Not abandoned. I am reading the comments, but I was traveling and having trouble with connection where I was, so responding was difficult. The tree trimmers are coming next week. I agree I don't like the bushes. I do have to replace or repair/resurface the driveway because it's about to be dug into during a plumbing project that we have to do. We can keep the shape (circular drive), or change the look of the front in general by not doing a circle drive and deciding on a totally new look/landscape scheme for the front yard. Not doing this for resale, but I won't do anything out of character for the neighborhood just in case.

I like the look of this. The front door could be any color you like but I like the black screen door.

Hacob, I like Christopher C's idea to make the landing larger, but having the door at the same grade would make me nervous. I like the thought of a barrier to possible water incursion (and I live in Southern California, so not much water here).

If you don't answer questions or respond to comments, the thread will probably not be very productive for you. With pictures taken piecemeal (from all different points of view and angles) it's harder to get a good understanding the property. Here, I think we can get it, but there not too much hope for using the pictures to give visual feedback. So I'll limit mine to some general observations. As it turns out, the house is long, so pictures would need to be taken as two separate, complete scenes, anyway. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the amount of shrubs and their placement. The house seems engulfed by them, or that the shrubs will at least need to be fought off in order to prevent its being smothered. Ordinary trimming looks like a lot of work here. Instead of using the shrub form only, the house needs one or more strategically placed small (12'-15' height) tree forms, some perennials and even some colorful annuals, which are usually most useful for at least cheering up the entrance area. Whenever there's a mowed lawn, its complexion is important. If it is much blemished almost nothing else in the picture looks good.