Oh your adorable house just screams out for a brick walkway...any chance of getting some reclaimed brick near you? We did this at our previous house and it fit in so well with the surroundings...

Anyway, I would wait on the flower bed until the walkway is done...you'll probably change the path and that will affect the landscaping...no use doing the same work twice, right?

Kill the grass with a spray of 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups Epsom salts and 1/4 cup Dawn dish liquid. Keep it contained to what you want to kill. Worked great on poison ivy here.

Doug's design show a cool curve that I almost missed seeing... Doug?

Great design, Doug! What are the plants that are used?

A list of plants would depend on the zone where the op lives...

Remove all the grass between sidewalk and house and plant shrubs and perennials.

Prior to seeing Doug’s lovely design, I was going to suggest planting some foundation shrubs before you even do that patch of grass.

How about a flower cutting garden? its a perfect spot between the house, the pathway and the driveway.

You say the spot is an unusual shape and size but you don't give the area. What are the actual dimensions of the patch of grass between the steps and the drive? Judging by the photograph and the putative size of the steps and walkway it looks far too small an area to accommodate much in the way of shrubs or that little semicircle of lawn.

Great job, Doug. Perfect design!

How much work do you like to do outdoors? The house itself has a charming cottage appearance, and if you like to work outdoors, a classic cottage flower garden would be fun. But they are a lot of work. If you'd rather be doing other things with your free time, then I also like Doug's design, or a mix of hydgrangea shrubs, azeleas, daffodils and irises don't need much more than watering and deer generally leave them alone if you have them around. (I gather from your storm door you live in a true 4-season climate).

If you want to boost the charm, I would suggest eventually getting rid of the non-functional shutters, painting the window inset trim a contrasting color and think about having just one window box under the smallest window. I might go for a front door in a pretty color that you like.

I really like the Nandina plant - it comes in different heights and some color variation:

https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/nandina/

It looks a bit like bamboo, but doesn't become invasive. I think in most places it's leaves remain throughout the winter. It gets some flowers in the spring and beautiful red berries in the fall adding winter interest.

I'm not the biggest "shrub" fan. Most are really boring. This one gets some height without waiting 20 years. I think mixing that (one on the far right where the numbers are so it won't grow to block your window) and some hydrangeas could be an easy way to add some interest. Then if you want to continue having more garden to tend, take out the rest of the grass and add some perennials and perhaps a few annuals that might add lots of continuous color.

Figure out how much time and effort you want to put into the area. I love digging in the garden in the spring, but know once it's hot I don't want to do anything out there. To thine own self be true - make it work for your level of gardening commitment...

Also, some blue berry bushes could be nice - besides the berries in summer they put out fabulous red foliage in the fall. Then, add some of the same plants on the other side of the house to balance it out. Good luck, and have fun with it!

Your house is really cute! I would say the left side of your house is begging for a garden more than the right. This is more than you asked for but since you are re-doing the front steps at some point anyway, how about bringing that small slab at the top of the steps across the front of the house on the right? I don't think it would add that much to the cost.

And I totally agree that painting the front door would add a lot of appeal.

Like the curves of Doug's design. And if the grass is Bermuda and invasive: Hand dig down a foot/shovel length to below the depth of the roots. Hand shake the dirt from the clumps dug. Depending on the soil you can dampen it days before the digs. I did this 20+ years ago and never had it come back again. Tedious but nothing worse than seeing landscapers come in and take off the top layer of grass and watch it a couple of years later come up from the undisturbed and left roots. Expensive landscaping, done in days, now overgrown with all the undisturbed grass and weed roots left behind and under the surface. And this is with weed barrier fabric installed.

