I don't hate it, I hate that there is no CONTRAST. Keep what you have, let it grow a bit more wild, it is too white and protestant. Compliment it with grasses, perennials, mix it up! And get some privacy for christ sake! Mulch, it is over rated. Nice house. You've got some bones, don't hate it.

If you're only going to be there four more years you need to think about whether a total makeover is worthwhile, in that you're unlikely to recover the cost of a large landscaping project on resale.

Bradford pears are prone to splitting and other severe damage in storms. If that's the large tree in your front yard you might be better off without it (it's hard to tell with that dark exposure, but it looks out of proportion with the house and remaining plantings). There are much better small trees.

You could get more enjoyment out of your yard with limited work, by replacing the evergreens (yews?) under the window in your last photo. It is hard to make specific recommendations without knowing about sun exposure and soil type, but shrubs with multiseason interest (like dwarf Iteas and Fothergillas) would give you spring flowering and good fall foliage color without the need for constant pruning.

The Bradford Pear would look a whole lot better if you really thinned the hell out of it to open it up and see through it abit. Keeping the majority of the shrubs you have, but widening the shrub beds another 4 feet out into the front lawn would allow you to plants flowering perennials in front to "face down" the taller shrubs beyond. Grasses or flowering shrubs would work well. It may be too "southern" for you, but lining the walk with grassy clumpers like one of the Liriopes, Acorus or dwarf daylilies to contrast in foliage color and texture against the Ilex against the house would give a better year round appearance than the Gladiolus. Bedding dahlias could also give you quite abit of color in this same location, over a much longer season of bloom.

Underneath the tree, I would suggest uniting the area with a dense groundcover with some massed groupings of foliage or color that will take the shade and root competition. Clumps of Dwarf Heavenly Bamboo, Acanthus mollis, Star Jasmine might be good, and Pachysandra or Dwarf Mondo Grass would certainly look better than that coarse mulch. If you want to mass bulbs in this area, I'd suggest using white Paperwhite Narcissus to play off the white bloom of the Bradford Pear. You might also consider adding a grouping of smaller Natchez Crape Myrtles to the left of the house to help balance the view from the street, and give you some summer bloom as well.