Wasn't Yardvaark nice to give you a sketch. I don't have those capabilities, but if you send me a personal note, I'll sketch out my idea of your areas. Include a picture of the side near the driveway, too. I'd spend some time developing your beds first. The plants will make themselves known to you. I'm in zone 8, so I can't suggest any particular plants, but I could supply you with a rough layout. I just can't post it with any success. I'd steer clear of the boxwoods to prevent any remote chance of future problems. Don't you guys have something evergreen that also blooms? If you'll send me a note with some pics, I'll return a sketch. If not, you are well on your way. Xtal Here is a link that might be useful: Boxwood Blight

My suggestions are to mainly to simplify and embolden... Remove the low-starting, wide spreading limbs off of the two front trees. Create a bed of single variety plants below those trees. Increase the bed size at the left corner of the house and move the small tree in it farther away from the house. Increase the foundation bed front-to-back depth where possible (to the 6' range or greater.) Paint the lower portion of the power pole in some interesting scheme. Add an island with small tree in front of the breezeway area. Remove the pyramidal shaped plants flanking front door and replace with beds of annual color. Underscore the left set of windows with the existing shrubs, but don't let them extend beyond the end of house. Underscore the bay window with a single planting that will not obscure the window lower portions. Widen the front walk. Does not need to be exact same material. Anything compatible will do. Same material could form cheekwall at single step. Or get rid of that single step. It does not look needed. (Can't tell if existing bricks are laid OK, but the weeds growing in them should be sprayed out for an improved appearance. A canopy or awning of some type above the stoop would make the house face much more interesting. PS: Thanks for putting on decent pictures ... one of the extremely few times I have not wished for better!

I'm wondering if you'd be better off asking in the gardening forums? Here's a link to the Landscape Forum

"It looks like you have cat mint in there." I have nothing in there but electronic paint. While I try to make the drawing look quasi-realistic, as if those could be real plants, they are nothing to me more than shapes and sizes. I'm wanting to let you have some of the fun of exploring and picking plants, because you are there and can see things on the conditions on the ground much better than me. You could get help from locals, or the GardenWeb regional forum that applies to your area. Maybe someone here one the LD forum will make suggestions. (What about Russian sage for the purple things? You need at least 2 different height shrubs on account of window-bottom height above grade. Maybe a Hydrangea will work for one of them ...?) Where is a groundcover going to "get out of control"? You have it blocked on one side by a house. You have it blocked on another by a lawn (which will mow groundcover on a regular basis. If you weren't satisfied with that, you could install a mowing strip/root barrier ... needs depend on what the groundcover actually is. Or you could periodically treat it with lawn broadleaf weed killer. Many people just mow and are satisfied because the groundcover is low enough not to be seen and doesn't travel too far in the grass on account of not liking the mowing.) People say they don't want annuals and will use perennials instead. But these plants serve different functions. Annuals provide "long time," ongoing color. Perennials bloom usually bloom 2 or 3 weeks and are finished until next year. Usually, at the entrance, people are interested in having constant color. There are lots of variables. Annuals need right conditions in order to keep going. They are usually replaced when they look "tired." Some perennials bloom have quite a lengthy period. There are lots of trade-offs that must be weighed. Because annuals are replaced periodically, usually the square footage they occupy is limited in size (mine is about 30 S.F.) so that it isn't a great burden to replace them from time to time. And you are welcome!