Any ideas?

To my eyes, the siding and windows are a huge improvement already. I'd start out by getting rid of the rock in the beds. It looks as dated as the old siding. By pavers, are you referring to the retaining blocks that line the edge of the bed? If so, I don't think the color goes well with the brick or your siding. I think the lines look cleaner on the front without shutters - is that your long term plan?

It would be great to have some current photos of the front even if the siding isn't finished. You might as well go ahead and do the standard 360 overlapping photos pivoting from a single spot that Yardvark typically requests. Those photos will help fill out the scene - looks like you have a close neighbor on the right that you may want to screen.

Hey hey. Thank you for the reply. So far I have put in a new roof, hardie board siding, and windows on the exterior which I am very happy, so thank you for the kind comment! :)

In regards to the shutters, I do not plan on putting them back. I will simply keep the windows with the white trim and keep it at that. In regards to the retaining blocks, I was thinking about keeping them but now you have me thinking if I should or not. If I removed them, what would be better options? I can't just have mulch sit that high above the grass without something holding it there, can I? Right now the front of the bed is 2 stones high so I think something needs to be at the edge because that is a few inches of height difference between the grass and the top of the bed. I am going to be cleaning up the existing 'mulch' and replace it with new mulch this season. As far as the brick goes, I will be white washing it so it will no longer be red, and will be more in-line with the existing retaining blocks.

In regards to privacy, the neighbor to my right can't really see into my house since I do not have any windows on the lower level on that side, and my upper windows sit above his so they won't be able to see in. I will need to add privacy shrubs in the back yard because my neighbors lawn slopes upwards, so he can basically see directly into my kitchen and dining area (but that is another post/project for another day).

I will also post more pictures when I am back in town this Friday, but these are the only photos demonstrating the project area that I have right now :(

It's hard to initially see the level distance behind the block in your initial picture. In the end, those block will likely at least be moved as the lines of the planting bed change. You can either move them to line the new bed if the color works or if it doesn't, you can probably use them elsewhere.

Before you paint the brick, I'd suggest doing something to simulate how it will look. I think the brick actually works pretty well with the new siding. One thing about painting brick is that you take a very low maintenance surface and turn it into one that will need to be painted every ~5 years.

Is that a garage or carport on the left? I expect the challenge in the front will be to make the entry inviting. It's easy for it to seem like it's back in a cave with it situated so far behind the main house and hemmed in by the driveway.

The current bed on the side leading back to the entry seems quite narrow but there isn't a lot of space to expand its width and still have an adequate walkway. Could a brick walkway (or concrete with brick along each side) similar in color to the front be pulled forward to be even with the front? That might help tie the entry to the front of the house. It would also give guests parked in the drive an easier path to the entry. It looks like the current walkway just goes straight from the door to the driveway.

Just some thoughts. Hopefully you get some more (and better) feedback as well.

Yea I just noticed the pictures dont show the right side of the bed, which is where the biggest difference in height is most visible between the ground and the bed. I'll take another look at the bed this weekend when I'm back home and try to take some adequate pictures to share here.

In regards to the whitewashing of the brick, I'm not too concerned about it. My dad fortunately has a painting company so that work would not cost me much, if anything at all, and I think it would help bring some more life to the brick that I just tuck pointed and re-silled.

The entry way does have that feeling of being a bit tucked away so that is why I was hoping to get some brighter plants to help lead the way into the house, and part of the reason I reached out to everyone here. I don't think I have enough room to add brick next to the entry walkway but I'll have to double check, but I was considering adding some landscaping along the edge of the driveway since people seem to drive onto the grass quite a bit when pulling up :( But for now I want to focus on the entry way and front of the house as that is most important to me, but I appreciate all of your input so far!

That being said if anyone has some plants that would work well here or any suggestions of plants for me to consider, then please feel free to share! I think I will be making a trip to a local nursey sometime in the near future as well to see what might work well for my area and house.

FYI it's an attached garage and not a carport :D

You'll need to be careful about how bushy you are near the entrance way since it is tucked away. Too many plants there will be a detriment, You have very little room.

ya i just wanted to add just a little bit if i can. I saw your work in other posts Yardvaark, any input on what design I can go with here? This is the only picture I have right now that shows the space towards the front entry door:

Where it is covered by roof it is not planting space. Only good for paving.

Yea I figured I would just mulch it or put down pavers.

I scrolled through my phone and I actually found this image to show pretty much the whole bed. This is the place where I need the most help with when it comes to the landscaping design.

A design is going to start with bed layout. I can't say that what you have now looks appealing (in the way of being capable of supporting a landscape that will enhance the overall property.) But you need to post good slightly overlapping photographs that show from lot line to lot line across the entire front of house, from a central position.

ok I'll work on those this weekend and go from there. I agree on the wavy layout but that is what the previous owner had set up, so that is where I'm starting. Thanks for your comments so far!

Congrats on the new home! It is definitely looking better with your current work.

Here are some random thoughts that occurred to me while looking at your various photos. I'm interested in seeing the photos Yardvaark requested, and also one that clearly shows the entrance from the sidewalk, when standing directly out from the door.

