Canockie, this is just a quick basic diagram with the outline of an idea. The darker tree is the proposed blue spruce, and the others are intended to be deciduous, flowering or not, which would cool in summer, and let sun through in winter. Specific identity is best determined locally, but along the sides they should be something that grows fairly tall and narrow. Your HOA seems like it might not be too big an obstacle, at least to keeping your house cool. So the basic bones of your plan would be about shade, pathways, and sightlines. Since I can't help you with either the left side or with sightlines from various points on the property, you could start by imagining trees where I've sketched them, and move (or remove them) around to work in real life. It can help to stick a garden tool in the ground at the point you might put a tree, and imagine how that will look from the door, from the window, as you drive home, etc. I've not put a tree very close to the house, but there is clearly an option to put another one closer for faster, more significant shade. That has to be balanced off by whether you want to live in a little forest :-) I put the front yard trees more so they would shade the yard, which will give you some sheltered area for other plants, since side yard trees will do morning and afternoon cooling. The blueberries might be happier in the back, but if you want them in the front, the shelter of the trees should work (but just remember I write from the rainforest! so I don't know for sure). This will leave you exposed to afternoon sun, which could be mitigated with one more tree right were your curb tree now is or across the sidewalk from it. That will block the door a fair bit, so is a matter of taste. Tree placement being decision 1, decision 2 is how you move around the property. Are there gates through to either side yard? If so, pathways can be put in - two options are dotted in. Many people find it easier to place beds for flowering plants with reference to pathways - I do, because I like to plant things that have up-close interest and then I enjoy walking over to see them. How do you get the mower from front to back yard? And then decision 3 is what you want to see/be seen, or have blocked from different points of view. These bones are important to get right - and "right" is not something anyone but you can determine. Of course even trees can always be moved or replaced, but it's nice if they don't have to. Placement of flower beds and flowering plants is easy to work around your trees once the tree locations are chosen. Beds can be around tree bases, or completely separate from them - sun-loving plants to the sunny side, less tolerant ones on the shadier side. I hope this gives you something to start doodling with and imagining in 3d. Karin L

Thanks for the additional photos, Michael. I am assuming that you haven't a huge amount of gardening experience, so I'll apologize in advance if I am telling you things that you already know. My personal preference overall would be to plant the entire area out to the concrete walkway and widen the bed around the corner wider as well, for at least part of the distance down the side. That might a good place for the hydrangeas. I would also use shrubs along with perennials (and a few annuals if you want extra color or to fill in until the perennials and shrubs get bigger) to get some variety similar to what you have now. About your current beds: I notice black plastic(?) or landscape fabric in your bed under the mulch unless you have pulled it out since the photos were taken. As someone who made that mistake earlier in my gardening years and also inherited it from the previous resident of my current house, I don't think that you want to continue that as it will interfere with how the soil "lives." It will restrict water and oxygen exchange and cause all kinds of problems down the road when it starts to decompose and when the plants start growing roots into it. If you want more info or opinions, go to the one of the following forums and put "landscape fabric" into the search at the bottom of the thread listings: landscape design, perennials, and perhaps shrubs. Your bark or wood chip mulch is great, since it will help keep moisture levels even and suppress weeds. If you want something under it to further help prevent weed growth, corrugated cardboard or multiple layers of newspaper work well to suppress weeds without the problems caused by landscape fabric. I generally put down cardboard or newspaper and then at least 3 inches of mulch on top of that in all my shrub and perennial beds. What you can plant will depend on how much organic matter you are able and willing to put into your sandy soil. Gardenweed has given you a fine list of plants that in general do well in drier situations, though a few (lLobelia cardinalis/cardinal flower, Delphinium, peonies, Campanula/bellflower and Siberian iris) will do better in somewhat richer, less dry soil. If you have access to lots of organic matter through a town composting program, a nearby farm with composted manure, lots of old leaves, or some similar source, or if you have the money to buy a large quantity of compost, then dig in more than you think is needed into the first several inches up to a foot of the bed and you will have a wider range of plants to choose from. Tree oracle suggested conifers (good for winter interest so there aren't just dead sticks there) and roses, specifically Knockouts, which are long-blooming, disease resistant, and not fussy at all from everything I've read (no personal experience.) I grow the following roses: John Davis (large bush or short climber), Lady Elsie Banks, a white double rugosa, Rosa mundi, and a no ID that is common at old farmhouses here. I don't fuss with any of them other than to knock Japanese beetles into a can of soapy water while I wander through the garden early morning before work, though many are once-bloomers that are finished before the beetles emerge. No disease problems on any of them. Some other plants that will like or tolerate a relatively dry bed beyond Gardenweed's list include Nepeta/catmint, creeping thyme, alchillea/yarrow, calluna/heather (though not right next to the concrete foundation since it likes acidity) which is actually a short fine-textured shrub that can have colorful foliage, lavender, penstemon, Thermopsis caroliniana/carolina lupine (though not a lupine - similar to Baptisia), many of the veronica, hemerocallis/daylily. Most of these won't mind a bed with better soil also. Some plants that need somewhat better soil include perennial geraniums, dianthus/pinks (which aren't all pink in color), crocosmia, Iberis sempervirens/candytuft, tall phlox (get a mildew resistant type), Thalictrum rochebrunianum/lavender mist meadow rue. I can see a clematis on an obelisk looking great here, maybe behind the shrub on the corner where it will get some of the extra moisture from the downspout, but not be in its path. I also really value spring bulbs for early color and have found that if I plant them at the deepest end of the recommendation they seem to need dividing less often. I have daffodils that are probably 10 years old and haven't needed dividing yet - they still bloom prolifically. Just plant them where perennial foliage will hide the withering daff foliage. I also have reticulated iris (bought from Brent and Becky's bulbs on the web since they aren't common locally) which are budded up at the base of my foundation now and will be done blooming by mid-April before the daffs even start. I love seeing flowers in March! Both these don't mid dry summer soil at all. A couple of non-evergreen shrubs that will be fine in average soil include weigela (several shorter varieties with colored or variegated leaves) and spirea. Your neighbor's rhododendrons seem to be doing okay, and there are some shorter varieties such as PJM 'Checkmate' that hasn't cleared 3 feet in my garden. Conifers such as junipers ( get a short variety), birdsnest spruce, or one of the short varieties of Chamaecyparis would probably do well here or even one of the miniature Colorado blue spruce/Picea pungens. To get specific suggestions of types, try the conifer forum, the rhododendron forum, or the shrub forum. I often go to nearby nurseries to see what they have, read labels, take copious notes, go home and do internet research, and then go buy based on what is available that fits my needs. Some general things to consider in planning your bed. -Think about a way to have your hose holder be a bit less visible; either paint it to match the siding or move it out of sight behind a shrub or around the corner. Right now its contrasting color makes it grab attention. -Do your soil prep before you bring home plants. In general, the better your soil, the better the garden will be and the easier to care for. That extra organic matter will help hold moisture and nutrients rather than letting them trickle on through the soil. Add enough and the hydrangeas might even be happy here. -Plant things near the downspout that won't mind a bit of extra moisture, and maybe put several rocks right in front of the concrete catcher to break the water's force before it gets to the garden. -Think about leaf shape, size, color, and texture. There won't always be lots of perennials blooming, so foliage that offers variety and interest will keep things looking nice even when there aren't lots of flowers. -Plant lower things below the windows unless you want them blocked. I have used annual vines (scarlet runner beans) on strings over western windows to help keep the house cooler, but generally don't like to spend time trying to keep the plants away from the windows, so plant things with lower height there. -Most gardens look better with not just one of this and one of that - have some repetition, whether it is of foliage color, specific plant, flower color, though I have seen gardens that are an absolute riot of variety that still look lovely. Your current garden with the two hydrangeas and the several lobelia (?) have variety of height and foliage texture, but related flower color and more than one of each specific plant. - Look for gardens you like in your neighborhood or as you walk and drive around. Look now as well as during gardening season so that you can decide about what you want your garden to look like in winter. Often gardeners will be more than happy to ID plants for you if they are outside and you can get a sense of what you like. Your local library may have books that talk about garden design or have lots of eye candy (my favorite!) to look at now. One good one (but not huge amounts of eye candy) is The Well-Designed Mixed Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. Have fun and let us know how it goes.

