Could you move where the red lines cross and take a new set of pictures? If it doesn't capture the bed where it meets the drive, move the camera back just a little farther. With the camera at that position, take a complete span of scenery from far left (seeing left neighbor's house) to far right (capturing right neighbor's house.) The camera must remain at the same spot for all pictures, merely pivoting while you take slightly overlapping pictures until you complete the scene. Post the individual pictures, not a panorama made of them.

Like this?

Yeah .... exactly like that.

There's no question that an undersized walk can seriously undersell a home's appearance. The first things I'd do is either replace the walk with an upgraded one or widen the existing walk. One way to do the latter is to add a row or two of sailor course brick along each side, adding 16 or 32 total additional inches. And then, of course, let it be seen! I'd get rid of the bed that wraps the outside of the walk. Having a bed at the beginning of the walk, along the inside and at the end is enough. Bringing the grass up to the walk looks more inviting and seems less claustrophobic. A small dome shaped tree is in the bed at the beginning of the walk.

It's hard to say what can be gotten away with, but at the right, beyond, I've stuck some shrubs/trees in the background so you don't see as much of the right neighbor's house immediately next to yours. If you can really do that it would be helpful for giving your house a more private looking setting.

At the tree in front of the house, it's time to start removing some bottom limbs so the tree will put more effort into developing them where you want them. Expand the island below. It should be sized as if it were in a large, sunken flower pot that was actually capable of letting it grow. The curve of the island correlates with the curve of the bed beyond.

The existing evergreen tree seems fairly well positioned. In the distant future, you will probably be forced to remove some lower limbs as they approach the house, but nothing to worry about now. I'd keep the same bed below it, but possibly expand it a little and connect it to the steps. It's filled with groundcover. There is a shrub at the two right porch posts that create kind of a nest effect. The same thing happens at the garage. There is seasonal color/annuals flanking the steps and another groundcover at inside of beginning of walk where it meets drive. All of these things would need to be worked out in PLAN view before doing the actual work.

At left of drive, I'd bring grass up to the walk instead of having a bed outside of the walk, running along the drive. It doesn't look like you have much room to plant for shielding you from the neighbor. Maybe someday he'll improve his landscaping and simultaneously help you out.

Thank-you, that looks wonderful. I can take a pic of the side yard by the neighbor to the right later today. There is not a whole lot of room and there is a slope. The rock bed and ugly plants continue on around pretty much the entire house. I have a couple of questions. The bed with the dome tree, are you leaving that bed with just mulch or using a ground cover there as well? In the bed where you have some seasonal colors to the right of the steps, same question is that area between the flowers and bush filled with ground cover up to the pine tree or mulch or more perrieniels? The island around the existing tree are you seeing something like day lilies and salvia or something lower to the ground? Thank-you for your suggestions. I really love the idea of removing some of the bed and opening up the front of the house and sidewalk.

"The bed with the dome tree, are you leaving that bed with just mulch or using a ground cover there as well?" I never leave just mulch.

"is that area between the flowers and bush filled with ground cover up to the pine tree" Yes. I'm showing groundcover which, in my opinion, is fine. But if you wanted to be more creative and incorporate a subsection patch of perennial for some reason, that seems like it could fly. All of that area is relatively low.

I have questions about planting ground covers under trees. It would seem that when the tree and other plants go into the ground at the same time, there would be no problems, but I wonder about adding ground cover retroactively:

-- Is there any risk to root disturbance? Some trees may be more sensitive than others?

-- Will ground cover actually grow well under a pine (or whatever it is) as shown above, even with lower limbs removed?

-- I've read it is dangerous to add soil atop existing mature trees' root zones, that it can potentially kill the tree by smothering the roots -- is that true?

There is no need to remove lower limbs because the tree is not in front blocking the house or touching the house. It has a root spread that significantly exceeds the mulch bed so adding some small pots of groundcover at a given spacing is barely going to be noticed by the tree, if at all. There is no big soil disturbance, but just carving out a little hole for the plant. Groundcover's forte is spreading amongst the roots of trees. If the root field is dense, plant the smallest pot available (2 1/4 vs. 1 gallon) if possible. Don't add soil ... just mulch.

Thanks

What height of plants are you suggesting for the "large, sunken flower pot"?

It's just groundcover like the other areas. It could be as low as 6" or as high as 18" ... maybe 2' if blooms of a perennial.

If it was my yard, I think I'd be making the side yard entirely bed, no grass, and having a mulch path working through it closer to the house. Large shrubs would be closer to the lot line so as to screen the neighbor's house from your front and driveway area.

I better not show you the back of the house then! The front and side yard projects alone would keep me busy for a while!

When I plant the ground cover do I need to add mulch while waiting for the ground cover to fill in? Do I add the mulch before or after the ground cover plants?

Plant first, then add mulch. Mulch covers ground until plants do.

The side yard, I think you should be working that out in a "to scale" plan drawing.

We have removed all the rock and plants. In a couple of weeks we are getting a wider sidewalk like you suggested and fixing the steps to make them wider and of normal length.

