With spring here I want to get our recently purchased foreclosure's front yard in decent shape. I will be the first to admit I lack the decorator/designer gene and have a brown thumb, I accidently kill most plants. My front yard is 20'x20' with another 5'x20' strip we share with a neighbor and faces South/East with full sun. Just on the edge of our property line is a large Maple tree that belongs to our neighbor. Our budget for landscaping & fixing the yard is $1000. We also have a few imperfections we need to camouflage the main one being the front windows are not even with a 2' height difference. The house is about 22' tall at the peak and the windows are abt 6' from the ground. The windows are to a bedroom and bathroom, so privacy is another issue since we are located on a busy street. Luckily I have many friends and family members with numerous hosta varieties that I can get free, so hostas will be incorporated somehow. Also, our neighbor uses the 5'x20' strip to plow snow onto during the winter, so whatever we plant there needs to be resilient. Here is a picture of the house as it is and some links to designs I thought up. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y3meO_g8Exk/T2q4jf1Z1oI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Dr4f9eZXK3c/s1600/house+landscaping+crub+apple+tree+copy.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JOnnvkIHvgc/T2q4im5-tbI/AAAAAAAAAQo/oXdir6pe0qs/s1600/house+landscaping+awnings+2.jpg http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CCFa-O6-_-0/T2q4hA1ARKI/AAAAAAAAAQg/5HFWmx-pjwo/s1600/house+landscaping+5+shrunk+copy.jpg Image link:

Yeah, the old bushes were a little too high. We were thinking some boxwoods to go with some hydrangeas? Something with some color to hopefully pop against the darker porch and dark mulch. The original space in front of the porch was pretty deep. I'm guessing almost 5'. Does it need to be that deep? Also, when I add the mulched area around the sidewalk, how deep should that be? I was thinking 1.5'? Is that enough room to add a few small bushes?

I agree to remove the large shrubs that are too near the window. The small tree/shrub in left front yard, would probably look better if thinned out and create a small mulched area around it. If you are going to put flowers or ground cover around said shrub, then make it large enough, not a little tiny ring around it. As for the shrubs in front of the right hand window, I personally don't like what some refer to as "meatballs" for landscaping. You either have to keep them trimmed or let them go natural, which is my personal preference. Still you want them to be below the window. I like the idea of a patio or larger landing at the front entrance. Not sure exactly what would work or be in the budget. Congrats on new home!

"Any idea on how to make the front garden more presentable?" Just because an object is pretty, in and of itself, it's not necessarily the case that a collection of pretty objects set randomly about will create a pretty scene. In landscaping, one's goal is to bring a complete scene together. Here, I think your yard looks like it it filled with junk ... in spite of the fact that Hosta are pretty plants. The sharply pointed wedge bed (flanking the walk) that points at the viewer is patently unfriendly and hostile looking. I'd get rid of the bed (completely) and place the good plants in better places and in better arrangements. It's not easy now to say where as the photo is very unclear about the spaces at the far right and left side. If you could rake the leaf camouflage away and take a sharp, clear picture in better light, it would help. There need to be some indicators in the photo as to where the lot lines are located. Your yard would look MUCH better if you just had decent grass instead of the bad bed and bad grass. It's likely that there is not enough light to grow good grass (maybe at all) so, first,analyze the light conditions to determine where it's possible to grow decent grass. Where it's not possible, your only other choices are mulch, paving or groundcover. It looks like English Ivy growing at the left of the drive. This could end up being your "friend." Keep it sharply edged (mechanically) at the drive. Keep it edged (mechanically or chemically) at the ground along the base of the house. Don't "edge" it on the house itself. You can let it grow on the base of the tree, but don't let it escape up into the tree. Trim it around the trunk at a uniform height a couple times a year.