Thanks for all of the replies. I am so sorry about the pictures, yardvaark, I have taken three more pictures - hopefully they will be more helpful. There are two large bushes by the road that obscure the view of the house. The bed to the left of the front door is empty except for a few bulbs. Hope this helps!

I think that some of the suggestions wouldn't be an improvement and suggest that you think about whether those changes will enhance the home's appearance and period details. The dark stripes of the shutters add interest to the facade from a distance and I don't think I would change them unless you are going to add similar wide dark trim. The glass brick are appropriate to the architecture and were common in that time period, so unless you want that to be a window that you can look out, don't change them. Similarly, the wrought iron porch supports are typical to the time period, so unless they really bother you keep them. On the other hand, I don't like the jalousie windows and consider them to be more common on beach houses and back porches, not on windows to the main house, so I would switch them out. The low wall doesn't bother me since it is so low, but if you don't like it, I don't think removing it would be an issue as long as doing so won't damage the porch or house. I think replacing the door with one more in keeping with the house's architecture would be nice, and painting it something that contrasts with the masonry while still coordinated with the house would look good, so rich deep brown or black, or a shade like the brightest brown in the masonry, or even some shade of orange. The main issue to get an appealing entry is the plantings and walkway, both of which are currently narrow and cramped feeling. So I would move the walkway to a minimum of 5' from the garage so that you have room for a row of small shrubs underplanted with groundcover and a few bright flowers near the drive and where the walk turns toward the house. The walk should be at least 5' wide so visitors don't have to approach single file, and 6' would be better. You have a lot of different masonry surfaces going on already, so I would choose concrete to match the porch surface. I like the simple squared off shape of the walk and how it relates to the building, so I wouldn't change the shape or add curves. The current plantings seem rather random with regard to the architecture, so placement when you add plants will be important. Don't put plants that want to grow tall in front of windows, and center plantings with regard to architectural details instead of the current placement of being half in front of windows and masonry details. You don't say where you are in zone 6, and soil pH, texture, and moisture are different in Cleveland vs. New England vs. Oklahoma, so at this point it is difficult to make specific plant suggestions. You will want some evergreens for the backbone of the garden to provide year round interest. If your soil is acid and has reasonable drainage, look st some of the smaller and more densely growing members of the Heath family such as smaller Pieris or mountain laurel/Kalmia, heath/Erica, Heather/Calluna, or some of the smaller Rhododendrons. The Rhododendrons and Kalmia will tolerate a good amount of shade but the heaths and heathers like full sun. Other evergreens to consider with varying tolerance for shade include: Yew/Taxis which is your current plant, but has other shapes and sizes available and has the advantage of being very shade tolerant Junipers range from groundcovers to large trees and different cultivars have varying foliage colors, but like a good amount of sun Chamaecyparis has quite a range of foliage color and texture as well as plant size, depending on species and cultivar. Doesn't like all day shade, but tolerates a range of pH.

Yes. I've saved all the suggestion pictures. My husband and I are going to sit down and try to draw out what we are thinking for the landscaping (location, colors, etc). I'd like to lay it out so that it's ready for the addition of the walkway. We aren't going to be able to replace the front door at the moment. Is paint a terrible idea for a short-term upgrade? If paint is an option, what are your thoughts on paint color for the door? And the shutters....I'm not 100% sold on removing them (we are in south Ga so the shutters keep the southern feel). If we keep shutters, do you have a suggestion on color? I want the front of the house to really pop.

Kelli, this is my amateur opinion and drawing. The roof, the siding and the fascia/rain gutter are all about the same color. The fascia would be better in white. I used black because I couldn't make the white work. The tree near the street is ready to be trimmed up. I think the bed in front looks shallow and the shrubs seem planted too close to the house. I would deepen that bed. I do not care for the extended part of the bed because it blocks the view of the entrance. I would reuse those plants and rework the entrance a bit. I might plant a large shrub in front of the second part of the driveway. People should notice the house more than the driveway and this would hide a bit of it. It is a very attractive house and I would love a three car garage.