Great that you left the tree to disguise the downspout. Go to a small garden center and work with a designer to give you a plan for a garden bed that fills the "L" from the corner of the walkway and all the way across the short end of the "L" -- the side with three windows. A professional can help you find a mix of high and low native shrubs, perennials, and ground cover that will give you a beautiful garden. Of course, include the rectangular bed by the driveway in the planning.

I don't quite have a photo with an "L" where a bed can go, but you can see from this photo a similar-size space that really enhances the house. Being in CT, you'll certainly want some evergreens to look at year 'round.

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I would take up that stone path as well, so you can really start from the beginning, it might be nice to add some more curves and soften the space. perhaps the path stones could be repurposed to meander through a garden.

Thank you for doing that, RL Relocation!

Just what I was thinking for the OP's house, RL--so, so pretty and inviting!

Tree roots invade features that are already having problems. So the reason to move the arborvitae at the corner would be that it is well on its way to overwhelming the planting spot. In other words it is too large growing a kind of tree to fit where it is now.

The above mockup does not have enough plant height variation. The plants all being the same height and in a row at the end of the house where the 3 identical windows are is particularly ineffective as it repeats and therefore underscores the plainness of the window arrangement rather than doing something to soften it.

I think RL was giving the OP and idea, not a real map, of which area might work as a front garden. A local garden designer will know about varying heights, which plants work best in the OP's zone, etc.

thanks housegal.

get rid of the tree that close to the house ... its a tree ... should be planted 5 to 10 feet from any structure ...

if you want to hide the downspout.. the paint it to match the house color.. where it meets the house ...

as a starting point.. are you a gardener.. do you want to be one.. and how much effort do you want to put into it all.. mock up of heavy labor gardens might not get you too far ... it does little good to design something you dont want to deal with ...

you should link to the old post.. so we can review such.. and not repeat things ...

you said: this is what you see when you pull down the drive ... shouldnt you be looking behind you when you do that .. lol ... but the crux of the matter is.. does you want to look at a never ending garden there.. every time you pull in .. is the focus back here.. or out front where you have a patio ... where do you want to be spending your time???

dont get me wrong .. if you want to garden.. then put in a garden... but design starts with being able to define YOUR GOALS .. and where you want to go on this adventure.. not what other peeps goals are ...

when you can affirmatively state your goal.. then the rest is rather easy ...

ken

btw: dont you go into the garage thru the breezeway .. if so.. whats the walkway for anyway ....why does it have to go out beyond the furthest point of the house ... i think thats the part that disturbs my eye ... why not just put in access the the breezeway right at the corner of the garage??? .. once you do that.. you remove all the problems of the darn walkway which is too straight.. and to small a bed on the drive side ...

Visually constrained, flat topped or too low/small planting mockups are a recurring presence here - if such an effect is not intended to be promoted as desirable for the actual finished on site result why automatically do the mockup that way?

I actually like the rectangular bed between the driveway and the walkway. I would put some blooming, fragrant plants there that my guests would walk by on the way to the house.

A famous writer once said "the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance."

There is evidence that a fairly well thought through design had been installed here. Assuming it was done by a PO, what didn't the OP like about it? Which boxes is the landscape supposed to tick, and failing at?

Yes: what specific details you like and don't like yourself needs to be addressed before you are going to be happy with the outcome. Something an internet chat room does not really lend itself to - it would be a lot better to pay somebody to visit your place and talk your goals over with you, maybe draw up planting plans.

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Ultimately, I am looking for the house to look neat and pleasing to the eye. Ken, my house configuration is strange, so most people think the back is the front and the front is the back (if that makes sense)! So you're looking at the back here, which faces the street where the driveway is located. The "front" of the house actually faces a different street. (My house actually has two addresses because of that!)

What is pleasing to the eye is not a generally shared concept beyond certain fashions or trends - whether during an on site visit with a local service provider or while talking with forum participants here you will have to expand on what this phrase means to you in this context in order to get responses that get you to where you want to end up.

I'm not going to offer much advice because honestly design is a weak spot in my skill set. I just want to say that people come here for ideas, and not everyone can afford to hire a pro, especially right now. This is the exact reason (and, because design is a weak spot, lol) that I will be posting as soon as I am re-employed after this pandemic and there's a bit of money to garden, to get ideas for my totally bare foundation. I hope to get lots of ideas, and not just an admonishment to hire a pro.

Actually, one year I did take advantage of a free consultation with a local reputable nursery, and they gave me a plan with a row of spireas and a row of hollies and a plant here or there. I expected a bit more from this regionally-known and respected (and very expensive) nursery. Would I have gotten a better plan if I paid? I don't know, but I know I have seen much more creative ideas from members on the forums. Not to mention - one professional, one idea. Garden forums, many ideas. Perhaps not all good, but the input can spark other thoughts and a gardener should always do their own research regardless of what anyone tells them.

HistTchr what a unique situation you have there - 2 addresses?! Good luck with your plan, and might I say I love your breezeway! It's very charming. I wonder if it would work to have something small and climbing on one of those posts - a small clematis perhaps? Or maybe something climbing in the spot to the left of the breezeway, trained up and along the top of it?

Also, being in CT you might want to try the New England forum. It's not very active anymore (as unfortunately, imo, are any of the the GW forums), but more brains to pick - and maybe the perennial forum too.

Best of luck! We'd love to see "after" photos when you finally decide!

:)
Dee