Hey everyone!

I just recently bought a home in the Sandhills area of North Carolina. My husband and I are excited to do the landscaping for our front yard and a raised bed vegetable garden in the backyard but being first-time homeowners, and being new to this climate/soil, we don't know what plants will A) tie our front yard together and hide those foundation walls and B) will happily grow in this sandy NC soil.

What do y'all advise?

I know we need some taller shrubs in the back to hide the walls and then some flowers of various textures in front of that, but I am so clueless with styling and what colors would loo best! I should also add that I have done very little gardening/landscaping in the last 10-12 years because I have lived in apartments up until now.

Things to note about our home:

-the front yard is NW facing and we get some afternoon sun but there are also some tall pine trees immediately across the street from us

-we live in USDA Zone 8a (see, I have done some research!)

-the soil is quite sandy...similar to the coastal NC areas though we are about 2 hours inland

-my front yard , if you couldn't already tell from the picture, is quite small, and has a culvert running through it. I would like to somehow make the lawn look bigger, or at least not smaller than it already is.

-I like a very natural, cohesive look and probably don't have the expertise or time to maintain plants that require a ton of pruning and care.

-We want to do this by ourselves if possible, and would like to spend less than $1000

Thank you in advance for your help! I've attached a picture for reference. Please don't mind the tall grass...I was out of town for quite a while and it was raining all day yesterday.

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