Boulders are always a good retainer for small slopes. You should stick with 2'-3' boulders. If you go with smaller it might look cluttered.

Thanks Red Berm! Any votes on whether I should keep the hedges?

Lose the hedges and add something with a more natural look.

So much potential! A local designer can help you come up with something that'll be stunning. Here's one in your area whose work I've admired for years: http://www.houzz.com/pro/dervissdesign/derviss-design

Wow, that designer's portfolio looks wonderful. Not sure I'm going to have any available budget, but I'll keep her in mind. Thank you.

Hi.....I would suggest you create railroad tie boxes on the left to stabilize the down slope, and remove all
the existing plants. Once the grid has been planned, fill the boxes starting with higher annuals closest to the house and lower toward the street. On the center section, use a railroad tie next to the driveway to level the
planting space, fill with annuals, no hedges. The lower portion, will look better once the hedge is gone and since your widening the drive, I would plant day lilies and ground cover there. Your landscaping currently
does not go with the colors of your house, and that's true of the blue pots. If you want decorative pots on
the porch I would suggest a natural stone color.

I think the pots on the railing leading to the front porch look busy. I would remove them. A good retaining wall on both sides of the driveway would give you a space to plant and visually level the yard. Yes, remove the hedges. They look cramped and too boxy for the natural look you have going otherwise. In addition, think about a tall element to the right of the porch next to the driveway to offer some balance. Finally, and its just personal preference on my part, get rid of the scalloped edging. It looks out of place and frilly. Nice house!!

Thanks everyone for thoughts so far.
- Matilda Bos, I like the idea of raised boxes. Given how small each strip of dirt is I wanted to make sure the experts here thought they would look OK. And I am open to lots of suggestions about plants and colors given that I intend to re-do this whole area after we fix garage door and re-paint house.
-- Cfollowell, thanks also for reminding me to ditch the scalloped edges. Will definitely go, but just need to find something to keep the dirt in the areas. Railroad ties might work. Maybe some sort of stone edging.
-- Yoboselyo, thank you for your kind words.

In the raised beds add annuals and vegetable plants.

Very nice bungalow - You are doing a great job with it :)

I love your bungalow!
I am intrigued by the little insets on your porch -- how adding about era-appropriate tiles there? Also, some cool oil-rubbed bronze house numbers centered over the porch would add some punch.
I think large succulents would thrive in your southern exposure and give you low-maintenance structural elements.
Would you like to spend any time in your front yard, even to have a latte on a Saturday morning? You could make space for a tiny stone patio for a couple of cafe chairs.
I'll try to add some photos.

The first ones are from Rejuvenation.
http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/products/mission-house-numbers
And Oak Park Home & Hardware has a ton of styles.
http://www.oakparkhome-hardware.com/Exterior_Hardware/House_Numbers

OOOOH, thank you lkg1984. I've never even noticed the insets. But you are right. The arts and crafts houses often feature tiles, and I do want to replace my house numbers after painting. So that would be a cool combo.

I hadn't thought about trying to capture a bit of seating area in front, but I do like idea of welcoming stone. I like succulents and grasses so I will try to put together some ideas with those, after I figure out how to build up the retaining sides. Thanks again.

Agobear, check out these ideas for lawn-free front yards. Several of these houses remind me of yours, including one with blue pots!
http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-low-water-landscaping-00400000041830/page24.html

lkg1984 - Thank you so much for the Sunset link. I'm a huge Sunset magazine fan, and these ideas are California friendly. Plus I like the fact that they seem balanced against smaller homes, like mine. Thanks a lot!

It works well. Why fix it?

I love your blue pots that tie in with the front door. Address numbers in niche would add punch as well as greater visibility. Lose the hedge; rigidity fights with the natural planting you seem to prefer. Sitting area on the left would look inviting. Raised, staggered beds on right create order and easier access for planting as well as making the whole yard less tilted.
My suggestion is to add a pergola above the garage, projecting out about 2-3', maybe with a trellis on the right side that a vine could climb up and over.

Love your home. I would use more of the blue maybe on the inner trim of the window/somewhere on the garage door, larger blue house numbers, maybe add tiles where you have the two indentations leading up to the porch for color and remove the hedge and use large rocks for a more natural look where needed.

