Hi guys, Thank you for the quick responses. I think I need to clarify a bit. The garden bed as it stands right now has been this way for a year and was the result of us digging out/getting rid of most of it and transplanting a few items. Upon going into our local nursery about a year ago, a young gentlemen advised us on a couple other things we could get so that's how we got the azaleas (three) and astilbe and camelia. Today (a year or so later), it still looks really incomplete. So my questions specifically are: 1. Should I go back to the nursery with my updated pictures to ask what else is missing or do I just have to wait for all the things to bloom and mature? Is it an 'acceptable' state as it is? 2. Could you name a couple of low maintenance things that we could easily add by ourselves? 3. It's the heat of Summer, is now even the right time to do this sort of thing or should I hold off until a better time (and if so, when?) Thanks so much in advance.

What a cute house, and you've got a blank slate to work with ... so much fun! You've given your location, which is great, but we need to know the orientation of the building - does it face north, south, east, west, or somewhere in between? - and the amount of sun this area receives. Also, what are the soil conditions - is it a heavy clay soil (which, yay!, is rich in nutrients, but unfortunately does not drain well) or a sandy soil (which drains very well, sometimes too well, and, alas, is usually rather poor in nutrients) ... or do you have that gardener's dream: a rich, sandy loam. If you need help with the soil type, your cooperative extension will be able to help if you take a small sample. They'll also do a free pH test for you while you wait, give you the results, and any recommendations for adjusting it if necessary. There is a nice selection of plants for any combination of the conditions above, but, as the book title says, "Right plant, right place", for success. Looking forward to hearing back with more info. I'm sure others will be happy to chime in with suggestions!

Inspired by @kitasei2 's comment, maybe I'll plant something short and purple in color in front of the stone foundation. I'm also thinking extending the flowerbed south of the sidewalk. That will give me another 16-18 feet and should be able to put in three or four more Bobos. In the next picture, I put down the white hose to line out the idea and added a few images. Behind the bobos, I'm thinking of putting a few earth angels or two earth angels and one or two Olivia Austin. It still seems to need a punctuation somewhere. Maybe a Tiffany blue tall planter by the corner of front porch and front steps. The all-wood siding panel and railing seems a little dark and need to brighten up somehow. Any suggestions? This is the view when we walk up to the front door. As you can see, we are in a woodland setting and there is lots of green in the summer but not much color. In the far background, I plan to plant a row of blue Endless summer by an old lilac bush. We rebuilt a water feature and I've got ideas about the plants I want for a Japanese-inspired water feature garden there. It's the front yard that I'm stressing out a little. I can't decide whether I should move the bottom two Bobos closer to the path or just plant something there (iris, or lilic tree, or snapdragon). Can't decide what to do with the slope on the right either... I'm still trying to figure out my garden style and the landscaping that fits the house architecture. It is helpful just to allow me to think aloud with you guys here. Any ideas about general landscaping or plant choices are welcome! Sorry these two pictures seem to be small still. But when we put the mouse cursor on the image, there's a plus sign and hit that would enlarge the image. Sorry for my technical clumsiness. If you can't see these two images, please simply look at the three large ones in the original post and share what you'd do! Thanks!

I wasn't clear in my original post - I may need to start again. We have a variety of fruit trees and bushes, berries and a large vegetable garden in the back. I'm not anti garden maintenance - I just tend to neglect the front yard because it never seems to look good no matter what I do (and I tend to prioritize puttering in the back with all the food producing stuff. We have run out of back yard space for fruit trees and at the same time I would like to add some taller trees/bushes at the front of our yard to create a bit of privacy as we are replacing some mirrored windows at the front and everyone walking by will have a full view into our front room. I was thinking if we had a nice looking garden along the road that we could then squeeze in a few more fruit trees in the front yard - but I would also like the yard to look nice. I am horrible with design and I'm hoping to get some ideas for a garden area with some height along the front of the yard, as well as some opinions on if I can get away with adding fruit trees along the driveway, walkway and front of the house (right side), or if this would just look strange. I'm not married to the look of the photo I posted above, I just want something that would look nice and create a bit of privacy.