You didn't give any details of the large paver scheme for the front walk, but it doesn't strike me as having potential to be a great solution. I think the look is wrong for the house. Too, I would suggest not to create anything that adds higher maintenance.

I would consider building a nice set of cheekwalls for the entry steps. It would automatically make the house and entry experience classier.

I wouldn't have liked the planting scheme even if it was brand new, so would rip out all of the foundation plantings, including shrubs near the river birch. Even if you could cut back and rejuvenate some shrubs, it's extremely doubtful any would be in the a correct enough place to be genuinely useful. (Others may think it has potential but my claim is predicated on what I consider to be a good landscaping.)

You've probably seen in other threads that I like to explain my ideas with graphic feedback and you've provided the right picture sequence for me to do that. However, there is so much vegetation obscuring the foundation planting area of the house that it is not possible for me to clean up the photo enough to draw/paint over it.

I wish you would move back farther with the camera and give us a sense of what the approach to the house seems like, including the large juniper. I would like to see how the house seems from the street, including the driveway area.

Thank you for great advice. I will take advised street view pictures on Friday and post. I looked up cheekwalls, and agree that adding cheekwalls would improve the look of the entry (right now it seems so tall to me). Do you think the cheekwalls should come straight out of the front door entry and stay level throughout, or would a ramped down effect be better? Also what about increasing the size of the cheekwalls out left and right to extend to the "bends" on either side of the front door, and maybe even extending diagonally back to the house?

I am going to draw a plan this weekend, which might clarify my question.

I rarely say this but in your case I would keep the paired evergreens flanking the door. They are not encroaching and they look nice.

If it was me I'd clean it up before making any decisions- we can't even see what you have it's so overgrown and obscured with weeds. I'd pull the weeds and clean up what is already there and re-evaluate. Mature shrubs can be valuable and take years to replace- take a look at what you have. There might be some nice plants in there.

I will say that a simple landscape meticulously maintained is far more attractive than a complicated scheme that is neglected and allowed to look ratty.

Don't put in more that you are willing to maintain.

I think a version of cheekwalls that slope would work much better when the steps are some distance from the house. Here, they are immediately connected, so I'd keep the cheekwalls simple and minimal. I would not expand them into a contrivance that returns to the house wall, or bends into some wing-like affair. Simple "blocks" with a cap that are compatible with the existing structure would be enough. (My drawing does not attempt to show detail. It's up to the owner to create that.) Widening the walk to meet the outsides of cheekwalls would make the entrance inviting and not seem stingy. The walk to it could be in the 4' to 5' width range.

It hasn't been mentioned yet, but one feature that could be easily changed to make the house better and more interesting looking would be to paint the trim white. Painting it the same color as the brick makes the overall picture look dull and as if the paint scheme was determined by a far away government bureaucrat who knows his only paint choices are beige, army green or battleship grey.

No matter what you choose for foundation landscape I think it is safe to remove shrubbery from the area outlined. It has not been maintained and blocks the view of the entrance. I'd prefer ground cover or lawn only next to the path.

I was mistaken in calling it a juniper. Our house is located behind the Leland cyprus on the left. Next picture is as I walk toward our house.

Above picture is taken as you "pass" my house entering the neighbors private drive.

I apologize for all the vehicles blocking the house...but wanted to give you an idea of the view as you pull in the driveway.

This is the view as one walks up the sidewalk.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't be able to give you much suggestions except for the vague, general type of things. For more specific info, I'd need to see the house with all the overgrown shrubbery cleared out, or at least mostly cleared out, including those shrubs right of the walk.

I agree with others that the shrubs along the right side of the walk that emmarene circled under the birch along with the sprawling thing next to it need to go, regardless. They crowd the walk and hide the approach to the house, making it an unwelcoming entrance. At the very least, remove those to begin with and then take more photos from a vantage point out opposite the front door so that what is currently near the building is visible.

I also agree on the cheek walls for the steps and widening the walkway to make the entryway look more finished and welcoming. I would use solid paving again, not pavers as it would be one more thing to weed and maintain. Is the end of the walk currently accessible to visitors based on what is usually filled by parked vehicles? Do folks use the front entry or walk around to the back of the house? Is there currently space for visitors to get where they are going?

It seems like you aren't gardeners and don't really use this area other than as arrival spot. So you want to have something simple and easily maintained and then if you do basic maintenance a few times a year, it will be much easier to keep it looking nice.