Hi,
I recommend keeping the landscaping looking informal and natural, and using only a few plant types. You have a small front yard, and I would think using just a few beautiful plant types would be great. Also, I would suggest changing the paving for your front walk and driveway. These are both important elements. Why not consider bluestone? It would really add a new dimension to your house.

You seem to have a good start on some grasses that make for great xeriscaping which does well in SF area. I'd remove any clumpy hedges and go for a more open planting plan.

Thank you Houzz experts! I am getting great themes here - nix the hedges, build up edges a bit for retaining, add grasses and boulders, natural look, tiles or lettering for accents. Awesome. Thank you.

+ FINNE Architects - I hadn't thought about replacing the paving for the sidewalk and driveway, but the bluestone is lovely. Can it bear the weight of a car driving over?

Love your house! Watch episodes of Curb Appeal on HGTV for more ideas. I love the show.

I would add some low lying colorful flowers in between the bushes.

Hai

The crowded planting doesn't match with your premises,since you got limited space in front. Better to lay plain lawn with few plants makes the ambiance double

Hedges are too manicured...would look much better natural.... cute!

Since your planting beds are extremely narrow, I don't think railroad ties would work since they would swallow almost the whole bed. You could instead choose red brick to match the steps.

Since you like grasses and succulents (me too!!) you could put an aloe Hercules in the large blue pot where the phormium is now and it would provide a narrow vertical presence for that narrow vertical space. The smaller pots could have aeonium Schwarzkopfs (sometimes called "black rose") which would also give you a punch of color to contrast against the grey house.

For grasses, take a look at carex testacea (a nice rust color) and Karl Foerster feather reed grass, which provides another vertical accent. Festuca Elijah blue would mimic the grey of the house.

You look like you might be in Oakland, in which case check out the Dry Garden nursery on Shattuck and East Bay Nursery on San Pablo Dam Road. Both have outstanding succulent collections.

Love all the great ideas. Thanks very much. illig1 --I'll check out the nursery you mentioned after getting the planting beds ready. I also like Flora Grubb here in SF.

If the pergola suggested upthread (which I love, BTW!) doesn't work for some reason, may I suggest a large flower box mounted to the house and centered under the large window over the garage? You could rotate annuals throughout the year that complement the grasses and succulents you select.

I love your house! The ornamental grasses and flowers are really quite pretty. Although the hedges are not much to look at, my guess is that are doing a pretty good job of holding down the soil already without the overgrowth of roots. I'd think carefully before removing them.

I'm going to chime in on liking this house just like it is! Love the red brick work with the blue pots and gray walls. I might add some blue trim on the right side of the house - like the garage door. The bushes are a bit square and old fashioned for the rest of your yard - maybe you could remove every other one or not trim them square.

If green is your favorite color, put English ivy on the north, And there is always room for a lovely and classy Japanese maple or two if you like bi-symmetry. The very front along the side walk needs lots of flowers that do well in your area. Nice little house...I like it . Have fun!

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the good feedback. I'll be incorporating your good ideas as I renovate, paint exterior, and re-plant.

Would love to see some after photos, if you have finished the project. One thought - did you consider some vine plants around the garage and up the wall between the driveway and the porch?

Mason

Hi Mason. I finished my project! Well most of it. Finishing up plants. I will post a photo in a few days. Thanks for your interest! (I ended up not planting vines as I wanted the focus of front of house to be on front door/porch, not on garage area.)

Mason (and all my other Houzzer supporters) - I finished the house renovation and am just finishing up the landscaping. Here are the "after" pictures of the exterior.

Highlights of changes:

• Widened driveway
• Changed out big window (to move out from behind column and work better with garage door)
• New hardware for address, lights, etc.
• Exterior is stained stucco (not paint over stucco).

For landscaping: Did end up removing shrubs, added brick. Plants include grasses, succulents, and my favorite - linaria flamenco. (Still need to add a few more when available.) Thankfully, California is getting some rain, so hopefully this will look OK in a few months.

Thanks again everyone for your good cheer for both my exterior and interior.