Aah, PEI - God's country. Hydrangea and lupine heaven :) As you are a novice gardener with budget concerns, I would suggest, as others have done, is to address the traffic flow problems first. You've already indicated that you are unhappy with the approach ie the driveway, and the confusion about the main entry door. My inclination would be to make the one acre property more manageable for you by "zoning" it. I would first enclose the home and the new gardens within a low white rail fence and mixed shrub border, in whatever perimeter wouldn't be overwhelming - maybe 1/3 of your land? That would leave the back for you to sow to meadow or wildflowers as you prefer later. The front third would be dedicated to vehicular needs and setting the stage. Your southern view of the wetlands across the way is probably quite beautiful. The driveway as it now lies in front, while practical for ease of access to the house and for snow removal, will likely detract from that somewhat. However, if you are not going to be adding a side garage in the future, you could just leave it where it is and improve the appearance. Think of a traditional Island approach. Fresh gravel isn't costly and is practical in your situation. Don't bother with edging in a snow-country setting. Run the drive from the roadway up to within 10 feet of the perimeter fence in a "T" shape - that way, you can create a defined turn-around area for vehicles or for extra parking. The facing fence, with an arboured opening or gate centered on your newly positioned front steps and door, can be softened with a small perennial bed in the front of it as well as behind. Line the driveway edges with spaced heritage-type trees on either side. Ash trees are fairly fast growing but also ask at the local nurseries for their recommendations. On the house, I too would reconfigure the steps to lead up to the actual front door. Periwinkle blue is a really nice colour choice, especially if you echoed it in a trim around the white windows and ultimately with your flower choices. I wouldn't get too hung up about the asymmetry of the house. The plantings will distract from that... and whatever other cosmetic changes you may ultimately make. Fruit trees and flowering vines would be appropriate and lovely somewhere in the fenced yard. And while your home would benefit from some foundation planting, just be careful not to concentrate everything in a claustrophobic huddle too close to the house. Plant out to the fence line, spill over it and frame the views as you look out from your windows.

The use of doulbe-wythe exterior brick wall construction has not been common since the 40's due to cost and the introduction of thermal insulation. The modern equivalent is a single wythe of "brick veneer" (4" nominal brick) in front of a drainage cavity with a CMU "back-up" wall tied together with metal brick ties at 2 ft o.c. each way. That back-up wall can also be wood framing and sheathing. The back-up wall supports the structure of the building leaving the exterior brick veneer to move independently reducing stress damage. Whatever the back-up wall, this system is known as a "brick veneer cavity wall" in spite of what some manufacturers like to call their thin-brick adhered systems. A "Cinder Block" is a special kind of Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) made from the ash of burned coal and it is less resistant to moisture penetration than CMU made of stone aggregate so it should not be be used in exposed single-wythe exterior wall construction. Single-Wythe CMU Wall Construction Issues: (from a HUD study) Water Repellency. If concrete masonry is chosen as the exterior finish material, a water repellent should be used to effectively control water penetration. There are two general types of water repellents: surface treatments and integral water repellents. 1) Surface treatments. Surface treatment repellents are applied to the weather-exposed side of the wall after the wall is constructed. Surface treatments can be categorized as appearance- altering treatments such as cementitious coatings (stucco) and colored paints, and clear surface treatments such as silicone or acrylic films. 2) Integral treatments. Integral treatments, or admixtures, are specified for the concrete masonry blocks and the mortar before the wall is constructed. The water repellent is incorporated into the concrete mix at the block manufacturing plant, and for mortar the admixture is added to the mix on the jobsite. The same admixture should be used in the mortar as was used in the block to ensure compatibility, bond, and performance. Insulation Strategies: Concrete masonry walls can be insulated on either the exterior or interior face of the block, or in the cores of the block. In addition, the thermal performance of masonry walls can take advantage of the thermal mass of the masonry, depending on many factors including the location of the insulating material in the wall assembly (thermal mass is discussed in the Energy Codes section of this document). The three options are discussed below. 1) Exterior insulation. Rigid board such as polystyrene or polyisocyanurate is typically used for exterior insulation and can be adhered or mechanically attached to the masonry. Because the insulation must be protected from weather and impact, this approach lends itself to either a cementitious coating or siding, and would not be used with architectural block. 2) Integral insulation. Under this approach, the cores of the hollow masonry units are filled with insulating material such as vermiculite, polystyrene inserts, or an expanding foam such as polyurethane. (The polystyrene inserts are either placed in the cores of conventional masonry units or are part of an integrated system used in proprietary blocks. The inserts may be installed in the masonry units at the jobsite or in the case of the proprietary blocks, installed at the manufacturing plant.) Depending on the shape of the insert, and the level of grouting and reinforcing in the masonry wall, the integral insulation strategy may reduce the cold bridges (breaks in the insulation) through the thermal envelope. This approach can be used with any of the exterior finish materials described above. 3) Interior insulation. Similar to exterior insulation, interior insulation is typically a rigid board product such as polystyrene or polyisocyanurate, and is adhered or mechanically fastened. To accommodate an interior finish (typically gypsum wallboard), studs, furring, specially-designed clips and metal channels can also be used. One example of the clip/channel approach involves a “kerfed-edge” insulation board which reduces the thermal bridging.

