Because the home is so square I would go with a more free form or curved
outline for the beds . If it were straight lines - I think it would be just too
boxy looking . I think with the picket fence , a cottage style garden would
be wonderful .

I agree, curves and height variation are needed. Actually, I think a couple hundred spent on a professional landscape designer will be a savings in both the short term and in the long run. Explain that you are on a limited budget and need a plan that provides attractive bare-bones now, but which can be expanded and finished over the next several years. A good designer should be able to give you a 5-step plan that provides trees, shrubbery, perennials, and hardscape such as sidewalks. Do be honest in telling the designer of your estimation of skill and willingness to care the plants -- there's a big difference in the best plants for learning/experienced gardeners and someone who doesn't want to do more than admire their looks. But no matter where your skill level, it's least expensive to have the right plant for the right purpose right from the beginning.

Very nice! I agree with hiring a good professional to draw up a simple initial plan for a beautiful and high-quality use of your space.

Your lovely home is close to the street, so if it were mine it'd be important to me to stop the eye from shooting directly to the front of the house, because I wouldn't feel as if I'd left the public domain for private until the door closed behind me. And then I'd have to keep moving toward the back until the feeling really sank in--like the first 20 feet inside a store where no one stops to browse.

Toward that end, just for instance, I might step that porch down all along it to either a formal strip of lawn or a nice old-timey paved patio and put the planting beds, including any trees, along the perimeter fence to form a gentle enclosure. The plantings would allow a view in yet still provide a feeling of separation and some degree of privacy. It would also be designed to look very good from above.

The house is set back 20 feet from the sidewalk, which is what our neighborhood requires. Most houses in other areas of the city are much, much closer to the street. The house I am renting now is only 4 feet from the sidewalk. We are in New Orleans, the lots are small and everyone is on top of each other. To some that don't live in such an urban setting it might feel cramped, but our lot is actually one of the bigger lots in our area by the lake at 58 wide and 120 deep.

We are planning on putting a porch swing on the top and on the bottom porches, on the side opposite the stairs.

Also, since we are a corner lot, we really cant have anything too big close to the sidewalk because it would make seeing around the corner difficult while driving.

Here's a more recent picture. With the frame for the walk way, and the bricked columns.