Yardvaark - Thanks for taking the time to respond. I agree with you on having a visual representation. If I create a general footprint(top view) & supplement it with actual pictures for front view will that help me get better feedback here?

For one, it -- a plan view -- always helps us understand the property better. Consequently, the feedback you get can be more accurate. And secondly, it can make giving accurate feedback to you vastly much easier for any of us. Thirdly, you'll need it in order to convert whatever feedback and ideas you get, into a workable plan. That said, at this time I am not able to give any graphic feedback as I am away from home and without the usual tools. But verbal still works. You may need to ask questions about anything said you need more clarification on, or that didn't go deep enough.

Found an online tool to help me create a plan view. Measurements came from google maps so almost to scale.

1. Big round green's - Live Oaks & one Hackberry(next to left bay window)
2. Small pink round's - Crepe Myrtle's - small, exist in shade
3. Small dark green round(center of pic) - Some conifer, exists in shade

Hopefully this provides a good representation to get me some feedback. Our big concern is in choosing plants. I'm laying out the general plan below

Proposed plan (Zone 7)

1. Bed in front of bay window, extended out to about 6-7'
2. Bed alongside front walkway - removed(liked your suggestion)
3. Bed on far right side - existing, will be cleaned up for new plantings
4. Hackberry tree - removed next spring, no replacements expected
5. Crepe Myrtle's & that small conifer tree - will be removed immediately

Plants in from of bay window - Gets about 6-7 hrs sun

1. Outermost row - short perennials, 1-2' - summer color
2. Center row - 2-3' high evergreen shrubs
3. Last row - Taller perennials - 3-4' max - summer color
4. Left of front doors, 3 planters of varying heights to dress up the empty spot

Plants alongside entire remaining length of house (left is shaded, right gets 6-7 hrs sun)

1. 2-3' high evergreen shrubs for sun/shade

Bed on far right(full sun) - Perennials with shrubs to provide green during off season

Other side of circular drive(heavily shaded) - groundcover

Thx for your time.

The plan view will be helpful. I will give you some marked up feedback when I get back home and get to my regular computer.

How feasible is it to grow grass below the oak trees that are left of walk?

Thx Yardvaark for helping out. Between the left of the walk & upto the tree, I've had success with Tall Fescue. Left of the tree till the end, it's patchy with fescue & weeds. It seems like a tough spot to grow grass, plus we don't have an automated sprinkler for the lawn. For new plantings in the bed I have laid down automated drip lines which can be expanded till the end.

For that treed area, I think you will need to change to low groundcover instead of lawn. It doesn't work to fight against existing conditions. Either they must change or one must accept them and plant accordingly.

I quite like your concept for the borders in front of bow windows, though I would be looking for plants for the outer edge with presence through the winter...perhaps a flowering groundcover with contrasting texture. As the boxwood/whatever shrubs grow you may either have to prune hard or run out of enough depth for the tall perennials behind, but perhaps it is your intention that these are fillers for while the slower-growing shrubs fill in?

Shop end of season sales for a couple big & structurally strong pots or urns for either side of entrance...something taller than wide in columnar or vase or urn shape. Or, if you like them, I can envision punctuation mark evergreens in big pots of more common boxy shape. See whether others agree that the light fixtures flanking the entrance are too small.

Your actual photos show a nice open curve as the walk reaches the entry, which I prefer to the line shown in your plot plan. It is not necessary to echo the outward line of the bay windows in these shrub/flower borders; I would prefer the border/grass edge be straight & parallel to the house ending in that nice curve on either side of the entrance.

Similarly, I would prefer a simple straight line in the upper right corner, without that jig/jag of grass shown in the plot plan. I think that whole corner best be plain mass of a single mostly neutral shrub, probably deciduous, or a single shrub over a simple blanketing groundcover. (I use a low cranesbill for this purpose so I get flat reddish foliage all winter.)

Did I mention how well your widened-walk works? Looks good! Sam

samarnn - Thx for your vote of confidence on parts of the plan. The bed in front of the bay windows will be about 6-7' deep, I think enough for 3 rows of appropriately spreading plants. My thought here is to start perennials as fillers but do maintain them after the shrubs mature. And say once the perennials start looking bad & I've also lost my enthusiasm, I can remove them & it'll still look fine with the shrubs in place. And if I still enjoy gardening it as much as I am right now, then it'll be maintained as the plan.

The pots, damn they're expensive, so end of season sale it is for sure

For the upper right corner, you've got me thinking now. A straight edge will make mowing a lot easier. That bed is currently about 5' wide so it'll definitely need something more than shrubs. I'm thinking groundcover or low mounding perennials in front, followed by shrubs(cranesbill is nice), followed by perennials - I'm starting to see a pattern in my thinking, lol

Btw, we never noticed the curve leading to the entry, thx for pointing that out. And yes, that widened walk, we are likening the idea too.

Sometimes you can find those pots in yard sales or community garage sales or hand me down places. I have seen them at a local church's yearly flea market sale.

Trying to make progress even though I'm using a temporary (for me) drawing program. My sketch is incomplete. We don't have a good idea of what the left or right front of the house looks due to being absent in the pictures or covered in shrubbery. Nevertheless this can cover some of the basic points. Sorry if I'm repeating myself or something someone else has already said but I don't want to re-read all.

I would not bring planting bed alongside the walk toward the driveway. doing so will make the walk seem much smaller when in fact it would be better if it was wider. Too, it will add to maintenance and it will not look as good as if you had nicely edged turf there. A truth about turf is that it will not grow in too much shade. It's time to divide out those areas from the lawn where it won't grow and turn them into groundcover.

I disagree with your idea of planting so many things -- 3 stripes of plants -- in front of the foundation. There simply isn't room and this busy scheme will not look near as good as a single plant in front of a given part of the foundation. Color fits flanking the entrance. A low evergreen shrub or groundcover could surround the bay windows and shrubs or low plantings could be farther away (this is the area we don't yet know.)

We don't know what the condition of the lawn at the left side of front yard is either. If a tree is far enough away from the others and limbed up high enough that sufficient light gets below it, it's possible to grow grass. If otherwise, then it's not and that area should be sectioned for groundcover.

A small (12'-15') multi-trunk tree (made of a large shrub) could be off the right corner of house.