Remove those bushes to start with.

Remove bushes. Redo lawn. Add new landscaping that includes flowers and hides ac unit. Move trash can or build an enclosure.

needs a few trees, replace existing bushes (and hide AC unit), add color with flowers, etc..keep the rocks

Oh no, don't remove the bushes. I think they might be trimmed to be a little more extreme. They're very appropriate for this home.

what is the open area to the right of the garage? it seems like it needs to be closed in.

I would think about staining your drive way and add a path out of stepping stones along the right side of it. this path should help guide people to your front door.

you might consider an asymmetrical low hedge to the left of the driveway.

while you try to figure out how to hide the AC, I would suggest doing something to hide the electrical conduit running up the front wall.



I would remove the cedar shrubs if possible.

right now you have lawn that needs attention. do you want keep the lawn? a lawn is easier to maintain than plantings. I notice that you have a bed of stones over by the right side of the house starting at the down spout. is there a purpose for this bed of stones. is there a drainage issue?

before you plan new landscaping, you will have to decide about how much time that you want to commit to maintaining it or that you want to pay your gardener to take care of it. a lawn is the easiest option to maintain.

you have some good suggestions for how to decide on plantings if you opt to go that route. you might want include a large specimen tree as a future focal point in the yard.

rip out the shrubs, paint the trim darker. paint the garage to match the house color.

Oh grover!!! And I liked your comment but then!!!! No popsicles please. . Keep the one at the far right for height while you rework the rest of the planting area. Do something with the great corner window feature . .planting underneath the side and front the same . . I'd like to see two rows - an evergreen low shrub in the rear that has a nice natural shape . . no hedging . to max 3 ' height growth, with a row of flowering perennials in front of that on both sides of the the L and then fill the front edge with groundcover - at least in the front of the house .. .

in front of the brick wall / glass block area . . something architectural like bronze flax would be great in a three point zig zag to emphasize the architecture . . hide the compressor . . speak to your nursery man to find out what works in your zone . .

You have a gorgeous brick chimney .. consider using concrete stain to take your driveway darker than your brick . . in the gold / buff / light brown direction (san diego buff is one color to try). I can't recommend rock underlayment with all the brick . . stick with mulch (and no colored mulch please) . Love your pale green trim and garage . . would love to see the house numbers that appear on the two story element be bigger and darker . . . great great house.

I think a little research into period appropriate plantings is in order...I remember from French class, years ago, a comedic movie making fun of the "new" look of the fifties...your shrubs took me right back to that class...I'll have to ask the Googles!

The Googles are amazeballs...Mon Oncle starring Jaques Tati.

Ha ha, libra, those popsicles are very 50s, Palm Springs or Vegas retro. Maybe you like something a bit more subdued?

Then again, I say let's go all the way.

If you're really going to go all the way, Grover, you're gonna have to photoshop in a proper fifties housewife waving in the driveway...

I just met with a very pricey landscape architect to discuss getting a plan for my home, which similar to yours. She suggested keeping the plantings more rectangular or square and not doing the curvy look based on the style of my home, also to make it feel more contemporary.

I'm just bummed by her proposal's price because it was so so high. (Like $5,000+) This is just for the plan....

But you can also just meet with some people and get ideas. We have another person giving us a plan and proposal for $100 from an Angie's List special.

Good idea, drdeb. I think the car will be easier to find, though.

Here are my long-winded thoughts for your consideration (I am not being paid by the hour, so loosen up)

Two concerns: a. the front facade and b. the pedestrian entrance area.

a. let the front evergreens go unpruned for a year or two to let them relax and not be eye-attracting sculptures. Let the lower branches extend to the light or they will die out, leaving bare trunks beneath.

See how they look with a couple years growth before you prune them again, but no more sculptures here. If you are a sculptor, put your artwork out here, where it will be only until it is sold, a changing gallery.

The streetside house facade is nicely balanced architecturally, but you need to disguise the utility array that are visible, at some point in your planning.

The downspouts should be run into underground pipes, which lead to gravel areas or dry wells.

You might consider replacing the front window with one full of small panes; or have a carpenter install window mullions to appear like small panes.

I wish that multistem tree that is reflected in the front window was closer to the house. You might want to duplicate it there.

b. how about this scenario. See if you can picture the end result.

Remove the drive pavement, at least from the expansion joint just before the house, all the way back to the garage. Dig out the driveway foundation and install 6-10" of gravel base, topped with a smaller gravel, then stone dust as a setting bed for a porous pavement of tightly spaced brick or a thick flagstone that can be driven over without cracking.

This is your entrance terrace, upon which you welcome your guests and visiting friends and family. During the day, you have some chairs out there to have coffee with your neighbor, some containers, on wheels, filled with bright flowers or foliage. You may want this area to extend beyond the driveway to the left away from your front doorway or place some planting to view when exiting your home or when looking out the windows across the drive toward the neighbor. Also some planting by the chimney will further enhance the view as you approach the entrance terrace from the street.

Make the trash barrels disappear, please. Cars remain in the garage or on the street during the day, except the pink convertibles, of course.

Food for thought.

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I would take out the existing shrubs (I know, easier said than done). And paint the downspouts and garage door to blend in with the house and, as others have suggested, I agree that painting the trim darker would look good. Then, go in your house and look out and think about what you want to see when you look out. Or what you want to smell when the windows are open. When you do plant new shrubs, pay attention to the height that they will reach and just wait a few years for them to reach their full height. Don't plant big things that need to be cut back all the time, it's a waste of time. On the right side of the front, where there is glassblock(?) consider something that would reach a height slightly higher than the roof and plant another of the same small tree somewhere on the left of the driveway. Then fill in a shrub border with plants that complement the color of your house and trim. Great house! Enjoy!