The privacy hedge around the front and side is good. Consider punctuating the arborvitae with blooming shrubs. Perhaps weigela, forsythia, pieris. Check with a local nursery as they know which plants will grow best in your soil and climate. On the inside of the hedge you could create dwarf shrub borders that would soften the hedge. Again, I think Mixed Borders with shrubs and easy to grow perennials are timeless.

However, I think the Taylor junipers will overwhelm your entry from the street. The sidewalk is only 3' wide and Taylor junipers can grow to 30' tall and 3' wide. They may be only 6' now, but that eventual height on either side of the narrow sidewalk will visually squeeze it. The Taylor junipers would work better at the corners of your house.

I also like the idea of border hedge with a variety of plant types to create a break from street and a framework for yard. I’m wondering about the slope of grass at edge to sidewalk. You want to reduce grass - maybe think about planting hedge at level of top step from sidewalk & take out grass from top step down to sidewalk. That section could be planted with a variety of different dwarf evergreens for an interesting look of foilage & texture & low maintenance & water also. Mowing that angle slope can’t be fun!

Thanks for your help mindshift and KW....and yes, the slope is not fun to mow (the front portion you see is actually not as bad - it gets worse and more difficult/impossible to mow as you get more towards the side of the house). I have been hesitant to just remove the grass (and replace with mulch and evergreens?) because I wasn't sure if that could cause erosion problems. I was actually looking into some type of low-growing ground cover such as low-growing junipers or pachysandra?

What do you think about the fig tree (and area around it)? I was thinking of removing some of the grass around it, mulching and adding a variety of evergreens and maybe some flowering plants). that is the part of the grass that really suffers when the temps get warmer.

Because you're in zone 7, your fig tree is likely to become a bush. The occasional severe winter will knock it back to the ground and it will grow as a large, multi-stemmed shrub. I'd move it to the side of the house close to the foundation for added protection. It won't make a "centerpiece" sort of tree for your lawn.

I’ll have to defer to @cecily 7A on your fig care. We don’t know where you live & planting zones cover a wide area weather wise. But, your idea of creating an area in middle of grass for colorful blooming shrubs & annuals would be pretty. I’d make it a more interesting shape than a circle. Erosion on the slope might be an issue if you get heavy rainfall & it’s steeply sloped. Junipers are not my favorite plant as many overgrow their space & look terrible when cut back. There are very flat mat type juniper ground covers less than 1” tall & those would be great with dwarf evergreens scattered throughout for interest. Maybe a boulder or two as well on either side of steps for some entry drama. I like a variation of plants rather than a monoculture. Much more impactful. My experience here in PNW with pachysandra is that it's a shade lover & can get a bit tall. I had some in a back yard under a tree in a corner. For your slope, my reaction is "meh" . Too boring. Your 3 storey house is pretty dramatic looking - I’m wanting to see comfy chairs I can sit in & colorful pots of flowers I can look at while watching the world go by as I’m lounging on that great front porch! Your street scape planting design should be somewhat dramatic too - that’s my idea behind an interesting slope plant design.

Thanks! - I'll take the advice and move the fig tree to the side of the house and look for something more cold-hardy to replace it with. I was thinking an evergreen of some type so that I do not have to deal with too many leaves?

So based on this feedback I'm thinking:

- install border of 4ft tall ready-hedge of emerald green arborateville about 2-3ft from the sidewalk. Add mulch on inside and plant a variety of smaller shrubs and perennials on inside. Add mulch to area between hedge and sidewalk as well and plant some blooming shrubs.

- plant two of the four 6ft Taylor Junipers, one at each front edge of the house.

- look into low flat-matt type juniper to plant on steeper slopes to prevent erosion.

- remove fig tree and replace with something hardier - create a boarder around new tree and plant flowering shrubs etc.,

Let me know what you think and if you have any more suggestions!

@tetongravity No more suggestions - plan sounds like a good one. Depending on your experience & comfort level with plantings, I might think about consulting a landscape designer (not yard care service who will do installations of whatever you buy), or, at the very least, finding a local nursery with staff willing to look at pictures of your yard, ask questions about planting sites & spend time helping you make selections. Some nurseries provide design help. You’re looking at siginifcant cash outlay for all the plant material so a nursery should be willing & eager to assist! A nosey question if I may - how old is your home & was it always 3 story? Is there a basement? From the little bit shown of neighborhood in pictures,it looks like neighborhood is made up of older homes..nicely maintained older homes.

