Lilyfinch, you remind me of my dad with the veggies. Those are the only 3 he will eat. When my folks had moved my dad really wanted to experiment with a veggie garden. My mom told him if he grew it, he had to eat it. When I visited that summer and saw him eating a salad I almost choked!! He had held up his end of the bargain, but only had a veggie garden for that one year!! LOL!! Your front yard is great. I agree with widening the paths. How wide are the paths now? Could you widen them enough to incorporate the lamp post into the path? You could also have them undulate a little, but still symmetrical if you want it to be a little less formal. I would even consider at the end of the path at the house flaring the path on each side out to incorporate the area in front of your house and porch. How long is the walkway? It looks long enough that you can repeat groups of perennials. There are some great single-blooming peonies that would be pretty (and no staking), especially if planted with some May-Night Salvia and Iberis. That makes a nice little spring combo. Sedums like Autumn Joy or Matrona would give some interest down the path well into fall and even winter if you don't cut them back. Also some grasses might be nice too, like Hakonechloa. I have also fallen in love with Solidago 'Golden Fleece' planted with low purple asters. Mix in a Fairy Rose and it's magical! Have you thought about shrubs at all? If you are able to widen the path and you don't think an arbor will work for you at the end, what about a dwarf alberta spruce at the entry on each side? Also there are some small spirea like Little Princess that work in a narrow border. Hypericum Hidcote may be a nice yellow that has quite a long bloom period. Mine seemed to never want to stop and hasn't gotten to be taller than about 2'. Crimson Pygmy Barberry is a great smaller shrub with a nice color. What a great area you have to play around with. Have fun!!!

forever I think the home has plenty of potential for exterior charm I would suggest: Remove all the shutters they are just the wrong dimension for the windows, they appear to be cheap & poorly installed as well the first level has 3 arches above windows & door perhaps an arched portico http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.finalarchitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/elegant-portico-with-brick-walk-up-porch.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.finalarchitecture.com/entranceway-design-collection-from-colonial-remodeling-project/elegant-portico-with-brick-walk-up-porch/&usg=__VUutID-HZcCjwrx5bsZK-sV3F-w=&h=319&w=500&sz=83&hl=en&start=0&sig2=x4xhpisErBFcIm6OscckQA&zoom=1&tbnid=tDPG5NJXxW1k7M:&tbnh=128&tbnw=178&ei=1KOHTNXpM8H6lwe8xrixDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrick%2Bcolonial%2Bwith%2Barched%2Bportico%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1016%26bih%3D509%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=695&vpy=82&dur=5603&hovh=179&hovw=281&tx=188&ty=126&oei=1KOHTNXpM8H6lwe8xrixDg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0 Another portico http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.redfin.com/washingtondc/files/2008/04/ramsgateroad.jpg&imgrefurl=http://factoidz.com/knowing-the-architectural-styles-for-remodeling-a-home/&usg=__znfWpicXIH5FcMQKQif8Qap8U2c=&h=300&w=400&sz=56&hl=en&start=0&sig2=ce1aqBvojfvdh1fTdD7dgQ&zoom=1&tbnid=Y7ikaaXsxk2lcM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=145&ei=1KOHTNXpM8H6lwe8xrixDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrick%2Bcolonial%2Bwith%2Barched%2Bportico%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1016%26bih%3D509%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C102&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=253&vpy=215&dur=895&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=133&ty=130&oei=1KOHTNXpM8H6lwe8xrixDg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&biw=1016&bih=509 brick w/black front door & black shutters http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://philly.brownstoner.com/decbrickwork1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://philly.brownstoner.com/preservation/&usg=__Tlm_qAa7t1gfk7SifSv8Ac1OCP4=&h=364&w=500&sz=196&hl=en&start=348&sig2=iosMnAug8v-qHVYP7Wr-wg&zoom=1&tbnid=X_M8-ms_v5O2pM:&tbnh=174&tbnw=247&ei=iaaHTMmEIYPGlQf9p_iKDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrick%2Bcolonial%2Bwith%2Barched%2Bportico%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1016%26bih%3D509%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C17833&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=475&vpy=201&dur=3102&hovh=191&hovw=263&tx=121&ty=110&oei=1KOHTNXpM8H6lwe8xrixDg&esq=43&page=46&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:348&biw=1016&bih=509 Remove the evergreen to the right - at least part of it, the part that is eating the house -is there house behind that? Trim the evergreen on the opposite side, it is now encroaching on the house. Someone decided to plant a tree way to close to the house in front, that soon will be eating up the front of the house - I would move that before it gets to large to move Make beds in front of the house with some mix of small evergreen types rhododendron, azalea and perennials Perhaps some type of facing over the existing front steps w/stone - if the concrete base is in good condition and install nice black wrought iron railing - Other black accents may work well too - urns - perhaps painting the front door black & then consider installing proper shutters best of luck

Why can't you have black shutters? Because your neighbors have them??? Is there a law in your town that you all have to have different color shutters? Anyway you have a very nice home and I happen to think it looks great with shutters. How about a very dark green?

Congrats on this adorbs home. Has so much potential. Id agree with you and the other commenters. Painting the house when you can, new front door (make sure its a fun color, simple, timeless and low maintenance), simple un fussy landscaping like evergreens (small to medium sized), colorful perennials (have you thought of easy container gardens?), an awesome new light fixture, instead of the bench - maybe a 2 seater combo with a cute little table between them? Im not a fan of shutters - I love a cleaner look. what about some flower boxes in the window? There are som really modern ones out there these days...that are even self watering!