HI -- Your house looks like a mid century modern home so.... look up mid century landscaping , I think that is a style that will suit you.

Since your windows are low, any garden has to be low. I'd have a few grasses for year-round interest and some low-growing flowering shrubs. A tall plume-y grass might look nice in front of the brick part, but you are going to have a problem with the shape of your bed, because you are limited with height under the windows and your triangular shape, giving you a logical vertical pattern that doesn't match the triangle on the ground.

I'd probably remove the hedges and outline the shape of your planting area with a low-growing bushy plant, perhaps lavender (kept clipped after blooming) or thyme. Or you might pick yellows and oranges to go with the house. Pontentilla will get you some of the right shades, pick a low-growing variety.

I'd step back and put a small flowering tree in the front yard. I happen to be fond of fruit trees and Quinces are very lovely. I had one when I lived in a different house. A clump of small birch trees or a Japanese maple would look nice, too.

OLGAHONEY , has the right picture .

Check out, "Dave's Garden" on the net. It has something for all.
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I had a mid century modern and mine was much more modern than this one so deciding on a theme was easier for me. Depending on how you have this decorated on the inside, I would add nice large rocks/Stone to the front - remove the bushes you have and have more or less a rock garden - if you have an asian theme - add one small Japanes Maple. If you have more traditional theme, I would probably put some artwork on the brick wall where the "107 - I suspect your street number is" and if you want to go modern - get new house numbers that are much larger and stand away from the brick wall and add some small plants to the rock garden.

Thanks all, for your thoughts. I really appreciate the input. I think my problem is that I have too many ideas, and need to focus. We have been considering mostly a rock-garden esque look like sdecet suggested, but I will look into some of your other suggestions. Again - thanks for the help!

Draw out your lot and house to scale on graph paper. Identify any areas that need privacy from neighbors or a road and any areas that would make a great focal point. Do you have room for an outdoor "seating area"? Do you want an area for cutting flowers or growing herbs, etc? Find the an area with at least 4-6 hours of sunlight a day for most to thrive. Is there an area that is shady or too wet? Fix it (french drain? sand added to soil) or work with it by planting plants that like that. You must identify which areas of your yard are which exposure. Buy the Sunset Western Garden Book. It will save you money by not planting what won't work. Utilize the help of your local nurseries on plant selections for your zone. They can be a great source of information. Then the hard/fun part- remove all that does not work and bring in yards and yards of good topsoil. Incorporate it into your existing soil adding some compost as well will make your new plants very happy. Will you have an irrigation system? That can make a big difference in your plant selections. If not, at least consider running a drip system on a timer (burying out of site under mulch, as the UV rays will decompose it). Once you have done all of this, shape your planting beds in nice curves. If you are not mildly artistic it will show immediately, and you may need to hire a pro. If you are, you can do this! A garden hose layed out really helps to shape them. Think "flow". As for plant placement and selection, you want a mixture of plants and trees, - evergreens, decidious, flowering and grasses for year round color and interest all anchored in with your hardscape of large rock possibly a dry "river bed" meandering and perhaps slate pathways leading from front to back along the side of your house. It's easy to do an "okay" job, it's impossible to do a "wow" job if you do not take the time to plan and are not an artist at heart. My favorite plants for you check out that should do fine in your zone: Coral Bark Maple (Sango Kaku), Nandina Domestica "Gulf Stream", Japanese Forest Grass (shade tolerant) (Hakonechloa) or Blue Oat Grass (sunnier), hydrangea "Endless Summer", I could go on and on... Good luck :) Stacy Heintz-Landscape Designer

Glad you are taking out the hedge. In that area near the windows, how about a water feature for you to look out on from the house, and listen to? These can be very, very simple and modern. That whole area could be that, ground cover of black stones and plantings of black mugo grass.

Consider saving water and replacing the lawn with something less demanding.

Widen your walkway, much, much wider.

For plantings remember the above poster's advice to plan ahead! Don't fall in love with this plant and that plant and end up with a yard of "one of those, two of those, one of those..." Masses of a few plants have much more impact and will set off that unique focal point tree much better!

Here is an example of a tile project I did for displaying an address number. Since the tiles are kiln fired on porcelain, the art is completely weatherproof and will never fade.