The patio is the perfect place to sit and relax. I would want a little water garden for the sound of splashing water and a friendly fish or two. We have a little 50 gallon round tub that is about 2 ft wide and 2 ft deep beside the front porch and it is very low maintenance with a small pump, fountain, 2 fishes and some plants. The birds and squirrels love it and so do we.

Your home is beautiful. What zone do you live in? You could extend the bed out from the sidewalk on the driveway side and plant an ornamental tree to balance with the very big tree on the porch side.

I don't like boxwoods so much--they stink like cat pee to me and have to be kept trimmed, so someone else will have to comment on that.

I am a gardener and not a landscaper so I try to have areas of things I like and it may take moving things a bit to get them to all look good together. You might decide what you would enjoy-low maintenance, attract birds/butterflies, repel deer, child friendly, formal/informal etc. to help define what you would like in your yard. I am sure someone here can help guide you to visualize a great landscaping plan.

Even though overhead shade does not screen, it's striking how great a sense of privacy and protection it can give. A couple of very small, multi-trunk tree forms could do a lot to minimize the feeling of being-in-a-fishbowl one might otherwise have. Because of the paving layout, there's not space to put a small tree at the back right, but it could go near the front porch. A couple of mounding shrubs in the same area as the trees could help define and "protect" the space. I would NOT hem it in with a row of boxwood. (Nothing against that plant. just against too much confinement and trimming maintenance.) Something low (10" to 12" ht.) and colorful for the remainder of space next to the walk seems good. You'll be changing plants as light patterns change. Siberian iris could hide the gas meter for now.

For your home style the most important element will be the trees. Yours are nicely placed. Out of curiosity, I googled 'classic southern home' and found many similar in style to yours. The gardens are all very simple: stately trees framing the house (not too closely), an expanse of lawn in front (check!) and possibly a large flowering shrub off both corners of the house. Rhododendrons? Some kind of dwarf magnolia? I love the idea of puttering near the house using perrennials and annuals: allium poofs, digitalis spires, puddles of daffodils. I stumbled across Longwood Gardens' month by month bloom archive. Have fun clicking on the 'outdoor' links for each week of every month. If you aren't inspired, there is no hope.

Here is a link that might be useful: Longwood Gardens Bloom Archive

I guess everybody is being too nice to notice the elephant in the room.
The small little patio made of random flagstone is out of scale and proportion to your house .

A house of this style and quality deserves a properly laid foundation that will enhance the architecture and adjacent property.
I see just the opposite starting to occur.
You are not adding value. you are doing just the opposite by plopping in poorly designed addendages that have no classical narrative / connection with the house and grounds.

A trip to the library or use google to research how those with an eye towards beauty and return on investment / enhancement landscaped your type of architecture.
You don't have to copy, but there is a definite pattern of design that occurs that increases the value vs. destroying the value of the property.

Thank you all for the comments. I agree it may not be the most well thought out patio, but it is in now and at this point I plan on keeping it. Market value is of no concern to me, although in 50 years my kids may feel differently. Deviant, any ideas on how I can salvage the look with plants, or no matter how brilliant the plant selections and locations are, it will still not be pleasing.
I am in Zone 6 (KC), forgot that. Sorry
I will hold off on the Boxwood idea, and perhaps hire a professional. I enjoy doing this type of stuff, but have tons to learn. I will probably try to go with lower maintenance, as they yard is almost an acre and there are plenty of gardens to keep me busy. The yard does have great trees with a couple golden rains by the street that I love (see pic). Oh yeah, and also a mature female gingko in the backyard. Anyone have any tips on how to clean up after these monsters?

{{gwi:11947}}

here's a wiry, fuzzy explanation of what I was trying to say earlier.

I added (but it didn't take)... if you need something taller at the front (pink area) something wispy might be okay.

Your home is absolutely gorgeous! However, I agree with the elephant in the room comments. But, then again, the way I see it, you probably like to sit on the big front porch when you want shade, but in the new patio when you want sun. So in the spring and fall you want to sit in the sun (that's what I would want to do). I have a suggestion: plant en masse around your patio perhaps daffodils and/or tulips and also daylillies or another summer perennial. The perennial should take over and hide the dying foliage of the spring bulbs. You could carry these plantings even to the other side of the big porch for cohesion. YOu might even plant along the other side of the sidewalk all the where the sidewalk ends, though I'm not sure if that would cover up the new patio view. The way I get rid of leaves that have fallen is to mow over them with a mulching mower to feed the lawn or mow/bag them for compost. Enjoy your beautiful home!
laurie in mississippi