I see absolutely no reason to remove the wall. It may not have a specific purpose but it does provide a point of interest (even a focal point) and adds some character. I would consider removing some of the foundation shrubs. They are planted too closely (requiring frequent pruning to keep in size) and they look a bit regimented and soldier-like, marching across the front of the house. There is no reason for the two sides to match. That is a more appropriate approach if the house was symmetrical but it's not and attempting to have symmetrical plantings on either side will throw off the balance and make it look forced rather than natural. You do need color and in front of the wall is ideal space. You could plant with annuals or any suitably sized perennials. I'm not sure how low they have to be, as you have some room for height there.....just keep whatever you pick lower than the wall.

Check out this video by Rosalin Creasy, the queen of edible landscaping. She also has a Web site. Then follow any links from there. You'll find a lot of inspirational photos and resources online. Yaardvark's basic design can be followed, you just need to figure out edible plants with the shapes he has drawn that thrive in your zone. I'm not that up on edible weeping plants, but lots of big shrub-shaped edible fruits and there are also fruit trees that have a columnar shape (column shape) such as sentinel apple trees. Raspberries and blackberry tend to get droopy and weepy-ish shaped (fountain shaped). There are edible easy to maintain groundcovers too, like lingonberry, although they need acid soil to thrive so you may have to amend. I grew bearberry which also goes by the name kinnikinnick as a groundcover. It is not really "edible" so much as medicinal, where it goes by the name Uva ursi. Lots of herb ground covers like thyme and chamomile and some low growing mints. There's also wintergreen but that needs shade and can be fussy. Not too much in the way of edible evergreens although you can grow balsam or fraser fir in some zones and collect the needles for their scent and oil. With juniper you can harvest the berries and make gin. Some junipers are columnar. Some make good groundcover, a fairly common low maintenance option for small yards. Edited to add that you're going to have to be thoughtful about planting your front yard since most edible plants like sun or partial sun, and your sun is going to be filtered at best. Try not to plant things in the shade of other things, so watch where the shadows fall during a whole day at different times.

How much wider will the drive be? I am starting to frown upon artificial turf. It is expensive so many people in my area settle for a small patch the size of a through rug and then pour rocks all around it. I much prefer something like Doug has done above. One thing about Dougs design that is so nice is that I can see the path and it is not flanked by shrubs. It make the entrance more inviting.

"Should I just get the whole thing removed or just cut to allow an 8ft clearance?" Since it's likely to be a 'Bradford' or similar pear, as mentioned, there are some big drawbacks to it. On the other hand, it's already there. You could milk a little more use out of it by trimming it up. It needs that at a minimum. But then, figure on how to make the landscape work when it must be removed, which you can do any time you want to make the change, or when the tree splits in half and forces you to make it. BTW, removing lower limbs is not a difficult task in most cases. You can remove many while standing on a stepladder and using a folding hand pruning saw. (A 10" blade such as what Corona offers works best, cutting through most limbs like butter.) If you need to go higher, a cheap pole saw will work for most homeowners. Of all the landscape maintenance tasks, limbing up a tree is one of the most rewarding as the difference can be huge relative to the work required. Also BTW, when a tree is let go too far and lower limb removal is "catch up," the remaining canopy might have a somewhat abnormal shape. In time this disappears as remaining limbs grow. It's best to stay ahead of the curve.