I like the blue/grey and cranberry colors on your home. If this were my house, I would go a couple shades darker to a burgundy on the front door and shutters and then accent with more blue/grey colored plants. It looks like those are junipers under the windows... You will want something low growing such as helleri holly or dwarf birds nest spruce, boxwoods, mugo pines etc., I would stick with an evergreen. I would add an espalied tree by the garage in that narrow bed. I would equalize the front of the garage on both sides with the same type of plant. Lastly, I would cut down the tree in the middle of the yard as it hides the house and does nothing for the aesthetics. I think a dwarf blue spruce(s) would look great worked into your plan.

Some great ideas, enailes. I particularly like the idea of the espalied tree. Forgive my ignorance, but on a scale of 1-10 the difficulty looks like a 30! What's involved? Also, would you be concerned about roots growing under the garage? I also appreciate the suggestions along the house - I really like the look of the nest spruce and mugo pines.

What do you think about another bed? I was thinking of something where the driveway and sidewalk meet - maybe trying to incorporate the lamp post - but I'm not sure it would work there.

Garden greenie,

It's going to be difficult to incorporate a bed with the lamp post and make it look right, unless one continuous winding bed is created from the driveway to run by the sidewalk and up across the front of the house. (p.s. I am not a landscape professional!) I personally stay away from small beds in the yard for lack of visual impact. I also wanted to mention that liriope or lilyturf and some knock out roses would be pretty with your house colors too. Also, instead of planting something green on each end of the garage, you could put 2 black urns on each side to match your lamp and plant your tulips, and annuals in these.

I've never planted an espalied tree in my landscape and don't know all the details in caring for them. I know the nurseries sell plants ready to go that have been shaped and they should only require moderate pruning. I've seen them up against walls, where they didn't appear to have stuctural support but then again I would check with an expert.

You could always plant groundcover in that area as well. I've seen pencil thin junipers or cypress but I am not a fan of these plants...

Lately, I've been thinking of the color black for the landscape, as in the lamp post here. The plant at the garage is a nice color but a bit too bold for the location in my opinion.

Playing off the black in the post, I'm thinking ... widen the walk and edge with three high bricks capped with flat black steel. Add in a park bench like this ...

{{gwi:51393}}Some water and fertilizer for the lawn and new low plants along the garage and house entry ...

{{gwi:51394}}

Some additional measures to mitigate the welcome to my garage are needed, which will focus on the front door as the front yard focal point.

Small herbaceaous plants along the driveway edge and a fuller bed on the right corner side of the house jutting out into the yard.

I like the idea of the bench, but I wonder if it's a bit awkward facing the way it is shown in the picture. (pls8xx - thanks for the pic!) As shown, it seems to focus a lot of attention on the narrow walkway up to the door. Would it make sense to widen the sidewalk the other direction (into the bed) near the porch and have the bench facing out toward the yard?

rhodium - I'm intrigued by your suggestions. Can you elaborate on the type of plants you would put along the driveway? Would you plant them along the entire length? Would you continue along the portion of the sidewalk that parallels the front of the house, or even all the way up to the door? Both sides of the driveway? And to increase the fullness of the bed, what would you suggest? What plants would thrive in a bit of shade and growing above tree roots?

Bench under window to left in mulched part with a much wider bed around it--a two-sided perennial border that doesn't have anything much higher than knee-height. If the facade transition is flat between the siding and brick, something columnar with height and a nice texture would be really great there between the windows. If there is a depth difference, though, you don't want to hide it and flatten the house. There are some cool yews that I've been drooling over, but there are many evergreens that would do well--I'd just avoid something as dull as an arborvitae for that spot, just because it will function as a real accent.

I second the espalier against the left wall, too!

A bigger shrub at the R corner will anchor it more. I'd lean toward perennials and not so much bushes under the R corner, too--and make the bed just a bit deeper there, as well.

1) The low junipers along the foundation are fine as they are. They hide the bit of foundation that is exposed below the siding but are short enough to avoid making the house look shorter by hiding more of the siding. Unless you specifically want something different in terms of color or texture, you can leave them as they are. If you want to add something, a plant that is shorter than the junipers but a different texture or foliage color can be added to the bed if you make it a bit deeper. You can also continue the new plants into the area where the flowers are now, as well as in the narrow strip between the garage and the sidewalk. Depending on your tastes, these can be low grasses that will give you some winter interest/texture, a groundcover with good foliage color, or a perennial that looks good all year and can be left in place during the winter. I leave sedums and rudbeckia until spring for the dried flowers and seed heads. Choosing one or two plants and continuing them across both planting areas will unify the design.

