Thank you everyone for your responses!!! working my way backward, shivece! they do the same thing here, the city rolls down the streets and lobs the tops off.. they actually passed by a few days ago and they decided to just cut around the wire, yikes. mle0782! No awning route is tempting but they are clutch in the winter for getting in and out of the front entrance! Had this house been located somewhere with milder seasons, I would probably get rid of it all together. Dig Doug's Designs! STELLAR DESIGNS! thank you so much! That would definitely be an option in the future, for the time being, I dont have the budget for something like that (curiosity, how much would a project like that run me?) decoenthusiaste! I do have a budget for the front and I think doing it myself, I could afford groveraxel's concept at the moment! :) laceyvail! mutilation or not, If I don't do it, the city will lob it off regardless.. one way or another the top will come off.. difference is, I will definitely go to a nursery and find out what the best approach for this is! :) Yardvaark! thank you again for the info! I'm not crazy about the location, I think the best option is to start from scratch. Yes, I am in Canada! thank you for the information on shrubs! I will definitely be headed to a few nurseries and ask how I can tend to the front tree as well. thank you! groveraxle! Awesome stuff! I think something like this is what will need to happen! (any idea on a rough price point for something like this?) Downspouts! never even thought about them! will definitely pick up a quart of paint and attack them once the bushes are out! Thank you! Jen B! I think for the time being I'll have to stick with the brown trim, everything on the property is in a brown/white/brick theme and it would be a major paint in the butt to re-do the house, addition, and garage. I do agree that it's time to make it more inviting and fix up the front gardens! :) open to more designs and thoughts from everyone! thank you so much everyone for all the ideas and feedback so far! Greatly appreciated!!!! :) :) :) Photos to come for sure!

All great points NHbabs! Thank you. We will have to see how quickly the boxwood grow, but can plan to trim them each year if needed. The Arborvitaes may have actually all died over the winter, so we will have to wait and see if they come back and if not perhaps replant new ones further apart or plan to have them topped each year. Once again, thank you!

There are too many low limbs on the foreground trees, producing too much shade and obscuring the house view as seen from a distance. We can't see the limbs, but know they are there. Widen the walk to the entrance. Lining each side with a row of sailor course brick will get you an additional 16". The basic foundation landscaping would look better/tidier if you coordinate with the architectural features, which is mainly adding single shrubs below the windows and a small tree (made of a large shrub) diagonally off of the left house corner. The rest is mainly a groundcover bed where you strategically place some dominant clumps of perennials and then fill in the rest with whatever low growing plants you want. It can be a single groundcover, or it can be a variety of perennials if that's what you need to have. Too much disconnected variety makes it look busy.

You have an interesting house. Some time ago another person posted their mansard roof house. They ended up painting the second floor windows that same color as the roof. It made a big difference. I think you should paint the windows are dark gray. Paint the area around the first floor windows the same color as the garage. Paint the front door an interesting color. Prune or remove the bushes hiding the windows on the right.