't see where the sidewalk is anyway. The picture below was taken last summer of the NW corner. I only have about five feet between the sidewalk and house. I want to keep the Annabelle hydrangea that it shows on the north side but I plan to take out the "dwarf" burning bush that you can see under the garage window. I have thought about doing a corner grouping on the OUTSIDE of the sidewalk where there is grass now but not sure where to stop and start it, how to shape it, etc. If I started at the front porch and curved it all the way around to the driveway, it would be more than 50 feet long and I'm not sure I want to tackle that, although I've been thinking about it. : ) I know I shouldn't say that on Gardenweb; there are plenty of people that would think that's a small area. lol
We don't have a secondary entrance by the way.

{{gwi:54239}}

yes do the corner group 'outside the sidewalk'
right where that pink bush is (say it's not crepe myrtle)
think about 3 or 5 plants(shrubs) total with underplanting.
use an evergreen for winter interest. then also plants with spring, summer and fall interest
gardengal is absolutely right not having your garage the focus of your front yard is not a problem.
so that flower bed is 5 feet wide and faces west. think a wide perennial border and add 2 soaker hoses.
and a 50 foot border would be huge for me too

In my opinion, to plant where "the pink bush is" would be a mistake if you are trying to create mass on the corner of the house. The intent is to affect the house by adding to its sense of repose. (I'm thinking that diggerb2 might not realize that the garage door is on the end of the house). By planting there, it would create a visual gap, from the street, between the planting and the corner of the house. It would have the opposite effect of massing the corner which is what sounds to be your goal. Swing the planting bed out in front of the house and let the walk go through it.

Yes - the pink bush is a crape myrtle. It's a dwarf variety that has topped out a little less than 4 feet tall. It could probably be moved fairly easily so ignore it. : )

Laag - If I understand you correctly, you're saying there would be a visual gap if I only put a grouping where the crape myrtle is. Is that what you meant?
And yes, the front of the house faces the road, not the garage.
What I was thinking about doing, is starting a bed from the left of the crape myrtle and wrapping it around to the middle of the front of the house where the porch is (I need to take more photos) with shorter plants along the front of the house (outside the sidewalk) and something taller to the right of the crape myrtle, out from the corner of the house and also shorter plants starting about where the crape myrtle is and going left to the driveway. Does that make sense? I don't want a cottage garden look and would not want to fill in the area where the rock is with a bunch of perennials, maybe a few small shrubs.
So if I put a tallish corner group, as Diggerb said, sort of to the right of the crape myrtle, you'd still see a gap unless you were directly in front of the house. Will that look weird? Do I need a short corner grouping?
Going out to take some photos since this post came up again but you're going to be rolling your eyes at me. There's a big Japanese Maple next to the porch that probably breaks all design rules and I'm sentimentally attached to it. lol

Christie,

This thread has been languishing for awhile. It is a curious thread because the topic of "Welcome to my garage." has oft been discussed at great length. Your situation is more of a blessing than you seem to realize. By swinging the garage to the side or rear of the house where it belongs  it opens tremendous opportunity, now almost exclusively limited to those with corner lots. The common practice of placing the garage on the face of a house began simply because the average lot is far too small to put it anywhere else. This is actually a bad thing, which was once accepted only reluctantly. By simply the ubiquitous nature of this compromise, now, hardly a thought is given to this practice. Drive around recently developed residential areas and you will find "Welcome to my garage." being practiced; even on corner lots where it is not necessary. Apparently, society has grown so used to this concession that the average person merely believes, "This is how you do it."

I get the impression that you are falling prey to this short sightedness. I know you are immersed within an overwhelming collection of front-facing garages. Just never loose sight of the fact you have design opportunities they will never have. Now, if we can only get you to forget about the garage for a moment; there may be hope for you yet! {{gwi:7286}}

Quite simply, I think "garage on the brain" is your largest stumbling block. I have to admit that this thread weighed heavily on my mind when I created the thread "The Thought Process. HmmmÂ" This is a case of your subconscious mind taking control. Look at it So far, your posting has concentrated on a stupid planting at the corner of where? Âthe GARAGE!!! Start thinking about how to welcome guests to your home through landscaping at your front door. Results are sure to improve. As a matter of fact, I would even consider ripping out the sidewalk leading from the garage to the front door. The front entrance and (that other thing) are completely different issues  Treat them so! Subconsciously and unintentionally, you have effectively made (that other thing) the main entrance to your home. Does that make sense? Is that what you really want? I think not.