Thank you to Yardvark and others for your advice! We are waiting for the painter to come and love the idea of having the trim painted white to contrast with the rest of the house. Also pursuing having cheekwalls put in. Here are the updated pictures taken after most of the shrubs have been removed. We wanted to post and get advice at this point before taking out the remaining shrubs (two large dwarf gardenias, large tall shrubs are chleara, 4 small and leggy nandina). The measurements of the area between the sidewalk and house is approximately 16' x 50'. The sidewalk is 4' x 50' widening to 6'6'' when it meets the steps. We are working to remove all of the white rocks that are currently by the house.

We are including a picture of the right side of the house (as you are facing it), where we have a significant slope and would love advice on what to do in that area. We removed the original landscape timbers that made a 4' raised bed.

Also, want to point out the S shaped sidewalk that meets the driveway at a point, currently the beginning of the right hand side bed. Not sure if it will be a sore spot if we take the bed out and replace with grass.

Here is a drawing of the overall property.

You've done a lot of work and it's improving.

As I mentioned before, I would vote for getting rid of all the existing plants. Some of the few that that are left don't look like bad plants, but they are either too close to the house or in a wrong position, so I can't see that preserving and working with them -- unless someone has the skills to relocate that size material -- is of value.

Trees don't look good at the edge of an island so I'd expand the island around the large tree at the center of the yard. I'd also place a tall, colorful (or bold and striking) groundcover-ish type plant around the base of that tree and the one at the beginning of the walk. I would place small, multi-trunk trees in front of the two blank wall spaces of the house and would surround the base of the cantilevered portion of the house with shrubs or perennials tall enough to conceal it. Color would flank the entrance. It could be shrubs, perennials, annuals or some un-busy combination of those. There would be a bed of groundcover connecting all these plants. I might reconfigure the bed line, deleting the finger of grass that extends between your house and the fence, and make all that groundcover, too. I'm not sure that stretch of grass really benefits the picture visually or makes maintenance easier. It's something to calculate on site.

It is so nice to actually see the path and entrance now!

I revised my drawing, adding the original picture so as to make before and after comparison easier.

Thank you Carol for introducing me to this website, and for all the great advice, encouragement, etc. from everyone. I am so excited to be working on this, my love for being in the yard is growing, and hopefully we will end up with something we can enjoy (and maintain!) for years to come. Just a few follow up questions for the experts!

*. I am wondering about the "symmetry" of the bed sizes on each side of the sidewalk. Is it possible to shrink the side of the bed on the right hand side as you are facing the front door and increase the size of the lawn, so that the sidewalk is definitely seen and welcoming, and the grass could be easier to maintain? If we did this, would the "point" of the sidewalk (furthest from the front door) become an eye sore?

* Yardvaark, you recommended adding cheekwalls to the front steps, and we were very much on board with that idea. However, your updated recommendation shows color flanking the entrance instead. We need help seeing how all of this might come together...or if you are just showing us multiple options for our consideration? As we have been considering functionality as well as enhancement, we have become aware that there are no handrails and maybe we should consider adding wrought iron handrails flaring out for safety and esthetics?

* Emmarene, you offered that the two vertical green shrubs flanking the front door "worked"...and we are hesitant to remove them before we come up with a good replacement idea. The problem with removing them...is that they fill two "cavities" on either side of the front entrance walls. Maybe leaving that space open is okay...but would like more advice here.

* The recommendations seem to all include ground cover instead of mulch. The beds are currently 50' x 16' on either side of the sidewalk...and that seems like a tremendous amount of ground cover. Could we keep the number of plants limited, but use dark mulch to define them...rather than making a bed of green?

If about one or two hundred photographs could be taken and posted, it would be possible for us to get a much more exact idea about the conditions (especially available light) that exist. As it is, it's not practical for that to happen. That's why the homeowner must do their best to asses how the conditions really are on site. How they really are determines what is really possible to do and how things could be exactly arranged. One of the main considerations is where there is really enough light to grow grass. If there is enough light and not too much slope, that's a potential place for grass. The other consideration with that is creating a geometry that is pleasing. With that, I'm not exactly sure what/how you are proposing to configure the lawn vs. bed. It would be better if you can sketch it out exactly on the plan so there would be no confusion.

