I would remove all the bushes, widen the flower bed to about twice the current width (curving out to meet the walk), and the plant a mix of shrubs and flowering plants. A bright planter to either side of entry.

Darker shutters would be nice, but maybe a charcoal rather than pure black.

Would remove the diagonal bars at corners of entry, if not strictly structural -- they're and odd effect. Brighter door color, since it's shadowed. Good porch light and big house numbers run vertically on the left.

good advise above. beds should be a minimum of 3-4 feet deep and not straight across. I would make shutters a brownish dark grey to tie in with the stone. door definitely should be a brighter color.

to the left of the entry door, a small decorative tree such as a Japanese maple or serviceberry would be pretty

Agree - remove all the boxy shrubs and hedges that require continual maintenance. Then add an deep, yet open, airy feeling bed that is low maintenance. I like perennials and you can add annuals for additional color in the different seasons when perennials are not blooming. Consider replacing the porch trim with something beefier that can stand up to the visual weight of the stone walls. I would repaint with a color drawn directly from the stone. Your shutters look like BM's Crisp Romaine and it always looks good with a darker brown. You might want to save up to re-sod the lawn.

decoenthusiaste,

I could add another post to the other side to add balance and then remove the diagonal trim. The post are 6" not the skinny 4" ones. What else can I do to beef it up without doing a massive porch expansion. Maybe I could do that stone bottom part, but not sure if I can find stone to match. Never tried putting up stone before.

I was showing the last pic for the open planting bed. I would remove the security door, pressure wash the walk, porch and step. Then get a new door and try a single large square post. Here's the size I had in mind.Notice the stone foundation here. I think you might want to try that below your siding if you can find a match. I would eventually replace the louvered shutters with board and batten ones like here.

Starting working on that curb appeal. So far removed the ridiculously overgrown bushes in front of the stone on the right. Here is what I am thinking. Remove all the plants with a red arrow. Keep the 2 Blue plants, but trimmed to same size and then transplant the plant marked in green to where the long arrow points. That way you have will have 3 tall bushes sort as an anchor. So of the right I can have a row of small shrubs between the tree and the newly transplanted bush.

Any thoughts on how that will look.

I think the whole thing needs color and not so many evergreen type bushes. The Japanese maple or similar purple/ red foliage bushes would be lovely.

I started to play with a landscape program. I tell you plants in real life never looks as good as in those programs. Anyway you can kind of see what I am thinking. I am thinking about stone edging with some rust color like on the house.

updated with bed on both sides, with what I have so far.

I'm going to suggest one Japanese maple..some coral bells in an orange or red color. 3 of your existing evergreens is plenty. now work with texture and color. look for shrub varieties that stay naturally small to reduce landscape maitenance.

I like the addition of color :)

Hot water pressure wash house to side walk.

penelope0000

It is on my list after finishing the bush removal and tilling and before installing new plants.

The last photo is not your place as a second story is not shown in others! Get the bushes away from home and add shutters to the brick side. Try a different paint color on home after. Like so far what you have done! Pick a color to your front door! Make it stand out.

Ken

Mountain MT Homes,

The last photo I posted is my place, same as the original photos I showed. It is 1 story in the front and 2 story in the back.

Yes I am planning on doing all those things, but first trying to figure out the flower bed.

@rwbl, I would put flower beds just in front of the wood siding and not the brick side. Also think of your large yard and put a feature there!

Ken

You are a lucky homeowner. I can see no design flaws on your home that need to be disguised with landscaping. I would keep the landscaping simple and allow most of the stone to be seen.

I like more earthy colors for your house.

I gave you a uniform ground cover under the three front windows. It can be evergreen perennial or evergreen prostrate shrubs.

Speaking of the windows, since they are narrow, I gave lighter shutters. Light colors make things appear larger. I am not sure it is necessary but I thought I'd give it a try.

I point out two good locations for a very small specimen tree or a largish shrub. On the shady side a large Hydrangea would be pretty.

I am not a fan of the above grade edging you suggest. I like this house with a less formal look.

Door color and shutter color do not need to be neutral. I was just trying to keep it simple.

emmarence,

What program do you use that allows you to remove the shrubs like that?

