big city name in every post when you want to talk about plants.. thats why most of us have the info in our names.. fall is a great time to work on the lawn.. so it will come up fast and strong in spring.. next.. decide and build beds.. which depends on how much gardening you want to do.. have those beds ready for spring ... lets not waste time on gardens.. if you dont want to hobby in the garden... its 2 different goals is my point... start with the backbones of the garden.. such as trees in the lawn.. and shrubs.. be sure to discover the long term potential of shrubs.. before you plant them a foot from the foundation.. keep in mind.. foundation plants are to hide the foundation.. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION... properly sited.. means you dont have to shear the beegeebees out of it twice a year... when we more fully ID your goals.. we can add such forums as shrubs.. perennial.. annuals.. roses.. etc ... ken

Please tell us where you're located (nearest big city & state). Taking a photo from across the street that will show the entire front of your property would help also. How do you use this space? Do you need space for kids/grandkids and a dog to play? Would you use a fire pit & benches to hang out and visit with the neighbors? Are you focused on hiding the pole and making a pretty space with no defined function?

I love your house. What a classic beauty. When you say, "Any suggestions for what to plant that won’t become over grown..." and that you don't know your zone, it makes me think that you probably don't want to do a lot of maintenance, and need a full sun, slow growing shrub, that doesn't reach a tall height because you don't want to block your porch, and you don't want to do a lot of pruning. I'd go to various nurseries in your area, show them a picture of your house and ask them for just what I described above. They will start to list off a lot of plants that will work for you. They will probably also have some other suggestions. If you can go during times when they are not busy, you have the best chance of getting more in depth answers. You might also ask multiple people at the same place to kind the person who knows best. Do both sides of your front get equal sun light or is something across the street or a tree on the sidewalk possibly giving dappled shade to the left side of your house causing the shrubs to grow smaller? I have this going on with two urns placed on either side of my entrance. It isn't super obvious that there is a light difference but it has a huge impact on the growth of plants. This home has simple shrubs in front, like yours. I like how they extended the foot print of the bed so the shrubs have some depth and layering and are not just in a flat line against the house. I suspect this is more ornate than what you are looking for. Although the bed is straight across the front of the house, it also have three different height levels to the plants, which also adds depth. Insteading that they used planters in the garden for sculptural and color effect.

This is easy to make this a colorful and cute focal point. Chili peppers and succulents are good together in pots or in the ground. You need a little height and some taller pots could provide shade for plants around it. Stack some bricks taller as a cute plant stand. Amend and level out the soil. Clean the rocks and arrange them in a curvy border partially on the turf. Place your pots first and plant your vegetables around them. Don't forget seasonal flowers..easy to change out.