Before I built my new home, the only lots I even considered were corner lots. I insisted upon a construction plan that did not put the garage on the front. It is amazing how easily those guys with superb construction design and AutoCAD drafting skills can modify plans to accommodate your wishes. I am including a photo of the front entrance of my home as an example. This shot was taken a few years ago, just a few weeks after construction. Of course, by now the plantings are filling in, the look is softening and the stonework at the entrance has been completed.

{{gwi:54240}}

As you can probably tell, emphasis has been placed on the front entrance. Intentionally, I have no service door on the face of (that other thing); only a 16 foot overhead door; which I keep closed. My service door exits from the rear, onto my patio.

I intentionally put no sidewalk from the driveway to the front door. The front door is the entrance to my home  not the damn garage! Curiously, people have become accustomed (again, the subconscious at work) to pulling into a driveway to gain access to homes. I will often watch new guests slowly drive past my front door; admiring it all the way as they continue searching for the driveway. Amusingly, they will sometimes even get out of their car; soon to get back in when they realize there is no entrance. Eventually, they come back around to park in front of my home and begin the landscape journey as it was intended.

You have been blessed. Capitalize upon it!

IronBelly

You have a beautiful entrance Ironbelly. I like the colors you chose for your house, shutters, walk, etc.

If I had a walkway out to the road from the front door, it would have to be over 100 feet long, I think 120 but I don't remember for sure, and we're on a farm road where people don't park, they drive 55. Our visitors park on our driveway, which is sort of a rounded L-shape and probably 150 feet long. We keep our garage door closed so we NEED a walk from the driveway to the front door. although I have to admit, I like your entry better. I just don't think it would work in my situation.
I took photos and downloaded them but I did it wrong and had to do it again after getting new batteries for my camera, and have been busy with Christmas. Sorry it's taken so long.

The entire front of the house needs to be re-done but I'm tackling the garage end first. I want to remove the large burning bush at the front of the house under the garage window.
This photo was taken from the northwest corner.
{{gwi:54241}}

Same corner, closer up:
{{gwi:54242}}

Front of house:
{{gwi:54243}}

The steps from our front porch turn and point to the north.

Christie, this must be a Missouri thing. My house is the same! I will be watching this thread for ideas to improve my entrance as well.

My home is rural too, and people must drive from the road up my driveway, a distance of about 100 yards. But I have an added complication in that, even though the road is to the south of my house, the house actually faces north. So when people pull up to the garage, they THINK the front door is facing the road, but it's not. That's my back door! And I'd much rather they come to the FRONT door instead.

This is a perfect example of why up front landscape design needs to be incorporated as an integral part of home design and construction. When it is treated as a separate, minor issue (much like an afterthought), these are the problems you get stuck with. You see this all the time and not just in Missouri! Sadly, it is easily preventable during the construction phase if a modicum of thought is given.

The good news is that your problems are certainly curable. The bad news is that at this late date, it isnt going to be cheap. However, I believe it would certainly be worth the investment. Ideally, this would be the time to have a local professional come in and develop a master plan for a major makeover.

To more directly address your original concern: You have fallen into the trap that we see in so many postings on this forum. People hold on to this desire (and mistaken belief) that if only they could select and install a few of the "right plants" (trees, shrubs, combinations whatever) their problem will magically disappear. You do not have a "plant problem" you have a design problem. The driveway is the problem because you force guests to drive right up to your garage. You then force them to use that sidewalk that I still say should be torn out.

You have neglected to provide a place for your guests to park. In so doing, you are not allowing them any opportunity to view the front of your home. Quite a while back, Ms. Derviss provided an excellent example of a "hammer head driveway"; which provided for guest parking a distance away from the garage entrance. This will allow you to construct an entrance walk across a portion of your front lawn without forcing it to hug the wall. If you provide a guest parking area and lead their eye to an inviting walkway to your front door; that is the path they will travel.

IronBelly

I have a curiosity question. Is there a walkout in the back, or some other reason why the floor of the house is so high in relation to the garage floor and grade at the front of the house? I'm sorry that this has nothing to do with your request, but I am interested to know why it is that way. Maybe it is a flood plane issue?

