Which way will most people see the house? I see the sidewalk coming from the right...does that mean most people will actually see the house from the right?

I don’t know your zone (I’m zone 4) so can’t offer advice there, but I’m trying to visualize what you could do. It’s a pretty house. What colour will your front door be? It got cut off from your comment.

Do you not have an eavestrough? What are the round shrubs already there? I have no idea about plants as I'm in Canada, zone 5ish. Your house is kind of small, so I'd be wary about blocking windows and such.

Speckhen, thank you! The house faces the cul de sac so when you pull in the driveway you mainly see the front of the house but also the side. The bottom two pics are taken from the driveway so thats pretty much the view when you pull in (the sidewalk is just a walk way from the drive to the door). The door will be medium grey. Any ideas would be great!

J Williams, our house (for some reason) doesn't have them, almost all the other houses in the neighborhood do. We will eventually be installing them. I definitely don't want to block the windows with tall bushes, I believe they're a holly bush of some type.

I'm thinking should get more bushes to fill the gaps? Or maybe pull them out and put in flowering evergreen shrubs (if there is such a thing? Lol)

That would be rhododendrons and azaleas.

I think Dig Doug has an interesting plan - what’s your reaction to it? I think it definitely works. I do like the cottage look, though, which is the vibe I currently get from your place, and a cottage type garden could also work. Are you comfortable with roses? A low-growing bush rose in front of each window could work. I must admit I don’t like the current bushes - they look like filler plants to me, rather than plants with purpose. I’m attaching a pic I created fooling around with a drawing app (nowhere near as nice as Dig Doug’s!), and I’d add more plants around, but you can see how the look changes with changing the bushes.

Another version, but with some additional low plants - increase diversity of plants for an even more cottage-type look...

Ooh!! I love these thank you Dig Doug and Speckhen!

Dig Doug, it doesn't even look like the same house! Thats amazing, I love it! When we rebuild the deck I think we'll be doing the porch now too lol it's lovely

Speckhen, I think rose bushes would do well here, we have one on the property that does fine with no help from me :) my only concern is how they would look in the winter. I think the second one would be good with the layers of height.

I don't like the holly bushes there either lol when we moved in there were lots of plants in random places.

Azaleas and rhododendrons were mentioned and I love them but I don't know if they can handle the full afternoon sun they would get?

The bed to the right of the door looks odd to me - see how the low stone wall appears to cut the bed in half, since there’s no grass between the wall and the sidewalk? There’s no reason that the right side wall shape needs to mirror the left.

I’d move that low wall out to the sidewalk to incorporate that whole area as a bed. (I see there is some kind of edging along the sidewalk to mitigate spillage already.) Then you could disassemble that little square, making one big continuous bed.

You can do matching plantings on both sides, if you want, though. And how about a biggish flowering shrub at the right corner? A lilac, hydrangea, or viburnum? Well, maybe not hydrangea if it’s full sun.

And a few lower limbs on that tree need removed. They look like headknockers - painful when mowing. Ask me how I know.

Edit to add: I forgot to say, cute house. It looks very homey and comfortable.

Thank you Littlebug! It's not big or fancy like most houses on here but we bought it when we were 24 and are proud of it :) the inside is fixed up now I can focus on the outside!

I really like the idea of "bumping out" the bed to the walkway because it has always bothered me lol. I just don't know if my husband and I would be capable of diy-ing that. Do you think some type of ground cover plant would work for now or maybe just get the grass to grow there? (I have plenty of liriope I could throw in there)

I googled viburnums and lilacs and I really like the snowball viburnums! I've always liked hydrangeas but you're right, I think it it's too sunny for them. It would be good to have something there big enough it won't get beat up by the rain and help with erosion. We definitely need to trim up the tree, it's getting a little unruly lol

It wouldn't be hard at all to bump out the bed to the walkway. Dig up the wall stones, and set them in their new places first. Then get some cardboard boxes, break them down to flat pieces, wet them with a hose, lay them all over the new bed area (completely covering the surface), pour mulch over the whole thing, and water again. Done.

In a week or two, if you want to plant anything in the new area, just cut a hole in the slowly-decomposing cardboard and pop the plant/tree/shrub in the hole. Water. Push the mulch around it. Done.

Amy, it's probably not too sunny for hydrangea paniculata or arborescens. If you're not familiar, those are mostly they white and pink varieties (rather than blue/purple). Ask on the hydrangea forum if you want more advice on those. Personally I like hydrangea better than viburnum--longer lasting and more interesting blooms.

