Yes, nice house! Initial thoughts are that the "coverage" areas are backwards. If it were mine I might...

1. Remove the hedges from the left house number column up to the bump-out past the small bathroom window.

2. Use lower growing shrubs, planters and annuals to add color to the areas near the sidewalks, making it more inviting.

3. Under the small bathroom window, put a 6'er with some blooms or variegated contrast that will grow up to the bottom of the window. You can plant some dwarf hedges in front of that.

4. Hedges (same height as whats there now) starting from far left of house and going across the windows to the column. And hedges starting from right side bump-out to the garage wall.

Here is what I'd consider a basic clean-up....

Less is more. The groundcover, visual walkup interest, bush under small window, clean up trim on the crepe and flower planting under the windows. NICE! House looks larger, too.

Thanks everyone! Good suggestions..

I am in Zone 9a, the house faces north. The small window is actually a window in the garage. I dont think I can do anything with the oak trees except trim them - HOA rules. Not sure if I can do anything about the curve on the tree. The trees should fill up, i think they were not getting enough water, we fixed that issue, and I will see if they need anything else. Planning on getting them trimmed to clear up some of the droopy branches.

the bare tree by the house is a redbud? It has purple blooms in the winter, it is a reasonable distance from the house and I dont think it grows too much. It needs pruning and some TLC, it was very bare and unhealthy looking when we moved in. Picture was taken in Feb of this year, so it looks bare, not that it looks any better now, just greener.

I agree with most of the suggestions, clean up, use low growing plants near the path, I like what Yardvaark did, I think the small window needs something under it. I was thinking about adding some edging to the beds, and maybe bringing the one on the the left side (pic) out more. the study faces this and it is a very nice room with tall ceilings and the plantation shutters and would be nice if I can open them to have a better view!

When people speak of "edging" they can mean low plants, a raised hardscape material, or a flush mowing strip. I always prefer the latter for a clean, non-junky appearance. Actually, a mowing strip would look much like the brick edging that you already have bordering the concrete walk. It would tie in nicely.

Yardvaark, I was thinking more along the "hardscaping" lines, stone type stuff that houses around us have. Do you think a mowing strip will look better? Most of the houses around us have some architectural features, like a patio, columns, or have facades with combination of stone and brick, or stone and stucco etc and look better in terms of curb appeal. I thought that adding a neat and substantial stone type border will give it more interest, am I wrong?

Notice that you have windows of which the bottoms go very low to the ground. So there is not vertical space in which to create a slightly raised bed spanning the width of the house, in front of them.

A raised hardscape edging, but that is not retaining earth (like a curb) but instead is like the low edges of an empty (of soil) cookie baking sheet, looks cheap and unattractive ... especially when the material itself is thin, like the thickness of a brick. More often than not, when such edgings are constructed by homeowners, they are not careful in the selection of materials (thin) and the construction itself (wavy or undulating lines.) It all adds up to look "cheap." In the case of such low windows, only a mowing strip (which still must be built carefully) is going to be practical and look good. Whatever edge or mowing strip you use, it should be MINIMUM 8" thick (front-to-back depth.)

I think you also might not be recognizing how much well cared for, proper plants will add interest, too. In the present state, it's an ignored aspect of potential street appeal. Landscape is about bringing many components together into an overall appealing picture. You cannot do any one single thing and expect it is going to accomplish the job of making a marvelous overall picture.

One thing to consider is that the two caterpillar hedges seem to be thriving. It is very hard to find anything to grow on the north face of a house. If you know the identity of the shrub you could use it for below the small window. One thing I like about groundcover is that it helps the left and right side of the yard look united. I would try Ajuga. I think you are lucky that your house seems designed for a low maintenance yard. Who does your garden maintenance?

You said you cannot do the type of landscaping that your neighbors use. I am very curious about what they are doing. Could you describe it?

I strongly oppose the rock edging. Partly because you would have to buy the rock, since you want to save money. Also I do not find rock edging attractive. Many people like it but to me it looks unsophisticated. I don't know what you mean about substantial rock edging. I also think you should not be concerned with the color of your brick. Where Yardvaark put the pink flowers could be Impatiens or Begonias. Both can handle the shade. I am also in zone 9. We had an unusual hard freeze a few years back and the begonias disappeared in that winter. Come spring they grew again. I couldn't believe it.

Lastly, I have to say that path is the worst feature of your landscape. It would be so much better with a straight path. I would want that changed just as soon as I could afford it.

Yes, straight paths, especially to a front entrance in a more formal house, are most appropriate. Also, it's nice to be able to walk in a straight line to a door.

I am not bothered by the curve in the path, thinking that the foreshortening of the photo makes it look more severe than it really is. But as usual, I wish the walk were wider to better fit the size of the house.

Yardvaark, the wider path makes such a big difference! I would not have thought about it..

Not sure if I can do it though, I think it would be expensive + there are all kinds of HOA restrictions, best I could probably do is add another line of bricks?