I am another who wouldn't paint the brick since it involves increased maintenance, especially since you have chosen low-maintenance hardie board siding, but you are the one who will have to deal with it. However, I would wait to do this until you have worked out a planting scheme since it may turn out that the current brick color makes a better backdrop for the plants than the light color. Once you have a plan, then if you still feel it will look best, you can do the whitewash before actually doing the plantings.

As others have said, I think one of your biggest challenges will be to find a way to make your almost hidden entrance easily seen by visitors. So you will need to keep that in mind with whatever you decide to do with landscaping. For instance, planting an evergreen at the left house corner may hinder the visibility of the entrance from some angles.

IME, planting along the driveway edge won't prevent folks from driving off the edge, it will just mean that your plants get driven on. It also presents an issue with where folks walk when they get out of the car; if you have plantings lining the drive, and the cars fill the drive, there isn't anywhere to walk, so grass or a walkway from the street to the door might be your best choice for the driveway edge.

Soaker hoses on a timer or with you turning them on as needed will help with keeping things watered. Since they go under the mulch, they won't be visible. Getting the timing right will need to be worked out based on what you plant and your soil, but here (with similar rainfall) I usually don't need to do much if any watering on established, mulched gardens.

Rather than just getting plant ideas on line, go to the Chicago Botanic Garden, which is world class and grows research plots specifically to figure out what plants grow well and look good (disease free, etc.) in your area. Go often, like every 2 weeks so you can see what looks good at different times of year. Take photos of plants and their labels so you know what to look for when you have a plan.

As for the mulch and paver edging dilemma, I might just add a light layer of a mulch color you like for now, with perhaps some annuals for color, either in the ground or in large pots. Your ultimate plan may have a bed that looks quite different, and once you have a plan of what the planting area will look like and what types of planting and hardscape changes you will plan to make, then you can remove mulch and edging. It just seems a bit of a waste of your time and energy to do much with this area for now. Early fall is a great time to plant, so if you don't get things planned and planted this spring, you can do prep this summer once the plan is in place and plant in September. The annuals will add interest for the summer so it doesn't look so stark.

Wow, that is an excellent and thorough response. Thank you!! I think going through with a more concrete plan this fall will be the right choice no doubt. I guess I can plant some annuals as you suggested for now so the house isn't so bare for the wedding (Aug 19), and really tune my plan come fall. I will still provide the photos you and Yardvaark asked for to see what the ultimate plan will be, but you raised some good points and I will think on them for a while! I will also visit the Chicago botanical garden as you suggested and take your advice on taking photos of the things we like. Thanks again NHBabs!!

Good to know and I'll make sure to note the dimensions of my current bed to give me a rough idea of how much space I have to work with.

Remember, you don't need to be confined to the current bed size, just your current yard. The bed is something you inherited with the house, and just like you changed out the siding and it looks a lot better, it will most likely serve you well to do the same with the current bed, changing out the shape, edging, etc to suit what you decide to plant.

Since you mentioned a wedding (congratulations!) I will suggest that you consider getting a few potted plants/shrubs, either on loan (which I hear is common in some areas) or something like a couple of good sized Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight', 'Quickfire' or another cultivar that suits your taste that you can place in large ornamental pots to dress things up for your big day. (Be sure to arrange for watering if you will be leaving for a honeymoon afterwards.) Assuming that you like H. paniculata, it will be happy in conditions from full to half day sun, blooms for a long time, and can either be pruned to a tree form or left as a large shrub. So I imagine that you can use it in your more permanent plantings off the front right corner as a specimen or in the back yard without problems. In my area they bloom from July through hard frost, so they should look good in mid-August without worrying too much about timing. Large pots of annuals should do the same as far as bloom time, and something tall such as a cluster of cleome or a mass of zinnias, cosmos, or other substantial annuals will look bright and cheerful, and all these can be grown from seed. You can also buy several large pots of annuals right before the wedding if other plants aren't blooming as expected, but one of the advantages of annuals is that most bloom a long time.

Yep! I jsut wanted to measure the current bed to understand the dimensions that I currently have and to have a mental picture of what would fit if my bed stayed roughly the same size. It's more of a personal reference moreso than a restriction to my future plans. Since the bed is rather large (in my opinion) right now, it'll be good to know how much bigger/smaller it would have to be to fit the plants that I ultimately choose.

As far as your suggestions go for flowers, we both love hydrangeas and I think we were planning on incorporating them somewhere in our landscape, whether that would be in front or back. I will definitely look into all the other suggestions you posted so far and will continue to post updates/other questions once I finally get my hands dirty :D

How about a bridal veil spirea for between your windows. We had them in front of the house I lived in growing up. Just a fun thought. They can get big but can be pruned relatively easily to keep them smaller. Don't plant them right up against your house.

Yaardvark is correct, nothing too big along the wall next to your entrance. Hostas would be one of the standard choices there. I love the fragrant ones, Hosta plantaginea, like "Guacamole." I had that in my yard mixed in with European solomon's seal, Polygonatum odoratum, which has pretty varigated foliage and great spring scent to compliment the summer blooming hostas. My landlady has the same arrangement in front of her entrance, with some heuchera's mixed in for more colored foliage. Heucheras (also known as coral bells) come in apricot, lime and burgundy and mottled leafed varieties.