For help with specific plants, it's a good idea to put your zone in your profile so it always pops up.

You make it sound so simple! All of the stone slabs are set with concrete, so we'd have to break it apart first and I'm just worried about breaking the stone pieces themselves. Just like changing the porch it is something I aspire to do .. eventually :D

Lalala, I will definitely post in the hydrangea forum (didn't know there was one lol I'm still kind of new to posting). I would looove to have them planted out front! Finding and choosing pretty plants for full afternoon sun is hard!

I'm sorry, but I don't like what Dig Doug did to your portico. I don't think it's at all appropriate for this house.

If anyone else wants to landscape for you, here is your house with the holly removed. Also the shutters properly sized and painted dark blue.

I would keep the foundation plants low so as not to obscure your very cute house. I don't think you necessarily need a lot of color here.

According to Monrovia, there are 1,375 flowering plants that grow in full sun in zone 7: https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/search/?cold_zone=7&sun_exposure=5&landscape_use=27

Another thing I've found useful is to determine what habit you want your plants to have, then go to your best nursery and ask their horticulturist what they recommend.

I'm wondering if the weird square bed at the corner of your house is that way to keep rainwater from washing everything away. Or is there some sort of drain in there? IMO before I put in new plantings around the house, I'd get gutters installed. Protect the house and the plants. I've never used a rain chain, but maybe that would help slow down the water coming off the corner of the roof.

While the existing shrubs look healthy, they don't seem to coordinate with any architectural features, as if extending those features into the landscape. & there are so many; they look like too much trimming to me.

Some small trees will make your house look protected and nestled in. (Small, multi-trunk trees are large shrubs with the lower branches removed.)

If there's going to be a bed below a tree, it should be sized large enough so as not to look silly like a person whose clothes are several sizes too small & tight. Imagine if the tree was growing in a giant pot. The bed should be at least the size of the imaginary pot diameter.

Using groundcover will give a luxurious, cushioned look.

Your existing tree in the front yard is overdue for maintenance. Leaving the lower limbs on blocks the view beyond and tends to make the scene look neglected. Young trees are forming their adult structure and can develop bad habits, like lower branches that turn upward and eventually begin to compete with the trunk. It's hard to prune these off later in spite of their not looking good.

Groveraxle, thank you for editing the bushes out, it's easier to picture things with a blank canvas :) that website has tons of options!

Do you guys know any free programs I can use to landscape? I've tried searching for some but I haven't found anything that does what you guys can do

Sandk, I haven't seen a rain chain before and they're super cool! I think we'll do that until we can have gutters put on :) there's no drain in the weird square bed though. It used to have a rose bush but it was getting beat up so bad by water that I pulled it out and moved it. My theory is they had extra stone and put it there just cause.

Yardvaark, I like the plan a lot, it seems very doable. The only thing we won't be able to do is put a tree on the far left since we need to access that side with a truck sometimes. Other than that I'll probably follow this plan closely!

So come thought is definitely pull out the bushes.

Put in viburnums or rhododenruns (?) on the right corner and between the two windows on the left and keep them trimmed like trees

What would you recommend for the low shrub looking plants you have there and ground cover?

Ps would gardenias work? They're very pretty and evergreen from what I've read

following

some other ideas:

Amy, if you go to the Monrovia site and do a search using advanced filters, you can narrow your choices significantly. Here are results of a search I did for zone 7, full sun, evergreen, 12 - 18" tall: https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/search/?cold_zone=7&sun_exposure=5&deciduous_evergreen_id=2&height_id=2

You can add flower and foliage color or attracts butterflies or any number of other criteria to your search to find the perfect plant.

Every time I've seen Gardenia, I've never been impressed by its overall looks, so I don't think I'd be using it as a main foundation shrub. There are probably a multitude of possibilities and you are in a better position to explore what grows well around you. An example of something that would be the right size, or easy to maintain that size is dwarf yaupon holly. I'm sure there are other "flavor" shrubs in that size range if you're looking for some other characteristic. Groundcover can be tricky in that if it requires a certain amount of shade, it may not do well until that shade is established. (In the meanwhile there is mulch or temporary annuals, etc.) Pachysandra might be a contender. Or Vinca minor ... if it grows well there. Look around your neighborhood and see what groundcovers other people are growing and what looks good.

