It would be something you could do yourself but I doubt you could get a aerater in your vehicle so you may have to hire that out in the fall. Top dress with grass seed and manure. Starting collecting rainwater or even think about grey water. http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/greywater.html. myself I don't like pine needles so I go with mulch. Wal Mart has cheap tools, shovel, rake, etc. I noticed the boxwoods on the ends. Start a compost pile using kitchen scraps and leaves around the yard and use that to amend your garden beds in the future. Check out free available compost from your town or county. Get the beds ready before you think about buying plants, but when you see something that interests you write down the name and keep a list and pray GA can annex a part of TN for water.

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

What a lovely house!

Since the grass appears to be green, I'd say it is fescue. Bermuda and zoysia are "warm season" grasses that are mostly dormant now. If it's been greenish all winter, it is fescue.

You don't HAVE to dethatch, but it is a good practice; I think you can rent the equipment too. Overseeding fescue right now is a bit iffy but it can be done; the problem is that fescue is a cool season grass and just when it starts growing well, we'll be into hot summer. Fall is the optional time for overseeding of fescue. That gives it all winter to grow strong roots.

There are hungry, hungry landscape companies out there. I'd call a couple other companies (especially if you see the trucks around your neighborhood, then you can get local references) and ask for recommendations and quotes. Ask for references.

The boxwood (or small-leaved holly, could be either) appears to be dead on the ends. I would not replace all of it, just the ends. Put two new slightly larger shrubs there to make it more interesting. Does the front get morning sun or afternoon sun? The house should be casting some shade when the sun moves from one side to the other?

Either pine straw or bagged mulch is good; sometimes it is just personal preference.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to your pictures

Wow...what a beautiful house! Well, esh and bullthistle both have great suggestions...I don't know if I can add much to them. I do, however, think that $150/month is kind of a lot for a mow/blow company. You didn't mention what all services were included, but I'm guessing they are just the standard mowing/edging. I agree that you would probably do well to get some more prices. Especially if they have not contacted you in two months.

Dethatching is a good call and you can do that yourself, if you don't mind a little elbow grease. Aerating is another good call; however, the equipment is pretty hefty and a little awkward to use if you have never done it before. Anytime when it is not too hot is usually OK, I think. Spring or fall.

(BTW, I just LOVE the pretty mailbox and gaslight and they go perfectly with the style of your home.)

I think your porch just screams for some pretty hanging baskets (ferns maybe?) or pots of color or low window boxes for the bottoms of those front windows. Something that would peek up over or around the nice boxwood "frame". It's also a good way to indulge your inner gardener without having to water a whole lawn right now. (I know it's probably a little frustrating wanting to get out there and garden, with a water ban on.) Heuchera would be a nice choice for the shaded porch...and there are lots of great colors. Caladiums, begonias, etc. Those traditional shade plants would be just beautiful with your traditional house.

I like the already mentioned ideas about top dressing and ocllecting rainwater. Also planning your beds. There is a LOT you can do right now, on paper, even during the drought (easy for me to say, right? I'm not there!) :)

There are lots of great shrubs you could try if you are really ready to get rid of the boxwoods. Frankly, I like them with the house, but I can understand you wanting to do YOUR thing...not necessarily the thing of the previous owners! :) Just beware of anything that will grow up too high...you have those low windows and you don't want to cover them up. I know junipers seem sort of ho-hum to some folks, but you can't beat the variety and the drought-tolerant-ness (tolerant-ness?). Or, like esh...I agree...just try replacing the ends only with something a little taller. Maybe a mid-height conifer...maybe in a lime-ier (lime-ier?), brighter green...maybe...arbovitae? False cypress? Something not too, too tall. Then plan a curvy bed. (Make them the same on both sides since you have a symmetrical structure) out around those end shrubs. Maybe...add one other different shrub just to the inside of both conifers...to sort of bridge the height between the conifer and the remaining boxwood. Then some drought-tolerant flowers in front of the whole thing inside the matching curvy beds. Put the same flowers maybe out by your mailbox.

How exciting to have just moved into your new home! Congratulations and welcome to Georgia! My husband and I are transplants also (he from Lousiana, me from Mississippi).

University of Kentucky says that fescue seldom needs dethatching. Walter Reeves concurs.