2) You are right when you say the bed near the shrubs could use more volume. The flowers you have there now are skimpy and don't add anything, IMO. If you don't want to add low shrubs to it as suggested in 1), maybe you could remove the small bed and enlarge the paved area to be as wide as the front entry. This will give you a spot to put a few large containers of annuals or perennials (I like perennials in containers) to dress up the entry. In any case, plant something to hide the downspout, even if you have to add another juniper. If the budget will cover it, making the entire walk wider would be an improvement. Even adding a soldier-row of bricks to each side of the existing walk would dress it up and make it more substantial.
3) Tulips and most herbs are going to either disappear during winter or look very ratty. I'd keep them in the back yard if possible. If you must put them in front, how about planting them in pots and putting them away in winter? Tulips are best planted with a companion to hide the fading foliage. Daylilies are a possible choice. You might be able to use them along the walk/garage. I don't think I'd add a bed just because you have a box of bulbs that need to go "somewhere". You can plant them in the back yard if you have a spot that is sunny before the trees leaf out in spring. If you do want another bed, think shrubs and perennials with some mass and volume, or you will find yourself with another planting like the one you now find lacking next to the foundation shrubs. You can deepen the foundation bed and continue it along the walk to "enclose" the entry area. Make it substantial enough to include the lamp post and layered shrubs of different heights, with the tallest in the middle and the shortest on the bed edges, as they will be viewed from both sides.

Think about snow removal when you plan any additional beds. You'll need someplace to put it, and you may not want to have to throw it six or eight feet to clear a planting.

4) Raspberries turn into a tangled mess, again, better in the back. If the front is your only choice, maybe you can find a spot along the side of the property where you can keep them tidy by training them between wires without making them a feature of the front landscaping.

You might want to keep your trees if they provide needed shade for your south-facing house. Don't call attention to the prominent garage with planters or anything eye-catching.

Or, do whatever you like, it's your house, LOL. I've been "reborn" as a proponent of front landscaping that is unified, simple, and easy to maintain, so my preferences will color my suggestions. You may want something completely different. Whatever you do, have fun with it and don't obsess too much.

On second thought, I'm back to shrubs again under the R window. The reason I don't like them is only because they are the EXACT same green as the lawn. I'd want a wider border with an edging plant in front of it or different colored shrubs (just another shade of green) with a stronger contrasting texture to make a lawn/shrub break.

Well this is not entirely a Welcome to my garage type of house... its a typical looking L-shaped ranch type house.

The tree out to the right in the yard is also the classic landscape approach to a L-shaped house utilizing the triangle theory. So that's working well for you. What I would change is the rectangular shape of the lawn abutting the driveway and sidewalk; to me that forms a very graphic sight line. As mentioned before, some small plantings with an eye towards MI winter snow issues, along the driveway may help to break up or soften that form.

This is great! I'm now starting to get a vision of how I would like it to look. Some responses - and new questions - to your posts:

1) I have planted some perennials under the tree on the right side, but I put them in relatively late so they didn't get much volume this year. I hope that next year they will add the volume I'm looking for.

2) Speaking of the bed on the right side, I kind of feel like it dangles out away from the house without much visual support. I hope that more volume under the tree will help, but do you think that planting a tall grass (or something else that won't distract from the tree) would anchor it a bit?

3) reyesuela, I think you have finally articulated why I don't like the junipers - they are the exact same color as the grass. I think that widening the bed and planting something in front will make a big difference.

4) When trying not to draw extra attention to the garage, what are some things to avoid? How about things to do?

Thanks again. I'm going to keep mulling things over and try to put together a photoshopped picture later this week.

To answer, "Rhodium - I'm intrigued by your suggestions. Can you elaborate on the type of plants you would put along the driveway? Would you plant them along the entire length? Would you continue along the portion of the sidewalk that parallels the front of the house, or even all the way up to the door? Both sides of the driveway? And to increase the fullness of the bed, what would you suggest? What plants would thrive in a bit of shade and growing above tree roots?"

Herbacesous to deal with snow removal and the piles of snow that must surely accumulate along your driveway in the winter. Hostas can deel with part shade and tree roots. Small edger types would work. Put them from the black lamppost to about a 1/4 of the driveway. Not along the sidewalk that would be too much of a good thing. This hosta edging will soften the driveway and highlight the front door walk way.