Hopefully, you have created a "to scale" PLAN for the hardscape work to be done. (And later, the planting work.) It's the best way of ensuring that you get what you want, whether you're DIYing the work or have a subcontractor do it.

Because of the shrubs, your steps cannot be seen clearly in the pictures so I can't tell how many there are. One thing I always explore in redoing the walk/steps is if any steps can be eliminated, fewer steps being better. I'm not suggesting this be done by making larger risers. but by gradually raising grade as it approaches the stoop. This is a balancing act, though, as you don't want the walk to seem as though one is walking a ramp uphill in order to get to the steps. It must be gradual and slight: no more than 6" rise in 10' of run. The risers should not exceed 6.5" height and a little less is OK. Let's call 6" optimum. Lastly, IMO, 16" treads are vastly superior to 12" treads.

Hopefully, you will widen the steps to the full width of the post opening. The two acceptable styles of step faces are with an overhang (over a toe space) or with angled face. The third style -- straight face -- is not as good and should be avoided.

Yes they are widening the steps to the posts. It is only 2 steps. They will be like the first option. Currently the first step is so deep you must take two steps on it before the next step making it awkward. How do you feel about stamped concrete for sidewalk ?

It's over mulching that smothers trees, not light mulching. People pile on the mulch and they make a volcano shaped pile around the tree trunk. That is what is bad. Here is a tutorial for planting under a tree that I often turn to.Planting Under Existing Trees, Sustainable Urban Landscape

Another big mistake is planting too close to the tree's trunk. That's where the big root extensions are and if you cut them, all the rest of the root will die. Farther out, you will cut through a lot of little roots but not main root branches. The groundcover will fill in close to the tree. Right up against the tree you want clear, but the right ground cover will not bother the tree. Plants with a big tap root are not good for ground covers, but the standard ones are OK. They don't have to be covering every bit of ground either, that's just one look. They can be sprinkled in with areas of just plain mulch. A lot of ground covers cover the ground but their roots are only in certain areas. Vinca is one example, as is ajuga. One of my favorites is sweet woodruff.

Asking how I feel about stamped concrete is a bit like asking how do I feel about soup! There's quite a few hidden variables in that question! I'm fine with it so long as you pick the right colors, pick the right pattern, get quality workmanship, get the grade, layout and curvature right and tie into the driveway properly. (Some of these things would be evident on a plan.)

When you say two steps, is the second step the landing/stoop?

Two steps plus porch

The photo doesn't show the whole approach but have you looked into seeing if you can eliminate one of these steps ... and have only ONE step and a landing/stoop? I can't confirm from the picture but it certainly alludes to this being a very real possibility. (Notice how the grade tilts down toward the first step from bottom ... as though it needs to be raised.) If you can do it, you can greatly improve the entrance experience FOR NO EXTRA COST! It's not an exploration I would ignore!

Here are some updates. Not completely done yet but getting there. Took your advice on widening the sidewalk. They finished the steps today with a brick face on them. Thank you for the suggestions!

While I still like my version best, it looks much better with the too large shrubs and rocks gone. The approach to the entrance looks MUCH more inviting. Comparing the new walk/steps to the old, side by side, if they were animals one looks well fed. The other looks scrawny, starving, wounded. Congrats on making a lot of progress.

I'm still not loving the barricade bed. However, this is an improvement.

Yardvaark I just couldn't do all that ground cover without color. Our season is so short in Michigan and I love plants. If in a few years it starts looking crazy and over grown I will revisit your plan :) My husband didnt want to attempt growing grass this spring and would rather do it in the fall so i am giving low growing plants in front of the walk a shot. Emmarene what is the barricade bed? I still plan on fixing the area around the tree and side yard is the next project.

We are still deciding if we want to cut that small tree out as well. I couldn't do it before the work because a Robin had a nest and eggs in the tree

Yardvaark you were soooo right on removing the tree

And then you'll need to put some things back. And take care of the lower limbs on the other tree.

The issue I have with removing those lower branches is that unfortunately the majority of the trees branches and leaves are on those lower limbs. Will the tree compensate somehow if we cut those off? Yes I definitely need to put some things back with that tree gone. Trying to decide on what.

If the tree is healthy, it will grow normally, and the growth will be primarily upward, since that's what trees do. With healthy plants, a universal result of pruning is growth returned elsewhere. It is usually in the 50%+ range of the amount that has been removed. Naturally, because of the vast range of plant varieties and local conditions, there is no possible way to predict anyone's exact result. One must act on what is reasonable for the situation one has.

One of my little trees with foliage to the ground, was 6' height at the beginning of last year. We had rain and I watered and fertilized it. At the end of the year is was 12' height. This spring, I removed EVERY SINGLE LIMB that existed the previous spring, leaving only what had grown during the latter part of last year. I was limbing it up to half its height in order to stimulate more growth on top, and to allow more light to reach the groundcover growing below it.

On the flip side, there is no particular reason you need to limb up all your trees. I prefer a more natural look and I don't always have to see every bit of everything behind and under a tree. I like a little mystery.