What a nice space for a garden. I like the rock wall. What kind of light does this area get? Dappled sun and shade all year like in the photo, or either more sun or more shade during the growing season? What is your soil like? I find it difficult to tell how large the area is, so a ballpark estimate would help to tell what there is space for. I'd start with removing any non-garden plants growing here and then mulch (cardboard with cut-outs for the hosta with an organic mulch like chopped leaves or wood chips on top) and weed a lot the first year so that when you add plants your weeding and maintenance will be minimal. Since this area will be visible as folks go in and out of the door, having plants with year-round interest and/or some ornament such as sculpture or a birdbath will be important in making this area appealing. I think I would try to plant mostly lower growing items in the front part of the garden, or at least airy plants so that the stone wall is a visible feature. If some of these are evergreen/gold/red, they will provide interest in the winter. In the upper part behind the stone wall, if there is room I'd add background plants with year round interest such as a colored foliage evergreen, and /or variegated red-twigged dogwood, ones that would stand out well against the light walls. With any woody plants, check the ultimate size and be sure you have room to paint or do maintenance behind it if it isn't a plant like the dogwoods which don't mind being cut to the ground. If there is enough light, a pretty trellis with a clematis that gets cut back in the winter (type 3 pruning) would feature the clematis in the growing season and the trellis in the winter. I would probably put a row of low-growing or easily pruned evergreens such as one of the smaller boxwood varieties under the window to provide winter interest and then plant the rest of the area with perennials to give you more interest in the growing season. Particularly in a smaller garden such as this that is in such a prominent place, thinking about varying the foliage color and texture (as you are doing in thinking about adding coral bells) will help add interest to the garden when there aren't many blooms. In addition to the library as a resource, Pennsylvania has public gardens that might give you inspiration, both for plants and for design. Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania public gardens

In the revised list of benefits-desired, I don't see anything about the front yard being a play area. There is a bench under the tree but nothing about the front yard being an area for sitting. As per wanting a path to connect the city walk to the front porch, I see this gian path that is also a driveway. The house is not set far back. Will this not work as the path? Is it blocked by cars such that the path is rendered null? The flagstone could make a path and it looks like someone tried to use it to widen the driveway. But it's not going to make a good path unless it is installed properly. If not on a proper base and mortared in, it will be difficult to use and maintain. Yet, if someone would install it correctly, it looks like it would be capable of taking care of any pedestrian path needs that you have. If it won't be installed properly, it would be better to get rid of it as it would be just more things in the way. Speaking of "in-the-way," that is the number one impediment to maintenance that I see. The yard is full of stuff sitting around, so mowing would be a huge chore of moving things out of the way and then moving them back again, or to somewhere else. Even the lower limbs of the tree are in the way of yard maintenance, The lowest ones should be removed in lieu of new ones growing from a higher up position. Good point made by saccharum that wildflowers are not going to add lower maintenance for this type of actively used setting. It would be better to have any recreational digging done in the backyard as it directly conflicts with your goal of wanting better appearance for the front yard. It's going to boil down to one or the other but not both coincidentally. The thing to get started on first is making a decision about the flagstone. Will it be used or won't it. If not, dispose of it or find another use for it. Then decide about the other things in the yard and if they can be used elsewhere or if they should be gotten rid of. Give us a picture that shows the transition between front yard and right side yard ... where a path would start and where it would go.

Maybe growing up in the Deep South changes my perception of "heat," but I just have real doubts that a concrete sidewalk would generate that kind of heat. Asphalt bakes like the sun, and I'm sure there is grass growing next to asphalt around you. Concrete is cooler. And, Connecticut certainly is cooler! I agree with above that you need to look for something else besides concrete that is causing the problem. Nevermore makes a great suggestion--soil by the sidewalk could actually be very shallow. The dog pee point is also realistic.

It looks to me like you could stand to have the driveway widened a little, creating better access to the front entrance and getting rid of the patio pavers in gravel. Whether it's a simple widening or a drive re-do, it your choice. The former would work as an interim solution. It would be good to reconfigure the walk to the stoop to make it more useful and attractive. It could be standalone or part of a drive widening project. The logical place to create seating for impromptu gatherings is under the overhang at the right of the stoop. Because of the overhang, it's not a good area for growing foundation plants. If you park or drive at left of driveway, it looks like you may need to extend the driveway with a permanent driveway material. That would solve the packed mud problem. In general, you need a landscape plan for the front yard that includes both hardscape and planting. The speed with which you implement it, and whether it was in pieces or in total, would be up to you. As far as giving you specific solutions, the pictures are too small, fuzzy, dark & partial.