You don't say how deep the planting beds are between walls of house and driveway, which is critical information to have if you intend shrubs as foundation plants against the wall fronted by flowering perennials or annuals. There are few shrubs that will only grow to 2 foot tall and take both hot mid-day sun and dappled shade and remain looking similar at both sides of your entry. A picture would be helpful, and probably posting this on a plant forum dealing with your part of the south here on the gardenweb would generate plant choices that would be most useful. Given that you dont want to have to prune anything on a regular basis, I'd suggest that herbaceous perennials such as daylilies might be a good fit for the sun, and compact dwarf Nandina or Pittosporum tobira 'Wheelers Dwarf's for the shady side. Crinums might also work. If Trachelospermum jasminoides is reliably hardy in your zone,it can easily be kept trimmed to a neat 2 foot height indefinitely with just a once yearly trim. Acanthus mollis _might be another choice of perennials for the shady side, along with classic southern plants like Liriopes or Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'.__@

Thanks for the comments. We'll keep looking for more ideas. Neither of us care for the dormer window look or the angled ceilings in the inside that come with a 1.5 story. We also would like to keep the roof line simple, & not have support posts in our garage to support the 2nd floor. With all these requests, we're somewhat limiting ourselves & are hoping to find other ways to help minimize the prominent effect of the garage. In our opinion, the 45 angle from the main part of the house does help break it up a little, but based on the opinions here, it needs more. Are there any ideas of using various siding colors, stone placement, different windows, gable(s), a lentil, or even flower boxes, something along those lines, to break up the 2nd floor from the garage? We didn't care for all the stone under the porch roof that was in the original picture I posted. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel that it was too much & pushed your eye away from it & towards the garage also. Regarding the porch roof, would it be better if we were to angle the side by the oval window to mimic the side by the garage so the roof was symmetrical? We know there's an abundance of knowledge on houzz so that's why we're here looking for constructive ideas & input.

I second the concept of a "relaxed, old fashioned garden that says “farmhouse” - yes with grass meadows. With 140 acres you will have plenty chores. There is no need to make the grounds around the house into another constant chore, unless one of you is an avid gardener, well then we can't stop you. Some ideas to ponder: A farm house landscape needs a legacy tree, that single, large, perfectly shaped, mature, deciduous tree. You have only shown us one view of the land. That tree might belong on a different side of the house. Someone has to plant that tree first. What is the state tree of Missouri? What is your favorite big tree? Give it the room to live to be hundreds of years old. Be the people who planted that tree. Piet Oudolf is a great source for inspiration. His work is based on very intentional layout of plants. I think you could go with a more specific to your place, natural grassland meadow and still mimic Oudolf very well. A grass meadow is probably the best way to live with deer. Plenty forage and color for everybody. Paths are most important in this kind of landscape to give it intention. Mowing would be easiest it seems and just done regularly with the areas kept as lawn. You can add a touch of modern or formal with sculpture placed in a meadow. Could even be done in plants. Picture this off in the distance from a primary view from the house, rising from the meadow, a row of columnar evergreens standing alone, closely planted to make a green wall or hedge shape with a single Lime Light kind hydrangea given the room to grow to its massive self when left alone. First thing I would think about in laying out your landscape is the traffic patterns of people and the machines you will be using. If you do any regrading or bring in top soil think about grading the paths first and making them rideable in ATV's. That will help tell you where the gardens go. There is joy to be found out there.

It’s a lovely home. I would suggest new garage doors, modern with frosted glass and silver frames to match your metal roofing. Update the exterior sconces, they are a bit too 90’s, and those at the front door are a little oversized. The door is unique, keep it but update the hardware to a brushed nickel, modern. It looks like a deep handle setback, so that will be a challenge, but Google searching it will get you what you need. Mid century resources may help, as a lot of doors back then had deeper hardware setbacks. Add some large colorful pots to flank the front door steps. if you can, remove the front walkway and adjacent foliage, and make it narrower to create interest to draw your visitors to your door. Update the landscaping with more formal specimens to go with the formal lines of your home. Consider large offset poured pavers with pebbles between for the front path, this creates visual interest and also mimics a stream experience that compliments the other side of your home. Good luck!