Footing drains by themselves are never enough. They must be installed in conjunction with various waterproofing/drainage membranes and systems. Most common are Delta-type products. See video. Delta MS membrane installation Alternatives include spray applied and stick-on products used in conjunction with membrane and drainboard systems. As the biggest cost (and aggro) is exposing the foundation, why the so-called waterproofers you have contacted don't want to bother with anything else boggles the mind. BTW, the building code in my jurisdiction requires footing drains on all new homes; as a matter of practice, foundation waterproofing has been standard for decades as all builders are held to a strict water penetration warranty and the barrier is cheap insurance. For one of the most detailed new systems I've seen, see Matt Risenger video.

Please look into Permaculture / food forests or forest gardening. Plants and trees can provide beauty and function, and the idea is that you plant things that are perennial and will give you food. You could plant some evergreens that will give you pine nuts, some paw paw trees, persimmon trees and understory ones like Asian pears, serviceberries, figs and hazelnuts; bushes could be Cornelian cherries or bush cherries, blueberries or honey berries, currants; the list is endless. Even asparagus can be used, and it will resemble tall grasses. You could have rhubarb for their amazing color and leaf size, and strawberries as a ground cover...you could have a large pergola or arbor with kiwi or grapes...all of these plants are beautiful, many provide seasonal color and fragrance along with delicious fruit. I started a food forest last year, and along with what I had planted, I have well over 30 kinds of fruit that I'm growing and I plan to add more. I will have fresh fruit from May through November / December. I live in a zone 4-5 climate in Vermont. Watch a few videos by "Canadian Permaculture Legacy" to get the idea. It does not have to look like an orchard or vegetable garden, but instead, an integrated and verdant oasis of interesting plant shapes, heights and colors intermingled . Personally, I love raspberries, but I won't grow them because I don't want to deal with the canes which get unruly and are kind of labor intensive. All of my choices are tidy and low-maintenance. Right next to the sidewalk, for example, I have planted a 120' hedge of Regent serviceberries which will serve a number of purposes: all of the leaves from the neighborhood won't end up in my front yard, it will offer privacy in the summer but still be of a friendly height, it will feed the birds, act as a sound buffer for the constant traffic and will help with the dirt and dust that gets in the house from the highway. The hedge will explode in blossom in the spring; it will offer tons of food for me and it will offer fall color. Plants should provide more than a single purpose! With your upstairs windows, I was wondering if you could replace the existing ones with somewhat bigger/taller windows and add a second and third one on the left and right windows to help align with the downstairs and to let in more light.