I am not a master with landscaping program yet, so I am a bit limited but I was think I would build board and batten shutters like some suggested and using Dragon
Breath 1547 BM, so it would look something like the photo below. I am not sure about whether or not to do it on the stone part. Also will remove the security door and install new door with 1/2 light glass and paint it the same Dragon Breath color.

Here is my thinking. First remove the bushes and leave just the 3 I pointed out early. Pressure wash, build the shutters, make the post bigger and maybe add a 2nd post to balance out, paint the house and trim, the based on how it looks after that decide on plants and edging.

You have a lovely home. Show it off. Let your stonework be a major part of your curb appeal. Please don't add all of those round (red) bushes. Too many shutters add to a cluttered curb appeal. Take it a step at a time. First-Remove all of the high maintenance shrubs. Some of the ones you trimmed will never fill in properly. Second-power wash the porch and sidewalk. Third-once the buses are removed and power washing is completed, take lots of photos from several angles and from a distance. Be objective in your assessment before you paint, door or trim. If you keep the black security door, paint your door black also. If you paint the door a light color, the security door will give your entrance a prison effect. If the front door is painted black, it will blend in with the security door. If you do decide to remove the security door, match your door and shutters to give a balanced appearance to your home. But please do not plant new shrubs all in a row. Get some advice from your local nursery on low maintenance plants and try to add some color with flowers. Take your time, plan well and good luck. I am sure your home will look wonderful with thoughtful, objective decisions.

Your house is well proportioned and the stone is very attractive. Your objective is to enhance what you have, not add things to distract from it. Avoid bright flowers and leaf color, since they will detract from your stone work and the soft look you have.

My home has orange toned stone too, and I have found that it looks good with soft dusty colors. Blue toned foliage in shrubs (e.g. junipers), cream colored flowers such as hydrangea, pale yellows. Blue or pale purple/lavender flowers. Silvery foliage such as dusty miller, brunnera and lamb's ears give a soft cottage look, and seem to glow in the evening. No red or orange. Purple lamium as a ground cover. Rust colored chrysanthemums in the fall. I have not had success with peach/apricot colored colored flowers - they are usually too yellowish and clash with the stone.

I like your existing door color. Lavender would look good too. Can you paint your security door the same as your door color, whatever you choose?

I wouldn't build an edge to your bed, just edge it with a spade. I'd make the beds straight across. If you feel you must curve, don't use a hose to outline the beds as is sometimes suggested. That leads to unattractive squiggly shapes. Use a very long string on a stick and draw real curves in an S shape on either side.

Forget the stone edging. Spade the edge as Partim suggested. Use the saved money to have a plan done by a landscaping architect. Looking at your home, you want to keep the planting below your windows especially if this is the north side. You want to gain light inside your home. There are at least three wall spaces on the right side to have taller shrubs if you wish. The view isn't just for visitors, when you shape the beds, go inside and make sure it's deep enough to enjoy when sitting at the windows.

Mass planting is fine, but in your case, not in a long line. You'll notice in this photo groupings of the same plant types grouped in an area, not in a line. This really helps flatter a home that is not symmetrical in architecture.

There is a gardening forum on Houzz, you might want to add a post noting the planting zone you live in and the sun/shade exposure details.

I love the choice of the colors on the home in the 2nd photo, the warm white, brown/green trim and stone looks great in the dappled shade.

@BetteP agree that the colors in the second photo are very attractive.

@rwbil, notice that the door color is not red but rather orange/rust which is taken from the stone. I prefer your original muted green/blue which is the complementary color to orange, since it leaves more focus on the stone, but this small bright door looks good too.

Just throwing this out there since it wasn't yet mentioned, you could remove the shutters altogether.

Originally the house had no shutters and at that time I thought it looked bad. But before I build the board I will remove the shutters and see how it looks.

My latest and greatest. I removed all the bushes but 3. In the first photo I transplated 2 other bushes in front of the right stone section. In the 2nd photo I transplanted 4 other bushes. I believe the 4th transplanted bush by the left stone does not fit. It is just too close to the tree to work. The last photo is from my landscape program adding plants. I was then thinking of adding dwarf wintergreen boxwood kept at 2' max height in front of the wood siding and then adding Crimson Fire Dwarf Loropetalum in front of the stones in a triangle pattern.