I'd be wary of vinca though, it's hard to grow anything else with it in the same bed as it climbs through and over other plants smothering them, and once it gets established they make a super dense mat of impenetrable roots. Vinca is great where nothing else will grow like under a Norway maple. For me, geraniums work really well as ground cover, esp big root geranium, barren strawberry is another good one, basically any colonizing perennial can be a ground cover.

Neat house and lot.

If possible, save the two shrubs on the right by moving them to fill in the spaces on the left.

If you've ever considered adding a front porch, you might do that before planning your new landscaping. If you were to extend the existing forward facing gable to cover your steps and then add a shed roof to the right of it, perhaps even wrapping it around the right side of the house with a hip roof at the corner -- then you could sit on your new porch and enjoy your new landscaping.

For additional or replacement shrubs, consider aucuba bushes if they will grow where you live. (They do well in Zone 7 in little more than Georgia red clay. I did fill the initial hole for each w/a mix of top soil and potting soil and do both dispose of my egg shells beneath the business and feed them Miracle Grow every few months during spring, summer and fall but, once they took root, they've grown with no additional care needed.

In lieu of planting a lot of flowers next to your home and/or all over your yard that require a lot of care, have you considered creating a front yard patio and/or garden around the shade tree on the right? One thing you don't want to do is to put soil against the trunk of the tree.

Another idea is to line your sidewalk with something such as liriope.

Groveraxle, that site is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

Yardvaark, I appreciate the heads up on gardenia. I wish I could get inspiration from the neighbourhood but most people just have boxwoods and things like that or (further back in the neighborhood) their yards are very shaded by trees.

Vinca seems like it would be a good option for in front of the bed between the side walk until we can replace it with a wider one. That way it can't take over like J Williams is saying it could. I don't mind it going to the yard, we can just hit it with the weed eater to keep it in place. I see it is a perennial, would it look horrible there when it dies back in the winter?

Thanks suezbell :) I'd like to have a larger porch one day but its not in the budget right now but I love the idea of it wrapping around the right side! It seems like aucuba would be a good fit as a background especially because it's a low maintenance evergreen!

Oh J Williams, I forgot to mention the big root geranium (another one I've never heard of lol) seems like a perfect option for in the beds. I'm researching them more now but I think they would work well

This is a nice gardenia for planting in zone 7: https://www.gardenia.net/plant/Gardenia-jasminoides-Chuck-Hayes

What do you guys think would be the best option for a shrub trimmed like a multi trunked tree for the right corner of the house (full sun all day)?

Seems like the options are a small crepe myrtle, rhododenron, panicle hydrangea, viburnum

I need something that won't get over 10 feet (my husband doesn't want it to grow taller than the corner of the roof) probably not wider at the top than 6 feet because I'd like it to be relatively close to the house without poking it too much (obviously it'll need trimming to keep it in check but I don't want to make it lopsided because I planted something too big)

Delta Blues Vitex

"I need something that won't get over 10 feet (my husband doesn't want it to grow taller than the corner of the roof)" from a landscape perspective that doesn't make rational sense. The purpose of that tree is to give a sense of shelter and protection for the house (making it look somewhat nestled in, and be over the head of of those who use the walk. It can't do this job if only 10' tall! When such a small tree is planted close to the house, whatever portion of it would grow into the house is simply cut off. It's at the back side and doesn't show. As with a wall sconce, one does not become distressed because the back side of the lamp & shade doesn't exist. If a tree is only 10' tall, then one figures the bottom of the canopy can be no higher than 5' to 6'. (A pancake shaped head is not desirable.) That is not exactly OVER one's head, as shelter would be. It is a head SCRAPER ... as a tree that seems neglected would be. The point of the small tree is that is doesn't exceed a certain terminal height by virtue of its genetics, but a reasonable height for the position you have would be 15' or 16' with the canopy bottom being in the 8'/9' height range ... plenty easy enough to walk under and plenty tall enough that it looks in proportion to the house and capable of acting as shelter and protection for it. If it doesn't look like it makes sense, it's ultimately not going to look good. The tree itself may be a beauty even if it's way undersized, but it is certainly not going to look like it's properly manning the post for the job it's supposed to be doing for the house.

That is a very good point! I don't want people running into branches or having to duck around it. I think 15' would be a good height so it's proportional but not taller than the house

The one in Dig Doug's very first picture seems like it would be perfect size wise

Lots of shrubs get to the 15' mark. Probably some viburnums (I know nanny bush does here), possibly a very large hydrangea, some dogwoods, possibly a very small magnolia etc.

That is a camellia.