And if you have a touch of OCD (which I did) then solarize the dirt: wet the earth until saturated and then put down a layer of clear/transparent 1-4 mil "Painters Plastic" over and beyond the area. Dig the edges in or use rocks etc. to keep the edges down. And keep for about 4 weeks. And best in the heat of the summer/early fall. You will see droplets form under the plastic with the heat, and the "steam" kills any missed grass roots, weed seeds, nematodes and insect eggs. If it starts looking dry under the plastic, time to roll it off and rewet it deeply and reapply the plastic. Have beautiful flower beds in all those areas and any weeding is minimal as it is all surface and newly carried in weed or grass seeds.

A big part of achieving landscape success is having a clear idea about what your overall objectives are. Objectives, not in terms of how you'd solve landscape problems (that's the eventual result), but what BENEFITS do you expect to obtain by making landscape changes? For example, do you expect to achieve street appeal ... or privacy? (Those may be conflicting goals.) Shade .... enhancing good views or screening bad ones ... improving access ... low maintenance, etc. ... are any of those benefits you need?

I agree with Yardvaark; you need to evaluate the usage of your front property. Despite Doug’s design I was not sure that the layout of the walkway is actually the way someone would access the house. Also here in a four-season climate I would evaluate where your snow will go and would you be using the front door to bring in furniture or appliances. If you do that it would require a straight on approach with no shrubs as a barricade. Kate you have many things to consider, do not be afraid of actually going to your local library and reading up on how to do a landscape design. This is not hard to do especially if you develop a list of pros and cons or as above what objectives you hope to achieve. Good luck!

Some really great ideas for you. Love Doug's design, especially the swoop of lawn on both sides. My one comment would be; when selecting plants and shrubs be very careful to note the full size to which this plant may grow. Choose dwarf and small sized plants and bushes for small places. Something that looks cute at 2 ft high in the nursery may eventually become a 10 ft high monster that needs constant pruning to stop its normal growth. Pay attention to the suggested spacing when planting- it may look too far apart when shrubs are tiny but they won't be too crowded once they get a little growth. You can fill spaces with annuals until you get more growth.

We still don't know the dimensions of the area.

I think Kate was a hit and run...otherwise I'm sure she would have at least said "thank you"... :-/

I like what Doug did as well.

definitely do walkway first.

I would suggest widening the walkway. A brick walkway in a herringbone pattern in the midst of Doug’s design would be awesome.

I would start by planting a few shrubs and carve out space as I go. you can always make it bigger as you have time. There are a lot of good ideas in these comments and doing it all at once would give you that instant gratification.

Go with Dougs design, awesome job Doug

It's a darlin house. I would put in the brick walkway to the sidewalk, plant a low shrub hedge along your side of the sidewalk, add a small brick patio set in sand on the left side with space for a couple of chairs and a chat table, and line both sides of the walkway with borders filled with fragrant flowers for bees and butterflies. A mix of perennials and annuals gives you a large choice.

Oh my! Embrace the hardscape and minimize the sidewalk. My house was originally a nasty teardown. I built up area next to house and backfilled with bark nuggets, made a retaining wall with coral rock and low area next to sidewalk is filled with rocks and beach shells. Added to hardscape with succulents in pots, nothing matches. Other side of walk is more landscaping, all low maintenance and drought tolerant. I don't have gutters so low area works well with heavy rains. I live in Florida but this could easily translate to any area. PS not a fan of a yard full of grass $$$

I’m sorry I didn’t thank you all individually !! I have no idea how to respond to comments on here I felt it was excessive to write individual comments to each person, causing a million notifications!!! Thank you for all the suggestions I’m a bit overwhelmed, we haven’t done anything just yet. Debating on doing the front walkway and steps before flowers.

Love Dig Dougs Design!

I'm seeing a porch area off the front door and to the right that bumps out about as far as the front of the house to the left of the front door...could let it wrap around the frontright corner and connect it to the side door by the driveway...stairs would come straight out from front door and connect to a path to the sidewalk in the front of the house...then create a berm with low plants/flowers along the deck area...windowboxes for sure and less grass to the left of front door...low foundation shrubs...good luck!!