If I were you, I would leave everything alone for this summer. Go buy yourself some nice pretty pots, fill with potting soil and plant whatever pretty flowers you want in them. Put them in front and on the side of the house, and don't rip out any of the beautiful conifers,(evergreen with cones), on the side or front of your house. It takes literally many many years for the conifers to get that big. They look really nice, so don't dig them out yet.

Go to a nusery when you go to buy your flowers, and price some of the plants you already have there. Wait til you see how expensive shrubs and plants are. I'm saying this because you are new home owners, and you don't realzie the money and work involved in gardening yet.

During the summer, look online at different ideas for that spot in front of the house where there is no window. Don't put ivy there, it will destroy your home. Just look online to see if there is anything you like, the conifer that is planted there will grow in, and you can also shape it, so keep that in mind.

Congrats on your beautiful home, its adorable!

I couldn't agree more with arbordale about widening the walk and step, and also about increasing the depth of the planting bed. It's not realistic (or attractive) to pinch the beds to within 3' of the house.

I think my drawing looks like the shrubs are planted too close to the wall. Once I draw it, it's not worth fixing. Whatever planting you do, do it at realistic distances.

When you widen the beds you can use all of the bricks from around the beds to widen the walkway. The wider step in the above picture makes it look like it was planned instead of stuck on. I would go with a pretty trellis on the blank wall.

Thank you for the great ideas. I definitely agree widening the beds and adding a wider and deeper step. I have been considering hiring a designer as I am so indecisive and need the help, hence why I reached out here. I like the idea of putting a large flowering shrub instead of a trellis with a climbing plant that may end up ruining our siding. What flowering shrub would you recommend Arbordale? I just looked up my zone and it looks like I am Hardiness 7a. Yardavaark you did a wonderful job with that photo, thank you! It looks so real and looks already better! The large green shrub near the bare wall, what type of shrub are you envisioning? what you have done is actually amazing, and if I could do exactly that I feel like it would be beautiful!

The walkway you extended straight out the front of the house, I probably wouldn't put. As our garage is located around the right side of the house. The random walkway that is shown in the picture at the front of the house that I posted above, only goes about 6 feet out from our front door and then completely stops in the middle of our grass. So I am thinking of getting rid of the random pathway and maybe opening it up larger at the bottom of the stairs and then it will wind around the right side of the house. What I need help with is what type of walkway should I put? Brick, stamped concrete, stone, etc? What would look best with the house?

For a large shrub that wont get too large, my go to's are Multistem Serviceberry and Japanese Maple.

I have been asked so many times over the years, "What is the BEST _____?" Fill in the blank with "thing-to-build?", "time-to-cut?", and so on. I would like to dispel the notion that the "BEST" matters much. The answer is often that there are several, or many, bests and usually quite a bit of leeway. There is no need to obsess about absolute perfection. Better to look for what works well. It would be as if someone said "What is the best clothing to wear?" and intended to wear only that for the rest of their life. So many different plants a yard can "wear" and many would look good. Also, with the walk material, there are choices in both brick, pavers and concrete that would work well. Personally, with your house, I would keep it traditional -- like red brick or pavers in the standard brick shape -- and avoid styles that look modern or fakishly rustic. Get samples large enough to create something that can be seen from a distance, and appraise it.

Since I had to invent the foreground it's understandable that the walk might not work as shown. It's just to give ideas. One would adjust as reality demands.

A note about trellises: If placed in front of a wall, one would provide enough separation so that there was space between the wall and the plant. That way, it's never a problem with the siding. Also, I've never seen a ready made trellis that was worth a flip. It's something that must be custom made, though it's generally not a difficult proposition for someone with modest carpentry talent.

The large dome-shaped shrub near the wall could be many thing. I'm not sure if it grows in your zone, but while I drew it, the plant that came to mind was Viburnum carlesii ... producer of one of the most delicious scents known.

I think a broad leaf evergreen would be better to hide the wall. I would hate to see that wall during the cold months. Does holly grow in your area? Yardvaark never does a bad drawing but some stand out and this is one of them. In a good way.

Yard

Love your designs.

Jo

Thanks. You all are nice to say.

You are all so helpful! Cannot thank you enough! I was also thinking will a flowering bush such as Viburnum carlesii, make the wall bare again in the winter months. Since in Canada, winter months is like half of the year LOL. I am going to talk to a lanscape designer in my area to get more recommendations for planting in my zone

I wouldn't equate bare branches with inability to add interest and provide substance. Coppicing a shrub for the first two or three years can dramatically increase branching.

example of Cornus sericea winter appearance

If you decide to hire a landscaping service, they may actually be able to offer you some pretty good suggestions as to what looks best. They deal with hundreds of different houses and yards and they have some pretty good experience as a result. I think your new house is adorable, by the way. You could really work wonders with it. As for the walkway, I've personally always liked the look of red brick. That's just a suggestion, though. Good luck to you! http://www.emeraldirrigation.ca