I have a similar front door area. Mine actually faces west/southwest but since it's a fairly deep alcove, it doesn't get much sun. So, I usually put either Cyclamen or Impatiens in my pots to give my front door a little color. Here's how it looks right now: When my cyclamen are done, I just pull them out and plop them in some other area of my yard and plant Impatiens. And I don't hav any issues with Black Widows lurking in or around the pots, but then I put down poison around my entry for just that reason. Probably the rare non-organic thing I do, but way back, when I was raising my kids, I had a Black Widow scurry right across my sleeping daughter one evening. After that, I made sure I made it a deadly experience for any spider to lurk around doorways. I'm going to also replace my fountain with a 1/2 wall fountain, as I'm tired of looking at an ugly cord cover and plug. Just need to find a very shallow one as we don't have much width in our little entry area. Patty S.

What a nice space for a garden. I like the rock wall. What kind of light does this area get? Dappled sun and shade all year like in the photo, or either more sun or more shade during the growing season? What is your soil like? I find it difficult to tell how large the area is, so a ballpark estimate would help to tell what there is space for. I'd start with removing any non-garden plants growing here and then mulch (cardboard with cut-outs for the hosta with an organic mulch like chopped leaves or wood chips on top) and weed a lot the first year so that when you add plants your weeding and maintenance will be minimal. Since this area will be visible as folks go in and out of the door, having plants with year-round interest and/or some ornament such as sculpture or a birdbath will be important in making this area appealing. I think I would try to plant mostly lower growing items in the front part of the garden, or at least airy plants so that the stone wall is a visible feature. If some of these are evergreen/gold/red, they will provide interest in the winter. In the upper part behind the stone wall, if there is room I'd add background plants with year round interest such as a colored foliage evergreen, and /or variegated red-twigged dogwood, ones that would stand out well against the light walls. With any woody plants, check the ultimate size and be sure you have room to paint or do maintenance behind it if it isn't a plant like the dogwoods which don't mind being cut to the ground. If there is enough light, a pretty trellis with a clematis that gets cut back in the winter (type 3 pruning) would feature the clematis in the growing season and the trellis in the winter. I would probably put a row of low-growing or easily pruned evergreens such as one of the smaller boxwood varieties under the window to provide winter interest and then plant the rest of the area with perennials to give you more interest in the growing season. Particularly in a smaller garden such as this that is in such a prominent place, thinking about varying the foliage color and texture (as you are doing in thinking about adding coral bells) will help add interest to the garden when there aren't many blooms. In addition to the library as a resource, Pennsylvania has public gardens that might give you inspiration, both for plants and for design. Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania public gardens

Can you post a photo taken further back so the entire front of the house can be considered? What are the rooms behind the windows you’re thinking of including in the porch? If it’s a bedroom on the left, I’d be more inclined to shift it to the right where it looks like it’s a living area.

I‘m in Cali too. Not sure, but it looks like the LA metro area. The thing that immediately stood out for me is the landscape mix of rocks and brick. I would have chosen one or the other. I could see a pale yellow on the stucco (I think the current color is too close to the roof color; reminds me of the popular colors of the 90s). I could also see removing the wrought iron decorative post (not sure if that is orginal based in the design) and put in a railing along that side, with a design tilting toward the 1950s. I am not the biggest fan of security doors, but understand why some really like the functionality of it. If it were my house, I would remove the security door and put in a stained wooden door. Love the original mail slot. I have a 1950s house too that is in Los Angeles proper that has the white wood siding too (vertical vs horizontal slats), but the stucco parts are a dark green with a dark brown painted front door. We also have wrought iron, but in the house. It acts as a wall near our staircase. I doubt ours is original too as the design does not fit the year the house was built (1958-59).