Any thoughts?

Rwbil, I used Microsoft Paint to make my images. Unless you have an Apple, it should already be on your computer. It comes with Windows. It is very easy to use

I am not a fan of squiggly border lines.

I am not great with that program yet. It is just suppose to be gentle curves coming out at the trees and large bushes.

Can you get the dish moved to the side or back?

Rwbil- great job so far! Agree that the bush to the left by the tree doesn't work. I like the flower beds you sketched though.

If you've got 4 or 5 gentle curves, that comes out as squiggly. What looks better is one nice smooth curve or S shape.

Before planting anything else in the beds I would paint your shutters and door dark color (my choice would be black) and also (sorry drawing a blank on the correct term for the trim piece under roof line like in photo) paint roof trim for more pop...may be too much but definitely shutters and door...very hard to paint after landscaping. Not sure how low maintenance you want but small rounded boxwoods on each side of your walk way could look nice. First pick is of black double peak? second of boxwood. If you get your boxwoods shaped by landscape company yearly it is easy to hand prune and maintain shape.

*Second photo is from Houzz

Thought I would provide some updates and thank all the
people that responded. Have a few final questions.

First, as you can tell I took a lot of the advice given
here. I painted the siding and
trim. Removed the security door and 1 of
the diagonals (still have to get rid of the other one), removed all the overgrown
bushes and redid the flower bed by installing Winter Green Boxwoods that will only
grow 2-3 feet tall and Purple Pixes; a
dwarf Loropetalum (a little hard to see against the brown mulch); and put in
brown mulch. I built my first board and
batten shutter (Only installed one so far), and pressure washed the stone and
house. I have not replaced the front
door, but plan to and plant to paint it the shutter color.

I am attaching photos showing the new updates and some
beefed up post options. In the photo I
show post in both the trim and shutter color.
I also show the option of using 1
or 2 post (to balance out around the door entrance) I am not sure which color
to go with and whether or not to do one or two post.

Finally I cut and pasted the shutter I built and put it on
all the window including the stone.

So here are my questions:

1. 1\) How do all the colors look? Any adjustments needed?,

) 2)2) How does the Board and Batten shutter look. Is the width right. I went 17” and not sure if that is too wide
or just right?.

Should I place a Board and Batten Shutter on the
stone part? I am leaning No.

4. 4. Should I paint the concrete under the wood
      siding and if so what color; trim or house siding color?,

Should I go with 1 or 2 post and which color;
shutter color or the trim color, and

Are the Post the right width. Originally it wa 6” and now I am beefing
to 10”?

Some people paint their foundation the color of their house. I do not think this is necessary as it will be covered with landscaping in time.

You do not need two posts, I actually think your current post is fine. It is not meant to dominate the porch, which is smallish. I prefer it in white but both colors look nice.

I would not put shutters on the stone part of the house.

No shutters on stone. white on post if only one. if you do 2 posts you could use either color. it's looking nice!

I'm arriving late to this post, so I'm going to simply cast my vote on the changes made and questions asked by OP: the changes look great, just shutters on wood side, nice color on shutters, love lighter color on wood siding, post is fine as is and kept same color as siding, remove decorative cross beam on left side of porch as you did on the right. I would also suggest letting plant material grow for several months before adding more. You have made great strides with your home. Good luck with future endeavors.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/board-and-batten-shutters-offer-pretty-protection-stsetivw-vs~3186020
This Houzz article on board and batten shutters is worth a read. You'll notice they are mounted on the window trim with exposed operable hardware and hold backs. They are sized to cover the glass if closed. There are lots of companies that sell the hardware online if you want an authentic look. Something to consider since you are building them yourself. I would not add shutters on the stone portion.
Love the new light wall paint choice. I would do one post, same as your new wall color. I don't think it needs to contrast.
Keep the bushes trimmed below the windows in the future.

i like the shutters on the wood only.

dont paint the door the shutter color give it some pop

i like the darker post for contrast.

YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB!