When the bushes are out post another picture and one taken from further back so we can see the entire front. Are there steps to the concrete slab?

Hi jck910, will definitely do when I get home. The concrete slab is flat from the driveway, then there is one step up towards the door (where the white railing goes up in the pic).

I would remove the storm door and the shutters, maybe even the ironwork since it is only one step? It will need trees and bushes too so I look forward to more images.

Deep curved beds look great against ranches, which have long, straight lines. While this house has dark shutters, a good choice and not white, your house should not have shutters since you have a wide bay window.

Consider painting your white front door to a color.

Richmond, 1930's refurbishment · More Info

Oh, a straight black railing would improve your façade.

Landscaping--again a curved bed

Bushes are gone!

Less is more: eliminate the astroturf, railing, storm door and shutters.

What is the large bush on the right? It needs a good pruning.

A bed of hostas around the tree would be nice.

How much gardening do you want to do? How busy is your street? Do you need privacy?

Love the house. Definitely remove the shutters since the windows aren't sized right for them. Your brick is very nice and looks great with the roof color and white trim. Black is nice with your brick so maybe add some...mailbox, door color, pots, etc. You need a larger black light fixture, too. Nice suggestion from housegal regarding the curved beds.

One example of brick with white and black trim. The black in your case could be the door and accessories.

Sorry, you asked about landscaping and I got sidetracked. Again, nice idea from housegal for the curved beds. We have a ranch with curved beds and walkway. Really does work well.

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions and pics so far, they're really helpful!
I plan on removing the storm door and replacing it with an all-glass one, since my house does face the west and we get rain/snow/wind (yay Ohio!) but will also be painting my main door. Just not sure what color. 😊
Definitely looking to expand the landscaping a bit and doing curved beds. The bush on the end is a fragrant vibernum, I believe. It will get pruned this fall.
I am quite the beginner when it comes to gardeninf but I'm willing to learn. My street doesn't get a lot of traffic and the neighborhood is mostly retirees, but a bit of privacy is a good thing.
Thanks again all!

Thanks for the updated pictures. Great house. Definitely remove the white railing. I don't think you need a railing at all but if you like one you could do one on just the right side of the step. Curve the planting bed out around the lamp post. It will depend on what is under the astroturf how to fix it.

You do have some work ahead of you, so make a plan for what you can afford to do now and down the road.

--Immediate bang for the buck: Remove the shutters and white railing. Add straight black railing on each side of the step. Replace storm door with black one. Paint your front door charcoal black to echo the roof. A black garage door would link both door. Get a new attractive black mailbox. Replace porch lighting and your lamp post with better designed ones.

Huge decision: Do you have the budget now for a paved walkway right where the Astroturf is now? There are all kinds of fancy walkways and configurations. But if the budget is tight then a cement and brick trimmed walkway where you have Astroturf would be attractive and not outrageously expensive. Can't find the right walkway right now but this idea. Having the walkway close to the house with garden beds extending out beyond walkway would give you a bit of privacy you mentioned you might want, particularly if you go deep on the bed.

If you're not ready to install a walkway yet, keep the Astroturf for now so you don't miss the spring planting season for your front bed. The right mix of shrubs nearest the walkway will partially hide the Astroturf section right now.

Here's one of many articles on the internet about foundation and front yeard plantings. The article tells you how to layer plantings, heights, colors, and textures It's nice to include a dark red shrub or small tree like a low, red Japanese maple in front of a red brick house. Since you have western light, you should be able to include some fantastic grasses that add winter interest as well.

https://getbusygardening.com/foundation-planting/

The main thing is to prepare your garden beds by shaping them and enriching the soil before you plant. A sort of curved, kidney shaped bed from your viburnam to just around your light would be lovely. It's a lot of ground, so installation and expense would add up. Eventually, for more privacy, you could extend the bed around your large tree with some hosta and other perennial shade-loving plants and shrubs. (BTW, you need to take into account the shade cast by that large tree when you choose your garden bed plants. You probably haven't lived there long enough to know how much shade is cast and for how long each day the garden bed would be in shade even with your western light.)

