Some good landscaping could certainly make your home appear as welcoming as you clearly wish it to be. I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions, and this may not be for everyone, but I see an espalier or two against the wall on the left - it could be purely ornamental or a fruit tree (in line with the growing "edible landscaping" and increased self-sufficiency trends).

You must have a great view toward the back.

I was thinking espalier also. Would research a lot first. Friends had a home very similar to yours, used pyracantha. It was great until winter temps probably mixed with lots of ice, killed it - several times.

Like your idea of extending the bed, perhaps more than 4'.

Additional views via pics would be good.

should soften big the blank brick wall and hard drive road line.need some privacy and appear as welcoming.

How about a few windows in lieu of plants ?
I think you would get a greater return on your investment.

Hi, you could save the stump of pear tree and let it come back as a bush. I think if you add a seating area in the front yard would be nice. Here is a autoCAD drawing to show what I thought.

Depending on where you are located a red oak would work there. Maybe a redbud for the smaller tree.

It looks as if there was a door on the solid wall on the left at one time. If so, that could be re-opened, and a window added instead.

I'm glad HoundsBreath is painting the front door. Could we see a new photo, please?

Good eyes, mla2ofus, to spot the former single door! And I see signs of a small window to the left of that door, as well as a larger window to the left of the house number.

I agree that the front of the house needs windows. Zero windows facing the street is just too ... well, too far outside our expectations. HoundsBreath, if there's a reason not to have windows, how about fake windows instead? Build a wooden box, 8-12 inches deep; enclosing a window, and attach it to the house. Paint the "indoor" side of the glass to hide the bricks -- or maybe use stained glass; you can include a dim light in the box to give the illusion it's a functional window, if that seems like a good idea.

I would like to see the bed in front of the house extended across that entire side of the house. Adding some shrubs there would be a big help, and would do much more for that side of the house than a tree near the sidewalk. If you really want to break up the roof on that side, perhaps a fastigiate (very narrow) evergreen in the bend of the wall.

How deep is the bed that's currently there? Can you deepen it another foot or two without causing a problem with garage entry? Then add as much bed as you can along the left side of that wall, and link the two areas with a curve.

That is a very small space for a 50' tall tree. That is more than twice the height of the home. Eventually it will dwarf the house and be way out of proportion. Something about as tall as the home, or just slightly taller, is going to look better.

Look at what a huge tree in front of a single story home looks like. Is that the effect you are after? When it comes time to sell, potential buyers will see a big problem.

duplicate post; deleted.

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by hoovb on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 19:29

I had some comments which I was saving up, but it appears that HoundsBreath has abandoned this thread. Is that the case, HB?