A gentle curved approach from the side would define a planting area between the walk and the house. Before you do that, are you saying no one parks on the street and there are no sidewalks across the front edge of your property?

What a great house!! I would only use low growing shrubs as to avoid obscuring those wonderful windows. How about a new color for the front door? Maybe some trailing plants for the brick planter.

I would make sure you beds were six to eight feet out from house. Depending on how much sun you get host as could be tricky. I live in Atlanta and have yews that have done great. I agree that you do t want to get anything that to high for your two windows. Maybe a Couple of oak leafs could go in in each corner of garage. Camellias could be pretty as well

give us a big city name... just zone can be vague ...

get rid of all the shrubs around the door ...

we should ID the one on the left corner... and decide is it has enough value to be kept .. maybe we can rejuvenate it to look less scraggly ...

would you consider coming out into the lawn.. to plant some smaller decorative trees or tree shaped shrubs???

if you are newbish on planting trees and shrubs... check out this link.. especially with an eye to TIMING ... it just makes everything easier as to followup care ... professionals can get away with much more ... this may depend on where you are.. and how severe summers are ...

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

if DYI ... i would count the walkway as a second project.. and plan accordingly ... finish one.. then attack the other .. unless you have access to pro's or machines ... in the alternative.. spend summer ripping out stuff.. and prepping the beds.. for fall planting.. and then in summer when its not plant time... work on the walkway ... again.. checkbook gardening is a different ballgame ...

ken

I’m not a pro but having ripped out my entire front garden a year ago, I can tell you that sticking to DWARF varieties will be better for your front windows. Things that grow too well will be obnoxious to take care of. There are several beautiful foundation plants that stay low but are pretty. Very sweet house. And moving the walkway from center to side gives you a chance to build an interesting one as suggested above.

It is hard (impossible) to use the photos to give feedback to you when the photos are taken from several viewpoints. Stand at ONE spot to take ALL pictures. That spot will be in line with the front door and closer than the one used for above pics. See the red dot on photo. Take a series of slightly overlapping photos that pan from left to right, including space BEYOND the ends of the house, so we can see background surroundings. Even it is obstructed by plantings, we need to then see the obstruction in order to analyze it. I can't say without looking in your camera whether this can happen in 3 photos or if it will require 4. Just make sure they SLIGHTLY OVERLAP. Turn the camera to use the vertical format for all pictures if needed to show the tall trees.

(The pictures for analyzing foundation planting, what we're focusing on here, will be different from a set of pictures that analyzes perimeter planting. Those would be taken from farther back.)

Do you have a deer problem? We have gorgeous huge hostas (not Patriot) in the front that we have to keep covered with netting - they're like the best dessert ever for a deer. We're in 7b, also.

I like Japanese Cedar

and currently have dwarf blue spruce and bird's nest spruce mixed in foundation hollies.

Some idea if you decode to leave front walk

Love what celerygirl did with a side walk!

That curved sidewalk is a winner !!

Dwarf varieties are key under the windows. Ask your local nursery to advise on those and to guarantee that if you buy and they grow too large, they will replace with true dwarf plants. If there is no parking, sidewalk or mailbox at the curb, I think curving the walk will be best for the landscaping.

I like the shrubs you mention.I am concerned about the shrubs you have now. A few of them are very sparse. Does the house face north?

You did not mention the ground cover or vine on the right side? What is it? I think it looks good if it is not becoming a problem.

I see that there is more to the right which we cannot see. Looks like a good place for shade plants.

What is on the left side that you want to connect to the entrance? We should see that side. Is there also a brick planter on that side?

Your house is very nice and I love the door. I would not diminish the entrance area by blocking the view with shrubs. Keep it open. If you have items on the porch put them so they do not block the sidelights.

In addition to the pictures Yardvaark requested I would like to see one from further back. Perhaps from the street if there is ever a safe time to do so.

Based on the little we can see you could do a basic planting like this: the green could be the Distylium and the red could be the Loropetalum. Only if you are sure they will get enough sunlight.

Thank you all for your great feedback and recommendations so far. I've included my follow-ups to your comments below as well as a link to additional images of the property at the bottom.

arcy_gw – Correct, there are no parking lanes or sidewalks on the street across the front of my property so no one uses the current walkway. I added a view of the street from my house to show as a reference.

ShadyWillowFarm – Thank you! I would be open to a new color for the front door, but haven’t thought about it yet.

oreolucca1 – Great, thank you for your recos. Yes that’s one of the tricky parts as my property is north facing, but some areas (about 8 feet in front of windows) get full sun all day, and closer areas/corners to the house get part sun/shade.

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 – City is Atlanta. I’ve added a closer shot of the shrub in the left corner you noted. What do you think? Yes, I would consider coming out into the lawn.

RedRyder – Thank you! I’ve seen multiple articles on those who’s shrubs or trees have grown past their expectations or aren’t able to maintain so great to hear that feedback and the varieties I should stick to in order to avoid something similar.

Yardvaark – After looking back at my 2 photos I posted in my original post, I agree with your feedback. It’s impossible to get an accurate feel for what’s needed with those so I have added new ones to this post. Hope these help? What are your thoughts after looking at these? Let me know.

Tsjmjh – No, I don’t have a deer problem (that I know of). Love your shrubs (especially the dwarf blue spruce!).

Celerygirl – Wow! I had to make sure you had the right house when I first saw your mockups. These are great. Thank you! With the new photos I’ve posted here, do you think that sidewalk would work with the tree on the left?

Decoenthusiaste – Thank you for your recos and feedback. That’s great advice about the nursery guarantee.

emmarene9 – Yes, the house faces north. It’s Ivy on the right side that has spread and been working recently to take down. Regarding the left side, I’ve posted a few additional images here that hopefully gives a better idea. Thoughts? Yes there’s a brick planter against and attached to the left side of the house, currently sitting empty.

There were many additional images to upload so I've included them in this ideabook:

Front Yard_CURRENT

1. I live in Atlanta as well. Growers outlet in Loganville has great prices on things Many people go there because there prices and quality are so good. Good luck.

What species is the tree in front? And if your door faces north, keep that in mind while you are choosing plants. Our front door faces south so I worry about plants that get “cooked” in the summer here in Tennessee. I have an underneath soaker system that kept most everything alive last summer during the drought season. Some dwarf hollies died, but most made it.