DIY all the way!

So much of landscaping is (or should be) considerate of where you are located, because native and acclimated plants will grow best and be lower maintenance.

The one thing I absolutely beg of you *not* to do, is plant a tree that blocks the view of your front door. It is standard practice in my neck of the woods to plunk down trees right smack dab in the entry's line of sight. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

A direct pathway from the door to the sidewalk would be awesome, too... Pavers, brick, stone -- whatever strikes your fancy -- would amp up the curb appeal. Potted plants, hanging baskets, evergreen foliage, colorful flowers.... What do you like?

Proper drainage is the most important ... where does the water from the gutters go?

I would hire an independent Landscape designer. Many large garden centers have one on staff or one they work with. Have them make you a landscape plan which you can then bid out to different landscape companies. You can also do the plan in stages as budget allows.

You might want that landscape plan before the builder installs any irrigation, so you can get things placed where you need them and don't need to pay someone to move them later.

Yes on the walkway to the front door! Imagine if everyone on the street had one...it would be so inviting. It will also divide your front lawn into cozier squares instead of being just leftover space around your house.

And install a drip irrigation system with a timer...! :-)

I would also recommend a professional landscape designer. You can have a plan and implement it over time as the budget allows. You need more than flowers. Walks from the door to the street look nice, but if no one is going to park on the street or walk to your house to use it, it doesn’t make sense to spend the money on it.

IMO, you have too many shrubs, not enough groundcover, annuals and perennials. (I'm giving you 3 instead of 11, which I think you'd appreciate when trimming time comes.) We can't see enough of the site to know if there's another tree off to the right. We can't see shrub placement relative to the foundation wall. I't's likely they're too close as that's they typical way of builders (their agents) planting. Too, I would bed anything that the walk from drive to porch is too close to the house, pinching the foundation planting area. It ought to be minimum 6' away, but more is often better and it depends on the landscape planting scheme as to what is optimum.

I would try to fix myself rather than have builder's landscaper do it. Shrubs that don't work out well here, I'd look for a place where they may be useful in the back yard, or try to get rid of them at a reduced price on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

I can't see why you'd need a second walk going directly to the street from porch unless you must walk that route in order to get the mail, or similar.

I'm not suggesting red or any particular color. You pick colors and plants that are appropriate for all the conditions.

Developer landscaping is almost always cheap, quick and boring/nondescript - the developer budget for landscaping is minimal (I mean really low) and rarely is there a trained landscape designer involved. Plants are obtained from the cheapest source and very often completely uninspired and often not in the best of condition. A fair percentage of my business is involved with redesigning/replacing builder landscapes :-) So my strong recommendation would be to hire a designer to help you develop a more interesting layout and plan and source some more creative and attractive plantings.

I'd disagree about having too many shrubs (is that even possible? Lol!). But they are far too uniform in size and appearance. And lined up in a row is not a very natural look nor is it a very appealing one.

Avoid the builder and the builder's sources and get some professional help. It will be well worth it.

There is no question to do the landscaping after you close. Do NOT use the builders landscaper for reasons listed above. Builders have a completely different agenda for your landscaping (cheap as they can get away with).

Do use an independent landscape designer to design the entire yard so you can implement over time as your budget allows.

I like a wide walkway to go to the sidewalk as it is more inviting/welcoming IMO. If you have people visiting and they park in the drive, have a secondary walk from the drive to the primary walkway.