The curve is there, but not as noticeable as in the pic. It does look a bit silly as its curved for no reason, but, oh well. But you can walk in a straight line, its not that sharp.

emmarene, most of the houses here have colorful annuals, I dont think that will work for my house. This side gets some sunlight, but not full sun, and to my eye, the reds, pinks and oranges clash with the brick color. The houses around us are either white - brick or stucco, or red brick. there is one house with the same brick color, but they have not done anything except a hedge.

My previous house had beds edged with something that looks like the first picture, with flagstones, although I did not many flowers in the bed.

I have not seen a mowing edge around here in the front anywhere, except for a thin black one in my previous house in the side yard. I was thinking along these lines (for the edging, not for the bed/flowers):

I think its the lack of anything that is not pink brick in the front that is the reason I was thinking about the edging. The bed does have a slope to it, cant see from the pictures I posted, I will take some pictures of it closer. I was trying to get an idea of what I want it to look from the street, not worrying about the bed itself.

Of the last 3 pictures of edging, the first one looks best. It looks nearly flush. If it was, it would BE a mowing strip. If someone took a little care to do this, it would look quite handsome. Second picture installation looks amateurish ... a bit messy, jagged and looks hard to maintain (weed-eat without knocking rocks out of place.) last picture looks not well thought out with the mulch in front of the stone curb. Foreground plastic and mulch is too prominent.

Yardvaark, Agree with not liking the mulch and the plastic in front in the last, but I was just looking for the edging ideas, without the mulch and plastic, will that work? Or do you think that the first one will work better? I guess your point is that the windows are low, so something flush with the ground is the better option. I thought mowing strips were plastic/rubber? We had that type (first pic) in our last house and it looked ok, nothing great, but nothing objectionable either. Our previous house was white brick, and somehow I felt I could work with that easier than this one. I will try to get some pics of the current beds today if I get home before dark.

Does anyone have an idea how much it would cost if I had this done? Thinking that I may be better off with a professional than trying to do this myself and messing up...clearly I have no experience or ideas about the right plants

No, the mowing strip is not because of the windows being low. It works at all houses no matter how their windows are. Stuff/edging sticking up above grade must look classy and well built. 98% of what homeowners install does not. Some looks horrible and they still say they "just love it." (bad taste cannot be cured.) In the 3rd pic. above, it would still look bad without the plastic and mulch in front because the edge itself is way too thin. It should look "retaining wall thickness" and 4" is way under. Here's a brick mowing strip that is 8" wide. That's the minimum. I've seen double brick strips (16" width) and it looked fine/nice, too.) It does not have to be brick. It can be stone. That first pic. you have just above would work if the all the stone was set flush. You can see by the shadow that some is sticking up.

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Yardvaark, Ah! Now I get it. I don't think I've even seen the type of edging you are talking about. I guess I will stick with the flush type...brick is fine I guess, except it will add more pink! But maybe it will bring everything together and make it look uniform instead of adding a different material. If I understand, it will be basically extending the border on the walkway to the beds...

Here are the beds themselves, I dont think there is anything about them I like. The redbud needs some TLC and will probably looker better. This side of the house does not get full sun, however, in my experience, in Houston few plants survive in full sun. It does get decent amount of light.

third bed by garage

I mentioned earlier that one of my negative criticisms of what people do to their yards is often because of the MANNER IN WHICH IT IS DONE. "Edgings" seem to be a classic example of how things can go wrong. In the case of your picture immediately above, the white stone, thankfully, is not sticking up much above grade, increasing its visibility. However, as an artistic statement when compared to the house and drive construction, the rock seems rustic and starkly colored; the pieces look smallish, jagged and a bit gravelly. I can't say that adding the rock adds positive benefits to the overall picture. Now, if the stone were larger slabs, moderately colored, installed in some reasonably uniform width and with a uniformly consistent surface (evenly ... like a professional would do it) then it could have an entirely different and positive effect for the overall picture. Materials and installation methods MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Take another look at the photo you added Monday, 7:42 AM .... the rock is a nice color. The edging is generally wider (slightly larger slabs). I find it much less offensive (though I wish the rock was more evenly set and the bed line wasn't so loopy!) In one of your pictures just above, where the bed abuts a portion of the drive where there is already a brick edging ... it seems that these two materials are in competition with each other. The brick is definitely winning the fight if one questions, "what belongs and what looks out of place?"

The white stone adds nothing. Also, because of the type of grass you probably have there, the best edging is...and edger, as in the equipment with the string. Not fake stone. The edging next to another hardscape surface looks odd.

The thing I like least about your beds are the "let's put some curves on it" curves. There's no reason for them. It looks awkward because someone just drew a squiggle.

Confession: I have a "sticking up edging" along my driveway, but that's because the drive and the beds are each 50+ years old, and the soil level in the beds has actually increased, so I need a miniature retaining wall. I'd like it to be cor-ten, but unfortunately, you shouldn't use that right next to concrete, so it's unobtrusive powder-coated steel. When I redo the driveway, though, that will be corrected! At least for the next 30 years or so....