Your house is LOVELY! Really, it has so much curb appeal. The cat is a nice touch in the photos as well :) I agree that the big green ball-looking shrubs are not doing the house any favors. There are much nicer things you can put in that spot. First things first, I would layout beds so that your mowing/edging work is as easy as possible. I always think it's easy to lay mulch down in an unusual shape compared to mowing an unusual shape. So I agree with the person who said to add plants along the retaining walls. I would use something pretty low growing that will die back in the winter because I'm assuming you have a snow blower that will toss snow onto that area. So, avoid shrubs. Suggestions for the areas alongside the retaining wall: Heuchera (many varieties like part shade) - for really great foliage color all summer and fall Brunnera for contrast with the Heuchera. As a bonus, deer are less likely to eat both of these plants. I understand the deer population on Long Island can be hard on plants Daffodils - also deer-resistant, lots of spring color, and they live forever. For in front of the house, where the green globes are, it depends on if you spend time on the porch or not. If you do then I'd look for something that smells good interplanted with some evergreens. If you don't spend time out there, then I'd use boxwood and something to contrast with it. If you have 4 hours of sun, then pieris floribunda is a shorter version of Andromeda that would contrast with boxwood. It can tolerate partial shade but it can grow to 6' so you may have to prune it back (I had this & it survived pruning quite well, I had to keep it to 4' tall or less). This is getting long, so my last suggestion will be related to the bed with the weeping cherry. Right now there is a tongue of grass that you have to mow between that bed and the edge of the walkway. I think that area would be better used with some plants in there. And it would make your mowing pattern easier :) Pick something that is not thorny and not a big bee magnet since you'll walk by it all the time. Maybe a hydrangea (though they like morning sun better than afternoon, they will do fine in afternoon sun - mine are HUGE). Just look for a smallish one since they can become huge. I would suggest peonies there, since they die back 100% and you can pile snow from the walkway over them in the winter, but I don't know if you have enough sun that close to the house. Seriously though, that is a really pretty house. You don't have to get super-cute on the landscape because the house is already stunning. Think of it like a gorgeous gown at the Oscars - just some classic jewelry, hair, and makeup is all you need to enhance it without distracting from it (as opposed to the "plain black dress" that needs lots of jewelry to make it red-carpet worthy).

yes, it is heavier. This house is similar to the house the DH and I just sold. It had a raised concrete patio in front of the house. I didn't know how to landscape in front of that PIA :o) and I don't know how to landscape in front of this one either. I don't know how this owner feels about their patio, but I didn't want plants large enough that they would obscure the view. Also didn't want the predictable symmetry of two same-size pyramidal evergreens on each side of the house. As I said above, I'm no designer. I'm just playing around with pictures, trying to keep reality in mind. To be real honest, if it were me, I'd never plant the large shrub by the corner of the house, just because I'm onery and it's one of those things that "everybody" does, so I wouldn't! That, and we had to cut down two at our previous home 'cuz they had grown to well over 30 feet high. Needless to say that they dwarfed our little ranch/tract home, a house that already sat on a hill. It was atrocious. Anyhow, thanks for the notice re: balance or lack thereof. I'll leave that to the homeowner, but I would love a suggested solution to landscaping around those darned patios. I don't have one anymore, but I'd still like to know. Moon

If you don't get much water, I would concentrate all your water-loving plants up by the house. There are some gals on the Antique Rose forum that live in Southern California...and they grow beautiful roses, along with many other plants. You might want to try that forum, too :) It would help if you say which direction the house faces, so we know if it's sun all day, partial shade, etc. An east facing garden is very different from a west facing garden. Our front gardens face southeast, so the afternoon shade is a huge benefit, when it 90+ degrees outside!

I don't think you are looking at the big picture. Many or most things in landscaping are some sort of balancing act, weighing trade-offs ... benefits in one place vs. benefits in another. Having a tree outside a window, several feet away, does not mean blocking a view. It means seeing a tree trunk. While I drew a multi-trunk tree in the other picture, it would not preclude you from specifying a single-trunk tree, once you weigh all the factors. If you choose no tree, I think you will help ensure that the barren, industrial look prevails, instead of things looking a little homier, with a sense of shelter and protection that a tree canopy affords. A tree helps a home look nestled in instead of being cold, hard and just stuck on top of the ground. From the complete left to complete right of the house face, it's a long way to go unbroken by any foliage. I dare say there are quite a few forum participants who would want the view of your house nearly obliterated by many trees with low hanging foliage! I am not one of them and strive to avoid covering or obstructing architectural features. But to leave the upper portion of the architecture entirely naked seems a move in the opposite extreme, as though one's criteria were of that of a shut-in who never saw the outside, and thought it to be unimportant. It's better to strive for balance.