Way to go! Nice house! Everybody will have their own opinions about what looks aesthetically pleasing... For me, I'd enjoy a row of spruces, the nearer the curb the better. Why not have your soil tested and have the utility companies come out spray paint your grass for stuff you'll need to avoid. How long do you intend to live there? If you plant larger trees they give you privacy quicker but cost a lot more. Additionally, plant some 1/2 barrels and put flowers on that patio. Update your front door to something nicer? Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. Gus

My first thought on reading your question was that you'd precluded the one thing I immediately thought of, which was to remove the camellia near the door. It unfortunately does not appear to be the dying plant you have your eye on. So I had to think about this one a bit. This forum is a little different from Home Dec, and some of the differences cause us to move a little slower! Obviously the front of your house had the same effect on me as on Rhodium. I've included a link to a question recently posted here with similar problems although the house style is very different. You may be able to appreciate the effect of a blocking plant and a dark door if you see something similar on someone else's house. You may still decide not to change it, of course! The palm by the driveway gives a little character in what seems to be a cookie cutter neighbourhood, so more power to you for keeping it. Given that you don't have much time, the prime part of the look you're after - manicured - may be best achievable just by pruning those boxwoods. But for the colour objective, you either have the wrong plants in, or not enough plants. To add plants you pretty much have to add beds, which means adding work. You see again how your parameters have somewhat precluded helping you get what you want :-) So I'm going to go around your parameters to make suggestions, and let you sort out which ones you do want to flex on if any. I would take out the camellia and put your decorative pot under your house number, not in the doorway. I would also paint the front door a brighter colour. Then I'd use the area next to the front door for your colour bed; it's small, but I think you'd enjoy it coming and going. Prune the boxwoods as well as the bushes to the left which are getting a bit shapeless, and maybe replace those grassy things in front of them with annuals or perennials that you like. Light coloured hostas would work in my zone and provide longer term interest than plants that have only flower interest. If you really want more planting beds, I would add them out further in the yard, something like an island bed out toward the left corner. KarinL Here is a link that might be useful: wanting a welcoming entry

"It sounds kind of silly, but it looks like it belongs in front of a more contemporary house. It's too modern for my house! " I find this a very odd notion :-) There is nothing particularly contemporary in style about a Japanese maple. They have been planted in Japan for thousands of years. With the right complimentary plantings, there is a cultivar suitable for any style of architecture! I would opt for a JM over messy, deciduous ornamental grasses any day of the week!! Especially for an entry garden. "If weed killer was sprayed, you can’t plant anything or will have to replace dirt around each planting." Just an FYI but this is not at all true. Most herbicides/weed killers retain minimal viability in the soil - they have to interact with growing plant tissue/foliage to be effective - and you can generally replant the area within a couple of days. The product label will always provide this information.

Congratulations! I agree it is a pretty house. I would remove the screen door if you don't need it or paint it if you do need it. I would keep that little fence/railing the color it is-doesn't bother me and helps to make it disappear. If you remove it, you could create a curved walkway out from the front door and plant on either side of it. I would also remove the shutters. Landscaping will make all the difference. If it were my yard, I would add a large tree like an oak out away from the house and several flowering understory trees. Can't make suggestions since I don't know where you are. I would encourage you to find native trees you like, though.