Glad you enjoyed the link. Yes, it will definitely need to be scaled down, but the pictures give you a sense of what types of plantings you'll need. To widen your sidewalk... Imagine you are standing in the driveway looking at the sidewalk. Now, step 4 feet to the right and mark a point. From that point at the edge of the drive, connect it to the corner of the sidewalk (patio). It should make a triangle. Now, just make a little curve to the line, either in or out, whatever you like, pave it in the same stone as your other area, and now you have an "entry court" instead of just a sidewalk. I'm imagining the entire paved area as one big space. You could even move some of the shrubs from in front of the windows to enclose your little courtyard, or an outline of lavender would look really great too. Then you could plant some creeping fig on the garage wall behind the bench and put up a little wall fountain which will eventually be surrounded by the plants. Or put 3-5 big pots with Italian cypress or other tall narrow shrub along the wall. Certainly save the crepe myrtle, It would look fine on the L of the drive. The other thing to think of is what you are going to be using your front yard for, if anything? Do you need the grass for play, do you want a strolling garden? You mentioned a nice entry and some privacy, is the side road busy? Do you need a big hedge on that side, or just something to add interest and make the house seem less exposed? ANother thought- put an oversized lantern on either side of your garage (mediterranean style, of course!)

"This front is just a mess." That is your first impression. I suggest you live with it for a few months before doing anything. Surely you will change it, but you don't yet know what it's like to live with the existing garden. The experience of it may shift your understanding slightly. mad_gallica said "you have Sun Ra but you want Bach" -- maybe. But maybe you don't know what you have or what you want. Give it time to sink in. What's the rush. No film crew coming, is there? There are philosophies that result in what someone has carefully planned and built in what is now your front garden. It may not be your philosophy, and that's fine, but just "try it on" and spend some time in those "clothes." Then you will come to know not only what you don't want, but you will know WHY and you may even know what you DO want, and why. I don't see it as a maze, but someone in a big hurry undoubtedly sees it that way. In some gardens, indirect paths or spirals are made for meditation or for giving the inhabitant a few extra seconds in the day to smell the roses, or in other words, to appreciate the peaceful feeling a walk through greenery can bring. With combined families, whose garden is it, anyway? ;) Last comment -- when entering the house, you may find you never use the front door, but enter through the garage. If you entertain a lot, a meditation front garden may not be quite the thing. But don't be too hasty. Live with it for a time.

These pictures are acceptable, but since you have a large property and may take more photos later, one tip I'd offer is to move in closer with the camera when you're tying mainly to work on the foundation planting zone. Then, swing the camera wider in the pivoting process. Then the near things (walks & such) would show up better. (NOT asking for you to take these pics over!) Truly, you need a master plan that works out the function of the whole property, showing how walks & paving are connected to any building. I think it is essential that you change the orientation of the steps at the main entrance, and have them spill out in a forward configuration. The way they are presently aimed toward the side kills any possibility of having landscaping in front of the left portion of the house. And having landscaping there is going to go a long way toward making an inviting presentation that will get visitors to thinking that this is where we enter. The forward facing steps will help with this, too. Additionally, it would be helpful to place an expansive landing at the base of the steps, not only to have as a convenient pedestrian access space, but also to reinforce the idea that this is the main entrance, differentiating it from any lesser walk that would lead to other portions of the house. I would not make other walks any narrower than 4', though wider would be OK. Having a groundcover island at the larger tree that is near the center of the house complex, would appear to pinch the space around the walk. This is an automatic signal that the main entrance is not likely to lie beyond. The entrance you come to first after parking will be the obvious main entrance. A very easy task that requires next to no skill is removing lower limbs from large trees with a pole saw. The result will be an instantly cleaner, tidier appearance. The trees will seem more elegant and the ceiling they form, more cathedral-like.

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