your home looks very idyllic and it certainly presents a lot of options!

I think the snowplow issue is one that is most pressing, you would not want to put perennials there or update the border if that is an issue you think you will be faced with again. I love the idea about the wildflower seeds, maybe something you could consider is amending the soil around the border with compost to make it more fertile. If your street was salted during the winter it is possible the ground has a high mineral content and it is preventing the seeds from germinating.

An option if you are open to putting in a wall there, to install a "living wall" similar to this but on a smaller scale, like 2ft high. This structure may keep the snowplow off your ground and would let your plants get a lot of light, and hopefully keep the pineneedles off. You could then fill the spots with anything, wildflowers, ferns, annuals.

This could be improvised with either stone, cinderblocks, or other recycled materials.

Verdura® Plantable Retaining Wall · More Info

I'd take a hike in the surrounding forests for inspiration. When you get to a spot you like sit down and study the spot to figure out why you like it. Consider the entire space, not specific plants. Recreate that. You may find you like no plants better. For example many people find a thick monochromatic layer of pine needles very relaxing. Maybe a few large boulders for interest. Turn something you dislike, raking needles, into something beautiful.

If you see plants in the forest that you'd like for your yard see about collecting some. Plants in many US National Forests can be collected with an easy to get permit. You can collect whole plants, seeds or cuttings. Mosses can be nice too.

You can plant more pines and prune them to make interesting shapes. What most people call Bonsai, but isn't really the proper term. You can keep them any height you like.

It really depends on what you want the yard to say. Natural and easy? Or complex and expensive? Many people want complex whether they'll admit it or not. Here in Phoenix, 8" of rain per year, a very common yard is...you guessed it, grass. Why? Because it's complex and expensive. We even grow a second annual lawn in winter. In Portland Oregon people want to grow cactus. People with sunny yards want to use shade loving plants and people with shade want sunny loving flowers. Humans are strange creatures.

About the water...consider grey water. I keep a 15'x3' bed of Canna (water loving) growing all year just from grey water from my washing machine, about 3 loads per week. That's in Phoenix.

Also consider a pondless water feature. Expect blow back from passerby, neighbors, etc.. as they will consider you a water waster. But the truth is these use very little water, way less than plants. It's a way to add low water use interest and provides water to wildlife, birds mainly. It can be configured to provide a bathing area for birds which can be very entertaining when placed for easy viewing from the house. Concrete under and also over the liner to protect from animals.

I like the gray water idea, it's kind of expensive to setup at this point but will do that in the future. In the meantime I'm collecting snow melt ! I wish I can have a pond but I'm sure the bears would love that too. As for pine needles, I have to rake it because it's a high fire danger in my area. :( Thanks for the ideas.

Look at Geranium macrorrhizum (Big Root Geranium), THE plant for dry shade--deer resistant, semievergreen, easy to establish, in bloom now in zone 6A.

Here's an update on my house. I planted some Pink lamium under the pine trees and hopefully they'll start growing rapidly. I'm utilizing the rocks that are dug up in my garden to make a rock garden look. I planted some Earthturf mini clover seeds a couple days ago and that should make it look like I have grass when it's really just drought tolerant ground cover. If it works out i'm going to try it in the other areas, supposedly I can still rake pine needles through it if it's kept short.

I'm definitely still researching plants for my area. Thanks for the Geranium advice Laceyvail!