It sounds like your house either faces north or east by the way your shade looks. Due to that shade, you might want to consider camilla bushes, assuming there are some for your zone there in Kentucky (I'm in NC, 7b). Too bad so many of them are so similar to roses, which you know you want. I am allergic to roses, so I've never done them, but I believe they require full sun, so please don't put them in that shady strip near your house. However, you will want room to breathe between your plants and house anyway. You can use a nice groundcover such as pine needles or finely shredded pine bark between your plants and in that strip, or else use rock for a walkway there, or even certain shade-tolerant low groundcovers, flowering or not. If it is not a "stepable" groundcover you can add stepping stones first and allow the groundcover to go in between. It's too bad you don't like hollies since most evergreens are also not going to survive in that shady strip. Bear in mind there are many different hollies with different leaf sizes and shapes, and even different berry colors. And the greens are often deep and shiny. I have sparkleberry bushes in my side yard. They are native but almost nobody knows about them. Though technically deciduous, the leaves remain a long time and they have little flowers like lily of the valley. They are basically a wild blueberry bush/tree. They can be pruned to shape. Azaleas like afternoon shade, and they come in MANY colors. Some are evergreen and others deciduous. They are very picky about how they are planted, need good soil/drainage, and low pH, and must be planted high and roots not smothered. With your nice neutral house color you will only want to consider your rose color scheme, perhaps. The orange and yellow azaleas are fun because nobody has them, but I like them best with brick houses. But if you are going with warm rose colors and you know the mulch you are using will be red or orangy, go for it. You can still use blue and purple and white as other accent colors with your warm tones if you want. I recommend you get a low-maintenance gardening book or one for water conservation since that is such a big factor of late. I really like the increasingly wide variety of sedums (also called stonecrop) plants available since they need so little water. They like sun but tolerate some shade, too. I like watching Paul James gardening show on HGTV. He can teach you about organic gardening, which is very worthwhile and cost-effective. One of my favorite tips: Use coffee grounds to fertilize, lower pH, and kill slugs (no decaf since it's the caffeine that kills the slugs). You can also pour leftover coffee into the ground as well as using the grounds. I like curvy lines in my gardens. You can work out what you like using your garden hose. It can wrap around one side garden as well; I'd do it on the sunnier side so you can put sun-loving roses and other things over there and still have them connected to the front garden. As you choose your bushes and other plants, it will reduce maintenance to consider how much water they need and group them accordingly. I completely rule out anything that wants moist soil - too much work since my soil is dry and sandy. Consider how good your drainage is and amend the soil to improve nutrient level if it's sandy or with soil conditioners to improve texture and drainage if it's clay. Few plants like to sit in wet clay, even if they happen to like moist soil. Consider spirea bushes. They are deciduous, unfortunately, but they come in different leaf and flower colors and are very easy. They are easy to shape, too. I recommend dwarf ones - very tidy when you shape them with a bit of pruning. Here is a site with drought-tolerant trees and plants: http://volusia.org/arboretum/wwplantlist.htm Here is a link that might be useful: drought-tolerant plants & trees

We have seen these recessed-entryway houses quite often on here lately, and many people are prone to planting in the entry way, which tends to close it off. It looks like you have only planned brick in there, which should give a better impression. From the fact that you've put beds up against the house it looks like you're set on ignoring the advice you've received so far anyway :-) from Catkim above. I tend to agree that foundation planting is far too often confused with landscaping, and landscaping far too often limited to foundation planting. And speaking for myself, I pretty much die of boredom once the plan goes that route. You've put the palms in the right place, now keep working out there! Some houses on some lots really need foundation planting, but others, like yours, offer scope for something much more original and attractive. KarinL

It's a vast improvement over the shrub-engulfed house we first saw, merely by being cleaned up. One thing that jumps out to me as not enough, is the groundcover, which are few and far apart. The goal is usually to get groundcover to grow into a solid mass for the best look and so as not to need top dressing with mulch anymore and still have weed suppression. But I imagine you'll be doing some tweaking over the next year. As far as watering, it's hard for someone, by remote, to tell you if you've watered long enough. There are a lot of variables in how you might be doing it and with what equipment. If in doubt, dig down and see. It won't take you long to discover the right timing formula.

Based on the pictures you've provided, here's an approximation of how I think you could place trees in the yard. Two small trees must be at a distance from the face of the house, so they need to be across the walk and into the lawn area, with groundcover islands below. This way, serviceberry would work. Or dwarf burning bush. (Yes, it will take some time to get to size, but won't be a problem over the long haul.) Or it could be common lilac or anything about that size. If you want more detailed help, better pictures are necessary. You would take them from somewhere in the street while standing opposite the center of the house face. A series of 3 overlapping shots, pivoting from left to right would be needed. All 3 shots would need to be taken from same location. And, of course, you would need to move any car blocking the view.