As far as cheekwalls goes, I never retracted that idea. The sketch is meant to be inspirational, not an exact plan. I drew cheekwalls once and don't want to bother (take the time) to draw them in when they'd be so tiny that details wouldn't be useful. Hardscape is always first and planting is subordinate to it. Create the cheekwalls and then calculate the planting of color to coordinate with how the cheekwalls actually are.

My 2 cents, I think you need to fill the cavity of the evergreens flanking the entrance with something lower.

I will respond to the question of mulch vs. groundcover when I have more time.

Mulch does work as a material to cover the ground and is better than ground left bare. But mulch alone doesn't look anywhere near as good as a "blanket" of low-growing green plants, nor is it very effective as an erosion preventative if there is slope and washing water involved. A groundcover of plants is fairly effective at protecting soil from common rainwater erosion. As well as washing away to some degree, mulch also fades in the sun, gets to looking shabby and must be replenished on a periodic basis. Sometimes there is buildup of thickness over a period of time which can be an issue if next to a walk. One distinct advantage to mulch is that it is easy to control weeds by periodically killing them with Round-up or combining that with a pre-emergent herbicide. Sometimes, I think the best way to go if someone wants groundcover, is to keep an area mulched and weed free for a period of time and once it is well controlled, begin installing the groundcover.

The potential reasons to object to groundcover are mainly the cost of installing, or facing the idea that one must combat weeds. If one is hiring out all the work, it is true that the cost of groundcover can run into some $$ and maybe it is too much. One way to overcome this is to phase it in over a period of time, installing the most important areas, like leading edges, first. If one is not hiring out all the work and is willing to learn a bit about basic propagation (which is usually quite easy) groundcover can become very inexpensive to almost free, depending on the potential source. I'm speaking from experience here as my last 3 properties have had extensive groundcover, most of which I propagated myself. My current yard has no turf so is 100% groundcover except where there are shrubs and perennials.

As far as combatting weeds in groundcover, it is definitely easier if groundcovers are planted in areas that are mulched, where weeds are already controlled. The more shade, the easier it usually is. Then, it is important to make sure that weeds don't infiltrate the bed. One MUST keep this policed and so long as one does, it usually gets better and better over time as the groundcover fills in, shading the ground. One thing that will be the biggest help in the process of establishing groundcover is pre-emergent herbicide, like Preen, which is sprinkled over the bed (on a schedule) as one would sprinkle salt on food. Again, as the groundcover fills in, weeds come less and less, to the point where the bed is possible to maintain by hand weeding alone.

Whether groundcover will work for the homeowners in this situation is only something the homeowners can ultimately determine. But there's no question that a green, cushioned upholstery of groundcover is going to look better than a hard, flat, dry, sometimes parched and faded layer of mulch ... especially over a large area.

The thing that seems clear is you were not able to maintain the previous landscape. If you suspect you will be better at maintaining lawn then do that.

I know how awful it feels to remove healthy mature plants but it is an improvement so far.

A possible look to consider:

Its time for an update! Thank you to Mr. Yardvaark for your inspiration and idea to paint the trim a contrasting color from the brick and stucco. That definitely made a HUGE difference, and then painting the door and outdoor lights a darker color, and adding the wrought iron rails added more to the front door area. We just finished having the landscaping installed and are thrilled with the plants and feel like the dark mulch worked nicely. Thank you to everyone who contributes to this forum!! I have learned SO much! We were recently asked someone visiting the area if our home was BRAND NEW!! Pretty good since we just celebrated 30 years!

More photos

Very nice. The wall looks improved too. Please more photographs.

Thanks for coming back with the updated picture. It definitely has a more inviting look than "before."

In my opinion, it's a major flaw of the wall that it does not have a tail that turns into the grade at its end. Water should run AWAY from the wall at all places, not parallel and adjacent to it (which it does near the end.) You've added to its length with landscape "timbers" and some rock, but this extension doesn't really do anything for the fact of erosion taking place along the back side of the wall. The existence of the tree complicates matters a bit, but it shouldn't be cause to not build the wall properly. If the wall were to be a solid masonry wall (like you have now), the tail piece could add significant strength to it.

Since much of the existing wall sticks up above the finished grade, it doesn't need to be as high in order to achieve the retaining function. It seems that it's sticking up this high in order to provide screening of the drive/back yard area and physical separation (in order to keep someone from falling onto the drive. The same goals could be accomplished in other ways if you wanted to minimize the overall wall height, such as by stepping the wall, which I'm trying to show in the second sketch. You probably need to find a landscape architect or good landscape designer who can help you with this.