If I lived where you live -- and I once did -- I would move slowly about making changes until the weather really warms and you see what is dead and what is not. The lawn appears 'scalped' to me. It may get growing soon and you may find you have a mixture of grasses and a few weeds. Everything cut off to the same height, not too short, will look fairly lush and green until the water ban is over.

There will be a 'plant swap' later, mentioned in this forum. You might want to attend that, taking a bag or two of purchased topsoil or cow manure to trade for plants and information. The information may be the more valuable of the two.

Avondale will have a garden tour when the gardens are pretty, maybe June. Probably worth the price of admission to see how they do things. There are lots of free or almost free sources of information and help, including Georgia Extension service both in your county and online.
Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Walter Reeves about Grass

We do water catchment at home, and where I work in rain barrels and large tanks. It works wonderfully well and we catch a boatload of water in a short rain!

My friend owns a landscaping company that I can highly recommend. I used to use them for an area we had to mow, they also did a bunch of tilling and other work when needed.
Earthkind Landscapes Inc 404-296-9490. They do have clients in your area so you can ask for referals. I do not know their pricing on weekly lawn care. They also do other work like trim shrubs, prune, plant, install and will do flower bed design for annuals etc.

May C. the owner of Earthkind recommended I get my bulk supplies delivered from Buck Jones and I have been very pleased with anything I needed from them - top soil was clean, so was pinestraw. All other mulches are bagged. If you want something more local you can call and ask your local Ace hardware if they will deliver for you - some do, it varies.

GGG

Sounds like you may want to go to the store and buy a book on "xeriscaping" ;) The only thing that sucks about xeriscaping is that most books and websites are going to encourage you to plant utterly invasive species that are incredibly inrresponsible for anyone to plant.

Personally, I think your house would look superb with a nice, fat 2yr-3yr old repeat-blooming hydrangea on each corner of the porch area. You know, we picked up two great variegated versions this last season and planted them in our front yard to add to the colour of the other two we already have. Not sure how I feel about them - not much old wood leftover at the end of the year. We're hoping they go apesh** this year :) There are all kinds of interesting new hydrangea varieties out there, Walter Reeves covered a good portion of them on an episode of Goergia Gardener this past year, one of my personal favorites was the Lady in Red, but I have yet to hunt one out and plant it - mayve in my 3rd year landscape plan :)

I guess sun could be a factor in hydrangea planting, though. they call for "partial sun" in most cases...but they are overall pretty tolerant in my yard. it's the sun after 2pm you gotta worry about, morning sun never killed anything that was "full shade" I've ever planted.

I know some people might shun it because it's non-native, but loropetalum (plum delight) would probably be a a great way to add colour to your landscape. I did have one at one of my houses grow into a full-on tree, practically, and dropped little ones nearby, and with my great contempt for invasive asian species (esp. barberry), I recommend this species with great caution. Read the label to find out what size you're dealing with in advance.

Some other things that come to mind that fit in the xeriscaping vein are moss phlox (great spring color), viburnum, ninebark (many varieties with many colors out there). I bet someone around here could give you a link to a list of GA native xeriscape groundcovers and shrubs - actually, heck, even I would like to see such a link! It's so much easier to plan your landscape when you have names of plants and the sizes of them. The hardest part is digging out that infernal weed we all have in our yards - GRASS. ;)

Thank you all so much for the kind words and advice. This picture was taken late last summer, right when we bought the house. The grass is dormant now and the entire hedge up in front is dead. So that's where we are!

I think I'll just not freak out just yet. Maybe get a few opinions (thank you for the referral!), and think about how to place some large pots out to catch some rainwater and look into buying some basic lawn equipment. Also mk87, you're right, maybe I can work on getting some potted plants for the porch so the HOA/neighbors won't totally come after us (as they did when another neighbor's front lawn looked less than stellar!). I think the HOA thing is something that I'm having a harder time getting used to than the ban on water!

If your grass is dormant now then you have zoysia, bermuda or centipede - you would not have fescue after all.

on the grass topic, i have a full fescue yard, but in one corner closest to one of my beds, there is a something that blends in with the fescue, but has very annoying runners similar to bermuda. any thoughts on what it could be?

Satellitehead, if it's not bermuda then it's either zoysia or centipede.