Most small garden centers keep business cards of landscapers who work with them and buy materials from them. These landscapers usually offer a discount of 10-20% if you buy from the preferred garden center. Have them help you carve out and prepare your bed and assist you in choosing shrubs, grasses, perennials that will grow in the light conditions you have. Read those plant tags carefully and save them! Take photos and notes from year to year so you can plan your garden over time.

So a lot of work ahead of you, but a rewarding project in the end. You have a huge front bay window from which to view your front garden. BTW, having tall beautiful plants in a bay window that gets a lot of light is another way to connect inside and outside greenery. Good luck!

I love your house. Things to consider: the railing cuts off access to your front door except in one rather narrow direction. Is that what you want? A wider, more open access usually presents as more welcoming. But that would require developing a wide walkway from the front to curve out to the lamp post, for instance. But it would give you a natural space for the gently curved planting bed, as suggested above. I'd look into brick or stamped concrete. Oh, and you could keep the existing walkway right up against the house as long as long as it's clear that visitors should use the other walkway.

A curved pathway is a lovely suggestion, nickel, then plant inside that space as well as beyond it to the virburnum.

Another vote for putting a bed where the current path is and create a new path from the drive to the center of the front door landing. If you do that don’t plant bushes in it though or you will be in a constant battle to keep them from growing over the window- it would be a great spot for lillies, mondo grass, hosta, etc.

I really like the viburnum but it looks like an orphan over there now. They are easy to trim up into small trees- remove all the lower branches and thin the middle so it creates trunks. Or just underplant with ferns or small bushes. I like that it creates a wall at the end of the house.

Loving the suggestions and brainstorming. The thing that gets me is that concrete slab. I have considered extending the roof and making the concrete slab level to create a covered front porch, but there are some cons with that, one mostly being that the roof isn't even 2 years old yet and I hadn't considered that idea before I had it put on. Another con is that it will limit a lot of light to the bay window.
Yet, I'm torn on other options. If I keep the concrete slab, I will either have it tiled or look into stamped concrete. There is a company in a nearby city that refinishes concrete in that manner. I realize though, what nickel_kg said, that unless I remove the concrete between the driveway and the landing or put an additional, curved walkway to the landing, that my home looks a bit unwelcoming. I definitely want to make the correct decisions now rather than spend more money later fixing what I should've done initially. 😣 Obviously I need to have a plan before committing to the beds.

You're not able to put slate/red brick trim over concrete slab? Or concrete with red brick trim as I posted above? That would be the simplest and most attractive. This is a walkway but maybe this combination could be put down over your slab.

Careful of what you add on top of an existing slab, if you are in an area of freeze thaw it can come up. It can also affect your step height. Doesn’t it feel odd walking down that path and having the bow window stick into the walkway? I hate stamped concrete and have never seen it hood up more than a few years before it cracks or fades so I am biased. I think plain concrete is absolutely fine.

That's good info, thanks for your input! For reference, here's another photo. There is enough room in front of the window to walk comfortably.

Gah! Why do people do this? The previous owner of my own put down Astroturf too. I’m also in Ohio and it seemed like it was always soggy and gross.

Hallett, thanks for pointing out potential problems of adding on to an existing slab. I had that fleeting thought but didn't know enough--probably best to start from scratch.

Thanks for photo Hallie--gives a better idea of what you have going on. The other possibility of curving out a path around your lamp post is very appealing because then you could do all foundation plantings, which would minimize the bowed window, which is oversized for your façade. Do you have a budget for a new pathway? If you post a new Dilemma in the future, provide lots and lots of photos up front and give info about budget so all possibilities can be considered.

The important thing is to come up with a short and long-term plan for walkway and garden bed. If you do pathway now, you can have the beds prepared at the same time, which would save time and $$$. Good luck!

Seeing that photo reinforces that I think the path would be nicer approaching the front door from straight on...