Well, to be blunt, I'm guessing that what you're suggesting will make the house look more generic, not less. That's mainly because you're talking about only foundation planting vs. anything else on the property, but also because there doesn't strike me as being anything unusual about the foundation planting you have in mind (not, by the way, that I know anything about foundation plantings in Kentucky; just guessing here). Not that there's really anything wrong with generic. It takes a lot less energy than "special" does. There isn't actually anything wrong with the plan you've proposed (except I don't like the central placement of the hydrangea, but that's minor). Mind you, I'm also not clear on whether, if this is not in fact a photo of your house, you have those little boxwoods or yews there, or whether the sum total of your proposed foundation planting is the plants you've mentioned. If the latter, then I do think you need some more substantial evergreen plants. Given the north? facing exposure, I'd think you're not going to get the greatest performance out of plants placed at the foundation in any case, plus I don't see that this house needs foundation planting necessarily. One of the neat things about its generic look is that it is exactly that - neat - and unless the garden has real substance, it's just going to look like distractions messing up the clean lines. Something about this scene makes me want to put rocks in it - I dunno whether big boulders or just a rock-edged bed - and I think I would want to garden further out in the yard, not just at the foundation. That's really just an opinion; I don't have any real reason for that except perhaps it reflects my taste in gardening. Or maybe it's to balance the driveway. For the planting question, if by "weed mat" you mean landscaping fabric, I would pull it up. If it's something biodegradable that will break down in time, then I would leave it. Finally, is that a light on the opposite side of the mailbox? What a great idea! KarinL

Canockie, this is just a quick basic diagram with the outline of an idea. The darker tree is the proposed blue spruce, and the others are intended to be deciduous, flowering or not, which would cool in summer, and let sun through in winter. Specific identity is best determined locally, but along the sides they should be something that grows fairly tall and narrow. Your HOA seems like it might not be too big an obstacle, at least to keeping your house cool. So the basic bones of your plan would be about shade, pathways, and sightlines. Since I can't help you with either the left side or with sightlines from various points on the property, you could start by imagining trees where I've sketched them, and move (or remove them) around to work in real life. It can help to stick a garden tool in the ground at the point you might put a tree, and imagine how that will look from the door, from the window, as you drive home, etc. I've not put a tree very close to the house, but there is clearly an option to put another one closer for faster, more significant shade. That has to be balanced off by whether you want to live in a little forest :-) I put the front yard trees more so they would shade the yard, which will give you some sheltered area for other plants, since side yard trees will do morning and afternoon cooling. The blueberries might be happier in the back, but if you want them in the front, the shelter of the trees should work (but just remember I write from the rainforest! so I don't know for sure). This will leave you exposed to afternoon sun, which could be mitigated with one more tree right were your curb tree now is or across the sidewalk from it. That will block the door a fair bit, so is a matter of taste. Tree placement being decision 1, decision 2 is how you move around the property. Are there gates through to either side yard? If so, pathways can be put in - two options are dotted in. Many people find it easier to place beds for flowering plants with reference to pathways - I do, because I like to plant things that have up-close interest and then I enjoy walking over to see them. How do you get the mower from front to back yard? And then decision 3 is what you want to see/be seen, or have blocked from different points of view. These bones are important to get right - and "right" is not something anyone but you can determine. Of course even trees can always be moved or replaced, but it's nice if they don't have to. Placement of flower beds and flowering plants is easy to work around your trees once the tree locations are chosen. Beds can be around tree bases, or completely separate from them - sun-loving plants to the sunny side, less tolerant ones on the shadier side. I hope this gives you something to start doodling with and imagining in 3d. Karin L

Do you plan to stay in this home for many years? If so, my advice to you is to start with the big stuff. A tree can take decades to fully mature, so it's best to think about them first and worry about the smaller stuff later. Nothing gives a yard appeal and character like beautiful mature trees in my opinion. You certainly have room to add some smaller trees if you wish. I would think about understory trees such as dogwood or japanese maple for the shady area and various conifers for the sunny slope. Your flower beds don't look overgrown to me. They may need some weeding, but there's a lot of nice stuff there. Take the time to figure out what you've already got before adding stuff. The really tall plants in the round bed look goofy, though. I'd find a place at the back of a bed to move those, assuming they aren't weeds.

I think that solving the main problems is going to boil down to two things: the walk; and the making the entrance visible. The walk should definitely be wider - 5' could be a goal, maybe wider near the stoop - and then it should make a better connection with the drive. I don't think this means to necessarily cut across the lawn with it. Given that the yard is small, you could widen the drive a bit with whatever the walk material is, continue on by widening the city sidewalk with the same material, and then turn the corner with the walk, heading to the entrance ... in effect bordering the yard with a "U"-shape "invitation" that extends from the drive to the entrance. (The portions adjacent drive and city walk would not be the same width as the main walk to the entrance. They would be like decorative borders.) When it comes to the portion of walk that heads toward the entrance, I think it would be beneficial to pull it away from the neighbor's drive and incorporate and "S"-curve into it. That way, room for a SMALL tree could be created between the walk and neighbor's drive. It would also have the benefit of making it look like it belongs to your property without any question. Note how entrances are typically clearly marked by some type of enlarged, often raised, paved area, and a roofed covering that offers shelter from the elements. I think you need to create such a structure over the walk, in the front yard, near to the house. It would be the obvious first "entrance" that people reach when approaching the house. But after they've reached it there would be no question about where they would continue to in order to reach the actual house entrance. The structure could be a very nice arbor, or it could be more architectural in nature (such as with brick columns and an actual roof.) BTW, I don't think there's the first thing wrong with your yellow brick. Maybe you're bored of it and that is the driving force behind staining it. But I think it would be a mistake, or highly inefficient at the least, to attempt to change it to another color. If the brick was flat out ugly I'd be all for it. But it's not. You might end up creating, after spending a lot of money and effort, something that is not near as nice. If you could replace the top panel of the garage door with one that has windows all the way across, that would resolve the boring quality of the existing door. There seem to be two main approaches to planting: smother the house with hedges; and smother the house with a variety of all kinds of plants strewn in a randomish fashion. You might consider "matching" shrubs to windows (like steps would be "matched" to a door) as the main shrubs of the landscape scheme. Perennials and annuals can be fit around them in some artistic scheme, keeping it simple preferably. I would plan on keeping shrubs below the window sill height. I would hunt for a spot for another small tree at the right side of the house. (We can't see that area.)