Christie,
It has been interesting following this thread as the real layout of your situation only became apparent when you added the additional late fall taken pictures. I think most of us were imagining a situation where the garage was set as an "L" to the rest of the house, rather than your situation. I'd also agree with several others here that pulling the walk away from the house, perhaps as a gentle curve, and adding a pull-out parking bay off the driveway would make the entry more gracious, but can understand that this is more than you want to take on at the moment.

I would see no harm in wrapping new plantings to the outside of the existing walk, and maybe even adding a few small accent trees to the outside to make the approach more inviting. I would suggest keeping any new plantings right at the walk/driveway connection low and sweeping to not block sight of the actual entry. I can also see how the Burning bush Euonymus is probably a maintenance chore being squeezed between the house and walk, and should probably be moved to where it can have some room to grow, rather than being hedged.

The main floor level set higher than the garage seems perfectly normal from this end of the country, where such a design is the norm, most often seen when houses are split level with another storey above the garage, so I had to stop and look at the photo again to see why this was a quandary for Laag. If I were to guess, I would say that you probably have forced air heating ducts located in this crawl space, connecting to the heater in the garage?

In the long view, you might also consider remodeling the house to convert the garage space to more living area, and locating the garage in an orientation that is more pleasing visually. Here in California garages are often converted to living space, and sometimes not even replaced, but instead a carport might be added with a new orientation to the house.

A larger porch or reconfigured enty could also be designed in future to make the entry more inviting, but I suppose this wouldn't be as popular in Missouri, as it is in California, where lots are so much smaller, and privacy and usable garden space are limited, making entries a logical place to enclose to create usable and more private garden space for entertaining outdoors. Low fencing to create a semi-private courtyard could be another approach to signal that this is the entry, and also make it more visually interesting.

You'll be much better off when you get a designer on site.

First, (s)he will be able to see the whole landscape and have a meaningful two way conversation. That will give the designer the knowledge of the opportunities and limitations of both the site and of you.

Second, (s)he will know the intricacies of working in your area from multiple stand points including climate, availability, craftsmanship, construction techniques, soil situations, regulatory issues, and anything else that influences how things are done in your neck of the woods. A lot of regional landscape design has cultural influences rather than physical ones. Those do not translate over the net.

We have a basement under the entire house (except the garage) that walks out on the south end. This photo shows the retaining wall and balcony better:
{{gwi:54244}}

There's a large concrete patio the width of the house on the south end that comes out as far as the retaining walls on each side. The wooden balcony/deck is straight above the concrete patio. When the house was built, they had to blast through solid limestone to dig out the basement and didn't make it as deep as originally planned so maybe it does look odd.

I wasn't able to find Michelle's Hammer head driveway example. I was curious about that because we've talked about adding more parking area since we have two teens and two more kids in gradeschool. We'll have extra cars around for awhile. I've been trying to figure out how we would screen the extra car/cars from view. Your idea sounds more like the parking area would extend toward the front yard. ???
The parking area I might be able to talk my husband into since it's functional. Spending a lot on landscaping just to make it look more attractive he doesn't get. lol Maybe additional parking would be a good way to approach it.

Hope it's ok to link this site. There are several pages of thumbnails of beautiful homes. drool drool
I looked through and found a few with garages that weren't facing the front. I like the way they have built a low brick wall on this one that follows the curve of the walk to the front door. See what you think: I'll put a link to the main site at the bottom.
http://landscapingideas.the-landscape-design-site.com/front-yard-examples/images/front-yard-188_jpg.jpg
I like our home but it's got that boring straight roof line and I'd like to make it look more interesting. A similar walk at the front might give our house some depth.
Wonder if I would be over budget a bit to put a rock arch with a peaked roof at the front of our entryway and turn the steps so they are facing the front. Maybe some limestone accents on the corners and shutters too. : ) Having visions of my dh rolling his eyes.
My porch is higher than normal so I'm not sure it would look right.
Laag - I didn't mean to ignore your suggestion about hiring a professional. I know you're right. I think I'm pretty limited on what's available in my area but I have to admit, I haven't looked for a few years. I did some searching at one time and had trouble finding anyone at all that did residential design and I was disappointed. I've read several books on landscape design - enough to get grand ideas and expectations but not enough to know how to do it myself. If I do find someone in my area that I like and can afford, I want to at least have a general idea about what I want to do, so still just looking.

Making that first link clickable.