Thanks again everyone... I have done a scale drawing of the front yard and mapped the existing plantings. I'm definitely a planner. I actually did a scale drawing of the front yard, driveway and house (bird's eye view) and then did a larger scale drawing of the existing front bed. It doesn't look like much and is a little hard to see in this scanned image, but I put a good bit of time into it. I spent a lot of time with my tape measure, pencil and eraser! 1 square = 5 ft I have read (cover to cover)the Southern Living Landscape Book, Southeast Home Landscaping from the Creative Homeowner Series and The Complete Idiots Guide to Landscaping (did I just admit that?). I have the Better Homes and Gardens Landscape and Deck Designer software, but it is not user friendly enough for me and I have all but given up on that. Pencil and paper seem to be quicker and easier for me to work with. I also played around with the standard Windows paint program and the photo of the house from the curb. I wanted to get an idea of how the symmetrical beds would sort of look. Here is what I came up with I know I need different heights, etc. in the beds. I think the symmetrically placed beds make a big difference. Thanks again for pointing that out. I know it seems obvious, but when you've been living with something for a while it can be tough to see the obvious. I will try your "3x3 block here, low and spreading here" approach. Maybe that is my hang-up. I keep trying to figure out what plants should go where and I need to think first in terms of size, height, etc. The hostas and sedum we put in were ones that I bought last year in a moment of weakness and needed to get out of their pots. I think they'll look nice where they are for now and I told my husband that they are temporary in that location. We are definitely getting estimates on having the walk re-done. I think broad deep steps that curve farther out toward the driveway would be nice and I had already thought that incorporating bricks would tie in nicely with the house. We need to have a new driveway installed, so that would probably be done at the same time. My husband and I already had the "hardscape comes first" discussion. I agree that it will make a significant difference. Not to mention the fact that I would prefer to plant once and not move things if I can avoid it. Have I mentioned the roots in our front yard? The 40 foot pine tree we removed had such a massive root system. I have talked to a designer in our area to get an idea of how she works and we also have a landscaper in the neighborhood that we will get estimates from on the walk and possibly the front yard layout. I wanted to try to do it myself first. If I don't feel confident enough with whatever I come up with, we will hire the designer to draft a plan that we can implement over time. Gottagarden, I linked that retaining retaining in my favorites the other day after seeing it on another post. I saw several walls on that site that I like. My husband and I have been talking about doing exactly what you say. The expense of that would be the only drawback for us. The drawing I did in Paint doesn't show it well, but that is what I had in mind when I did that drawing. Thanks again everyone. I really value your input.

Hi I wanted to give an update since this post. We have been working exceptionally hard on curb appeal. The font has been repainted including the bottom trim with sculpted clay by Behr. New facia and eavestrough were installed. The beds have been dug and mulched. My health has allowed me to keep on top of the weeding this year. We have had so much rain that some plants are struggling while others love it. We edged and sealed the driveway (edged since this photo) we decided not to change the front porch but power washed it and left the fence off. The white lampposts are still there but they have hanging baskets and the single post has been straightened. I have two questions: 1. We never discussed the outbuilding. Today I gave it a little makeover but would like to hear your ideas for it and landscaping around it. 2. We have water running down the hill behind the carport and pooling at the back. What is the best way to direct water around the carport and to the driveway or beside the drive to the road?

Great advice already, I just wanted to give support as a fellow renter (regarding landscaping). We sold our house and decided to rent for a while ... I went from having a yard that won awards to having a yard with not one plant. No way could I live that way! We’ve been here two years now and it looks really nice. Neighbors compliment us all the time. The biggest challenge has been: How much do we spend on a house we don’t own? I think we found a good balance for us. We definitely heard lots of, “WHY are you spending time and money on someone else’s house?!” Well, right now it’s our house and we’ve enjoyed every dime spent. :) We’re well aware we won’t get it back financially, but the investment has still been worth it for us, because we love landscaping and have a passion for it. I totally understand not everyone feels that way. I did things a bit different than if this was our “forever” home. I keep future renters in mind, so have planted with more drought-tolerant plantings, small to mid-size shrubs (so that nothing can get overgrown with lack of care), smaller beds, easy care perennials, native ornamental grasses, ground covers. I’ve used bird baths, yard art, etc, to fill in some areas. I do annuals in pots and hanging baskets, rather than in beds. We found free rock to use as edging and boulder art (check your local trade pages online and/or ask around for plants, hardscape, anything). It’s tough for me to not go overboard, to not to do exactly what I want .... it’s been a lesson in restraint. But very rewarding! Our house looks loved. And you have more to start with than we did, it’s really going to look nice! Enjoy! (PS: We aren’t in an HOA, great advice from Denita about checking on that.) ETA: Just noticed your hell strip. IF you can plant there (and even want to!), I wanted to share how we did ours here — one side is quite long, so I just dug up a bed around 4-5 ft long on each side of the driveway. I planted a few drought tolerant perennials around Mexican Feather grass in the center of each one. I used stone as border in between the beds and grass. We have lots of dog walkers and they always express appreciation at what we’ve planted. :) This was in spring, by summer they’ve filled in completely. I broke this side up with a stepping stone/rock and Asian Jasmine. This was the smaller strip that meets the neighbor’s, you see we left grass on the other side. Even doing just a small section at least breaks up all the boring grass (and uses less irrigation). It’s made a big difference in curb appeal. Literally. :D

"redesign the landscape" Is this a wish, a request or a demand?? Whatever it is, there is not enough information provided to even hazard a suggestion.