Selection of evergreens depends mostly on what you have available, if you are going to buy locally. Otherwise you can mail order but you have to do a heck of a lot of research to figure out what to order and where to get it. So for plant selection, your best bet is to visit your local nurseries and look around, buy what you like, and then arrange it to please you when you get home. You can always leave space for more shopping trips later in the season as nurseries get new stock all spring and summer, sometimes also in fall. If you don't like just shrubs, of course you can augment them with perennials, but I do agree a shrub presence is called for beside the garage. Perhaps you'll come to enjoy and appreciate shrubs once they are in the right places. As for your front door, I think your layout is very cool, very convenient and frankly more attractive than seeing the garage door from the street. The little garden beds the driveway leaves you can be filled with a better selection of plants and would be quite attractive. Because the porch is dark I suspect it will be most pleasant if you keep the plants in front of it low, and having perennials there will give you something to watch change over the seasons as you come and go. What you do to the right of the door depends on how much work you want: The least work is extending the grass all the way in, or you can have garden all the way along the house. There I also think what matters most is what you want to see when you come home or hang out in the yard. Deciduous shrubs will only work if you prune them as you would with coloured twig dogwoods, as most will lean out from the house toward the light. Evergreen plants do this less (and conifers least of all) but I don't see that you need a lot of bulk there, so a perennial garden wouldn't be the worst thing there either. You probably get snow in winter and have to clear the driveway so a garden alongside it that goes dormant might not be the worst thing at all. KarinL

It's a fact ... you'll not be able to get rid of the mess until you create a permanent, hard walk where there is now mulch. The magnolia roots are going to make it harder, but it must be done if there is to be a cure. I agree with others that something like concrete (simplest and cheapest) or pavers/brick are suitable. A walk laid out to acknowledge the tree will look and work better than one that doesn't. The bench only makes sense if there is a way to get to it ... i.e., use it. But because of Magnolia roots, it would add a lot of difficulty extending the walk to the bench. Therefore, I'd recommend using the bench elsewhere and having only plantings at the front of the house. Consider using a groundcover like Asiatic Jasmine to cover the magnolia roots.

I think this one is doable. since you're doing the roof, have them do this and elongate the porch. bring in chunky cedar posts, new door. love the white brick. (romabio) Here's the Before: this one was almost like yours w/the metal porch. look how they redid it (painted brick, revamped path, flower beds, porch posts, painted windows, extended porch) what about this one? painted brick, black trimmed windows, simple overhang (like above) slightly different porch posts. The slate tile porch, extended over to one side, and the pathway w/flower beds, really add a lot. I like this idea too do a little arbor, redo the porch w/some coposite wood decking, or maybe some black slate tile w/wood steps. Get a more modern door. I hope you go w/a dark charcoal roof tile. I reall like this one too. what do you think about extending your porch under either window? since you're redoing the roof, adding a wood arbor like this wouldn't be too diffult. (can those windows be painted or are they vinyl? They'd look great trimmed out in black) And, I really like how they painted this porch deck and added the tiny flower beds in front of it. here's the gable you mentioned. porch is simple. what do you think about painting the brick? Look at Romabio Lime Masonry paint. all natural. what if you extended the roof over the front door similar to this? bring in some chunky cedar posts, new door, NO shutters. maybe paint the trim of the windows. They painted the brick black in this one. looks great w/the cedar Or, do the brick in all white. ignore the right side. you can see how they built onto the front porch and did the overhang w/a gable. this is going into the farmhouse vibe rather than the mcm vibe

On the right lower deck, I’d have a seating area … chairs, table, bench, etc, any color: I’d also have a few bigger pots of plants, instead of a bunch of smaller ones. Rendering of front entry with chairs: I’d get plant stands or other bases to have varying levels of decor you do, not just have everything sitting on the decking.