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!

What a pretty house! It has great bones! Looks similar to my neighborhood near Boston. I wouldn't add shutters to the wing over the garage--it looks correct as is. Fixing the walk, wall, and driveway will make the curb appeal even nicer. After that, I'd suggest re-painting the flaking trim, replacing the screen door, and painting the door red, medium blue, or black to make a big difference. (Because I love old houses, I also find myself wondering what the condition of the original siding is, since I think you have vinyl over the original wood. But that could be a serious can of worms.) On landscaping: Besides your huge rhododendron and your hydrangea, I think I see two alberta spruces and a bunch of hosta. I can't tell what the other shrubs are near the hydrangea, but possibly arborvitae in front and ilex (holly) in back on left, and another ilex between the rhody and the spruce on the right. If you're looking for low maintenance, it doesn't get much more low maintenance than what you have. You will have to do very little to any of this except perhaps once/year. You should not even prune the hydrangea or spruces. You could edge your beds and mulch and it will look OK. Personally, I don't think the hosta add anything, so you could take them out. Flowers will be lovely, but definitely be more maintenance, and it will be hard to get bright color on an east-facing property up against the house, unless you do shade annuals (which is a lot more work than shrubs). I agree with some of the above posters that if you're not certain about how to proceed, you should 1) cut the rhododendron way back, to below the window. It will survive and bounce back--won't look like sticks for long. I think early spring should be a good time to do this, but do a little research on timing/technique. If the other shrubs are ilex/holly, you can cut those back too. Do not prune the hydrangea (you'll cut off next year's flowers) or alberta spruce (it won't bounce back). 2) besides pruning and shaping, live with it for a year. Maybe you'll appreciate the rhody and hydrangea more once you see them in bloom in June. It will be a lot of work to rip out all these shrubs, so make sure you know that's what you want. In that year, walk around the neighborhood and take note of which landscaping you admire. In the Northeast I bet a lot of your neighbors also have established shrub beds like you have. In my area the *really* bright and beautiful gardens have been professionally installed or their owners are avid gardeners who are constantly out maintaining. 3) Consider just taking out the worst offenders and replacing with something smaller or more to your liking. Suggestions for colorful east-facing shrubs in Northeast: more hydrangeas (check out lacecap and paniculata types), fothergilla (spring bottlebrush, gorgeous fall color), azalea. 4) Instead of re-doing the beds, onsider pots of annuals on your steps to bring in color. How about some bright-flowered begonias and new guinea impatiens in cobalt blue pots, changed to chrysanthemums, kale, gourds and pumpkins in fall? Not an earth-shattering idea, but easy to purchase, easy to maintain, and would look lovely and colorful on your symmetrical steps. 5) If you're getting the retaining wall and path re-done, consider hiring someone to advise on the landscaping at the same time. Check out this instagram for New England curb appeal inspiration. https://www.instagram.com/thefrontdoorproject/ Here are some front door color ideas: