I think that some of the suggestions wouldn't be an improvement and suggest that you think about whether those changes will enhance the home's appearance and period details. The dark stripes of the shutters add interest to the facade from a distance and I don't think I would change them unless you are going to add similar wide dark trim. The glass brick are appropriate to the architecture and were common in that time period, so unless you want that to be a window that you can look out, don't change them. Similarly, the wrought iron porch supports are typical to the time period, so unless they really bother you keep them. On the other hand, I don't like the jalousie windows and consider them to be more common on beach houses and back porches, not on windows to the main house, so I would switch them out. The low wall doesn't bother me since it is so low, but if you don't like it, I don't think removing it would be an issue as long as doing so won't damage the porch or house. I think replacing the door with one more in keeping with the house's architecture would be nice, and painting it something that contrasts with the masonry while still coordinated with the house would look good, so rich deep brown or black, or a shade like the brightest brown in the masonry, or even some shade of orange. The main issue to get an appealing entry is the plantings and walkway, both of which are currently narrow and cramped feeling. So I would move the walkway to a minimum of 5' from the garage so that you have room for a row of small shrubs underplanted with groundcover and a few bright flowers near the drive and where the walk turns toward the house. The walk should be at least 5' wide so visitors don't have to approach single file, and 6' would be better. You have a lot of different masonry surfaces going on already, so I would choose concrete to match the porch surface. I like the simple squared off shape of the walk and how it relates to the building, so I wouldn't change the shape or add curves. The current plantings seem rather random with regard to the architecture, so placement when you add plants will be important. Don't put plants that want to grow tall in front of windows, and center plantings with regard to architectural details instead of the current placement of being half in front of windows and masonry details. You don't say where you are in zone 6, and soil pH, texture, and moisture are different in Cleveland vs. New England vs. Oklahoma, so at this point it is difficult to make specific plant suggestions. You will want some evergreens for the backbone of the garden to provide year round interest. If your soil is acid and has reasonable drainage, look st some of the smaller and more densely growing members of the Heath family such as smaller Pieris or mountain laurel/Kalmia, heath/Erica, Heather/Calluna, or some of the smaller Rhododendrons. The Rhododendrons and Kalmia will tolerate a good amount of shade but the heaths and heathers like full sun. Other evergreens to consider with varying tolerance for shade include: Yew/Taxis which is your current plant, but has other shapes and sizes available and has the advantage of being very shade tolerant Junipers range from groundcovers to large trees and different cultivars have varying foliage colors, but like a good amount of sun Chamaecyparis has quite a range of foliage color and texture as well as plant size, depending on species and cultivar. Doesn't like all day shade, but tolerates a range of pH.

Oh wow Doug! Thanks for all the detail. Not gonna lie though, the reason we only have bushes is because I’m scared I’ll kill off other plants/flowers. Were on top of a hill and it seems like the sun is extra hot! Also when planting, its hard to dig up holes deep enough since theres rock underneath.

Could you add a couple of photos that show a bit more to the property lines left and right so we can see everything currently in the front yard? I would make the garage doors and all the trim around them the same color. You don’t want to be drawing attention in that area. The area around the front door I would make brighter with color and good lighting. The shrub in the lawn looks a bit unkempt and isn’t placed with any apparent logic relating it to anything else in the yard, so I would likely move or remove it. I would want something a couple of feet tall and rounded in the bed of purple groundcover as well as in a pot between the porch and garage.. The walkway and steps look pinched, so widen the steps and make the walkway wider. Change the placement of the walkway a bit to swing out a bit further from the house if you want to place a plant in the ground rather than a pot between the garage and the porch.

You could extend the garage roof leftward to a point about midway between the two windows on the left, adding a small forward facing gable in at the front edge of the roof directly in front of the front door. That gives you instant shade and an update on curb appeal. With the new "entrance" to the front door even with the front exterior wall of the garage, the glass in the garage door would be less of a distraction or focal point anyway but, just to be sure, you could create a bolder feature in the gable end of the porch -- perhaps an open arc: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/107171666112536981/  Perhaps an open end with only framing showing. https://onlineroofdesign.blogspot.com/2020/01/gable-roof-front-porch.html A wider/bigger bolder open gable . https://eplan.house/en/house-plans/149-kv-m-3-beds-no-garage-SV-58552-1-3 Enclose all or half the depth of the new front porch as a "sun room" entry of sorts or a more modern and dramatic entry foyer: With this one, you could add a patio door on the side of the new glass room and add a front yard patio on the side for which you could create a "green" privacy wall with a hedge beginning at the front of the sidewalk and extending all across the front of the house to the left front corner of the house. You could keep your existing front doorway but, perhaps, add a new door there, perhaps even a French door. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/543880092475643570/