Did anyone notice the "eye" peeking out the upper left hand window? LOL Cute house. This is probably going to sound beyond what you are asking, but here goes... I like the idea about painting the front door and making this your focal point. I am going to be repainting my garage this year, so I did some research because I've seen garage doors that are sometimes painted the same color as the trim, and other times the garage door is painted the color of the body of the house, so I wasn't sure which to do. What I came across was an article that suggested painting your garage door the same color of the body of your house, in effect making it blend rather than stand out, because who wants their garage door to be the focal point, right? I think by doing this, you will definitely bring more attention to your front door. I'd match the garage door to a color found in your bricks, but leave the trim white. In addition to painting the front door, and if this is practical, I'd also paint the adjoining window (transomes I think they're called?) - in other words, the entire frame around the door. A nice blue would work too, that would be a nice contrast to all the red in your bricks, but then that might be too much red white and blue...maybe a nice yellow? I love the symmetry of the planting bed in front of your overhang/porch area. Adding a bistro set behind that, or patio rocking chairs with a center table would look adorable and very quaint. On the side of your house, you could plant a row of hydrangeas. Small urns flanking the garage door would look nice. An urn or container plant to the right of the doorway. A bench on the empty wall to the left of the door would look cute too, and you could totally play this up for Halloween or other holidays with pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, marigolds and kale around that bench. Adorable. The grassy area straight out from the front door - I'd probably plant something low growing in this corner 'nook', something evergreen maybe a small rhododendron, or an azalea if that area gets more sun than not. Or, maybe three rounded boxwood planted in a triangular pattern with a curved border from the driveway to the sidewalk, and mock the same pattern at the end of the driveway next to the sidewalk. On the west corner of the garage, I'd plant a shrub or a small tree for effect. Landscape lighting does wonders for curb appeal, but I wouldn't recommend solar lighting. Subtle lighting is best... uplight features you want to accentuate, like that small accent tree and your front door, and then use pathway lighting to lowlight from the end of the driweway to your front door. I would add a bordered planting bed underneath that small tree so it doesn't look like it's in limbo - you could underplant with hostas, pulmonaria, pachysandra, or any groundcover, but make the bed the same width as the breadth of the tree, minimum. I'd definitely use uplighting on that tree, it will look fantastic. The paint forum is a great place to start for color suggestions. Try this interactive tool for changing house colors: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/siding/welcome-to-color-a-home/ Good luck! We'd love to see the finished product.

Listen to laag--this is not something you want to do. I speak from experience. My next door neighbor has been trying to get me to help her "do something" with her yard since I moved in 10 years ago. She doesn't have grading issues...she has an untamed jungle. About every three years they try to "do something." They get their "something" half-finished, run out of steam, and the jungle re-emerges. They were out of the country for nine months once. No one knew they were gone, even though they didn't hire anyone to maintain their property. What they REALLY need is to hire someone to whip it into shape and then pay someone to maintain it...but they, too, are way beyond frugal. All I've ever done is make plant suggestions for existing beds...and tell my neighbors that they need to hire someone to design their yard. She FINALLY got a designer in...and then scared said designer away by insisting that she didn't want to remove any trees or shrubs or ivy or... If you are a pro--tell your neighbor you don't want to work for him because you don't want to take the risk of ruining a good relationship. If you are an amateur tell your neighbor you lack the expertise to advise him of what he needs. But run away.

Here are some suggestions that should do well in your area. How about Encore Azaleas? They are evergreen, bloom both spring and fall (though not as show-stopping in the spring as traditional azaleas, the late summer and fall show more than compensates), and they will take a tremendous amount of sun. Mine get almost full sun here in east central Mississippi. Certainly, the hawthornes are a good possibility too. They would give some continuity, since you already have some in your landscape, and it's hard to beat them for ease of maintenance. As for deciduous shrubs, some of the antique or new low maintenance roses are a real possibility. I grow "nearly Wild" which doesn't get over three to three and a half feet tall or wide, NEVER needs spraying and blooms all summer. The new Knockout roses are just as good. They are not a maintenance problem at all. If you don't like their "nakedness" in winter, underplant them with groundcovers and/or bulbs. For instance, Phlox divaricata would love their shade in summer, would give green color to the ground under them in winter, and would fill your beds with fragrant blue clouds before the roses get going in the spring. Hardy cyclamen would be great too. These bulbs need the shade in the summer, then bloom in the late fall and put out beautiful silvery green leaves all winter, adding interest under your roses. I have my Nearly Wild Roses thickly underplanted with daffodils. I prune the roses in early December each year (just as soon as they go dormant), the daffodils come up all around the pruned stumps and the roses get going in time to hide the ugly bulb foliage. Instead of roses, how about Berberis? I particularly like the "Aurea", which is a beautiful golden leaved Berberis. It does not get overly large, it keeps it's leaves very late in the season, it doesn't burn in the summer, and the fall color is positively spectacular. I do not shear it. I let it grow naturally, so in the winter, it will have a similar architectural form to your Perovskia (which would make a fine companion for it too, by the way.) It could also be underplanted with the phlox divaricata, and boy would that be a show stopper in the spring! It's winter sticks are white and rather ghostly. I find it very attractive. How about hydrangeas? There is a white variegated lacecap one that would look fabulous in front of your Laurels. Any mophead would be nice too, particularly the Endless Summer one. It takes more sun than the old timey ones and blooms till frost. Mine were full of blooms when we got our first freeze last week. Again, underplant them with spring flowering bulbs to help mask their nakedness. Remember, your Laurels are evergreen, so they will "come forward" and the naked skeletons won't look so lost in front of them. Hope these ideas at least get your own creative juices going.

I have a similar location for foundation planting with a roof overhang of 30 inches. We have three camellias over 50 years old that grew up above the roof. When the roof and gutters needed replacing, I cut two of the camellias down to four feet, and the other one to one foot. All have done well since, blooming every year. I also have a Daphne I keep at about four feet that blooms around Christmas and is very fragrant. We also have a fuchsia magellanica that survives the winter with some frost back, helped by the roof overhang. It recovers in the spring and blooms all summer up until the frost, feeding a lot of hummingbirds, and entertaining us. Al