Thanks again for your help. The house is in Washington, DC in a neighborhood with a mix of well kept old houses and renovated/rebuilt houses. My particular house was not one of the well kept ones and originally built in 1920 - here is a picture of it just 3 years ago!

The third story was added and there is a full basement with a garage in the back. This was all done by a developer before I purchased the home, so the design decisions were not made by me!

@tetongravity Oh my goodness, what a change! There must be an alley in the back for garage access. Great deck & upper balcony - hope those stayed when third story added. Though the front facade changed style, it seems to still fit in with surrounding homes - has sort of a ”salt box” style with the hipped roof. And it still has that great front porch! I think your landscaping plans will create the perfect touch of jewelry your grand old home deserves! Would be great fun to see ”after” landscaping pictures. Thank you for humoring my nosy curiosity.

Consider several varieties of arborvitae for interest--sculptural and loose, tall and shorter; dark green and light. The variety will add interest. Or get a "shaggy" variety of arborvitae since your house and walkway are so angular.

You needn't replace all the lawn. Instead go to a garden center and ask about creeping evergreens for your slopes. Here's creeping juniper. Then you could plant your arborvitae at the top of the mound in a pleasing arrangement.

@tetongravity the creeping juniper I was thinking is ’Blue Rug’ see at this link Juniper

@KW PNW Z8 no problem at all - thank you for all your tips! The second picture of the deck/driveway is actually a picture of the reno'd house. The original cellar was about 5ft tall and only had access from the outside. The developer dug down to increase the ceiling height in the cellar to 8ft and added the garage/driveway. The house is on a corner lot and the driveway pulls in from the adjacent street - here is a top/down view from that upper porch.

I do wish that some of the original architecture was somehow bought into the new design but oh well.

@housegal200 - thanks! I'll look into those additional varieties. The Juniper you show is exactly what I had in mind - especially for the steep slope on the side yard you can see in this picture. As you can see, I already planted some American Pillar Arborvitae on that side to one day provide some privacy on the deck.

If it were my house, I would look for heirloom bulbs from pre 1920

Old House Gardens

I pulled some pics of espalier which you could do to create a living fence and mini home orchard with none of the danger of climbing ladders. Conversely, a rose or wisteria could be espaliered as well. You could also go the perennial route and create a bee/butterfly/bat/hummingbird garden.

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The straight out view from your decks is lovely. That was one major reno with adding the basement! I’m trying to decide if my steering skills are sufficient to get a car from garage to street with all fenders intact. You just back out & turn to drive nose out into street, yes? I see that back slope - yikes with a mower! Definitely a candidate for groundcover & dwarf shrubs & shrublets on the slope! Were any of the interior finishes or woods salvageable?

Yes, the Reno for this house was no-joke - unfortunately nothing was really salvageable from the original. The driveway is actually pretty wide and that backup area makes it quite easy - I become used to it fairly quickly. Luckily the street it exits into is not busy at all and dead-ends (unlike the street in front of the house).

Thanks again everyone for your input. I'll definitely post before/after, although the progress might not be very fast (its looking like just the ready-hedge for the border will run me about 8-10K). I'll be starting with that first and handling the steep slopes that are annoying to mow. Then maybe i'll deal with making the inside/outside of the hedge look nice.

I'm also still trying to figure out what to do at the steps from the sidewalk to the walkway that leads to the front door - should the hedge just stop at both sides? I was thinking of some sort of brick columns and maybe a gate, but I think the brick may look odd since there is no brick on this house - I originally purchased the Taylor junipers because I figured they would be good to frame the steps and would look better than just stopping the hedges at either side, but I see what @mindshift is saying about them growing tall and overwhelming the walkway....

@tetongravity I think you might be on to something with the pillars & gate idea! True there’s no brick in the house but what about either white brick or maybe better, some kind of stone? Gate could be as ornate or plain as you want. My immediate thought on reading your post was that it would be a great entrance to yard & the pillars would really define it & ensure that the hedge never encroaches on the walkway. Pillars could have lights on top - maybe solar? Your house numbers could be on one of them. I Googled ”hedges with pillars and gates” and had so many hits one could spend hours looking at pillars, hedges & gates, all together or separately! I really think you should consider adding your idea! It would work installed right at top past the hand rail.