You can transplant yews and they do well in shade, so if you want some elsewhere (to demark your side property line, for example) move them. The same is probably true for box. It's hard to tell what's there now, but I see two non-yew trees. I like the taller yew in the corner, I'd keep that.

Grasses might look good for you. Search Houzz for pics.

Hire a garden designer for a consultation at the very least. They will help you determine a layout for planting that will accent rather than hide the house and help select and site location-appropriate plants. A very modest dollar investment for some invaluable and local professional advice. And generally will save you money as it avoids all those costly trial and error poor plant choice mistakes!

Thanks for the transplant idea, Sigrid. There might be a good place for some of those in the backyard.

Thank you, gardengal48. I'll look for designers in the area. I'm also considering a privacy wall to enclose the front yard.

If you want a less formal look and seasonal color you could use spirea, beautyberry, crepe myrtle, dogwood and redbud. Spirea and beautyberry benefit from cutting back severely every 5 years or so. Otherwise they require nearly no care. All the shrubs and small trees I listed do well in a wide range of climates and soils. Browse a local large nursery to find the varieties that do well in your area. This is a good time of year to see the flower types and colors.

If you have a locally owned nursery, not a chain or big box store, I recomend you pay them a long visit or two. A few decades ago I paid the owner of one to draw up a plan, and do all the planting. The cost was well worth it. He used only plants that he sold and knew would do well in our area. 2 years later every single plant was thriving with zero losses.

It would help with suggestions if we knew your climate zone, how much maintenance you want to commit to, and also your decorating style, as you are starting with almost a blank slate and it could go midcentury modern, traditional, farmhouse, or many other styles. The only color that you have right now is the red in your steps, and I'm guessing that you don't want them to be the focal point, so I would paint them a less noticeable gray, and instead add color with flowering shrubs, bedding plants, planters, or even painted porch furniture. You have a good opportunity to reduce the size of the lawn and add some planting beds. Do you need a social space in the front? If you want to keep the black and white color scheme, there are some exotic plants with near-black flowers and foliage, and also some really dramatic ones with pale gray foliage. In any case, and especially if you want to build a wall to enclose the space, I heartily second the suggestion to consult with a landscape designer or a design-build firm!

I agree with the previous post who mixed hardscape with greenery. Think about walkways. At one house I stood across the street and took photos, straight on, to the left and the right. As the landscape designer advised, think of it as a painting or a jigsaw puzzle scene. You will either want a view that makes you want to visit or a view that makes you want to stay away.

Looking at your original photo it appears the front of your house faces northeast. This makes a big difference in plant choices. The areas close to the house will have afternoon shade which allows for a different range of plant choices. Azaleas, hydrangeas and rhododendrums come to mind. You can also have ferns.

You mentioned wanting privacy, do you want to use your front yard or just design it for curb appeal?

If you want to use it, I suggest a small patio between the front steps and the garage, then either shrubs or a fence that extends from the driveway pad on the grass side of the walkway, across the current lawn to line up with the front door. Keep in mind that a solid wall will restrict the movement of water and wind. If a shady area is too closed in it will stay damp which can lead to other issues.

I don’t really like “hedges” and such straight lines of thick shrubs. Small trees look better - like assorted Japanese maples.

Also, a shrub refered to as “fake bamboo” - nandinia (?) or something. It’s more upright, stays green in the winter and puts out red berries. I like that upright look in the areas where the windows aren’t.

then perhaps some hydrangeas in front of the windows - they’re a low maintenance shrub that doesn’t need a lot of shaping/pruning. Then maybe a few annuals interspersed for more summer color... it’s nice to have pretty flowers...

Things to consider: how much sunlight; what type of landscape you prefer, formal/informal; what plants are doable in your climate zone; how much time do you want to put into maintenance. My front yard includes foxtails (almost no work) roses, minimal work, salvia and daylilies, not much maintenance for either. I like color, but not a lot of work. Just things to consider.

The best thing you can do at this point is look through hundreds or thousands of photos of front yards and set aside those that really appeal to you. At first they may look quite different from each other, but after a bit of looking you will see some trends. Once you have identified some things that you really like, then show the photos to your landscape designer to get some idea of how to incorporate the things you love into a front yard that will really appeal to you. You should also think about how much time/money you are willing to invest into your new yard. Houzz is a good place to look for photos, there are also a lot of gardening magazines with web sites that will give you some ideas. Some of my favorites are Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Better Homes and Gardens. Do a search for "beautiful front yards" and you will get a bunch of hits. You can disregard most of them, but follow up those that instantly appeal to you. You may end up with something that will give you more joy than you ever dreamed a front yard could give you.

(Info on nandina -- did you know the berries are poisonous? could be an issue. Some varieties are less harmful than others, if you must have it.) Nandina

I think some shutters would make a difference. I think of window trim as eye makeup. Coordinate the color with the painted porch and privacy wall between house and garage. Terracotta and south west colors? Black is always dramatic...... And then one tree to soften the whole look. Maybe between the livingroom window and the one to the left. Cut out the sod to incorporate it, with a rounded edge to soften all the straight lines, and plant flowers. You could leave the hedges with this plan.

Thanks, everyone, for the great tips and suggestions. I'll do a lot more research before presenting ideas to a designer/landscape architect. Overall though, I would like the front yard to be useable and as private as ordinances will allow. It should be a fun project.

@Linda Eastman

Your yard is spectacular!

Thank you, drrose.

Where are you located/ what city or state? What direction does your house face?

One thing to consider, especially if you enjoy watching birds and bees, use as many regionally native plants as you can.
Designers often default to what’s available at big box stores.
Stay away from Nandina (poisonous) privet, ligustrum. So many others. -oh and No ivy, periwinkle or privet! I’ve been pull that stuff out for years, trying to get my far back yard looking attractive for me and wildlife!All can be replaced natives that support wildlife.

And I LOVE your house and yard, so jealous!

Great tips, nansea, and thank you. I definitely want to attract birds to the yard and will also be putting in a small bird bath.

The purple berries (not edible for humans) on our beautyberry feed over-wintering birds and hosts praying mantis egg sacs every year. Interestingly, the local deer don't bother it, not even when it is in the spring leaf-out stage.

Crepe Myrtle may not be the best choice. Mine thrived next to the driveway on little water in California's San Joaquin Valley, but never attracted birds, not even for nesting spots, even though it was 8' tall and about 10' wide.

I agree with looking for natives, even if you have to settle for a newer hybrid from an old native plant.

My observation is that birds prefer loosely branching flowering shrubs over thick hedge types. If wasps are a problem in your area, their preference is just the opposite, they love to hide their nests in boxwood and yews.

If you can tell us what region you live in, we could point you to native plant sources so you can see the possibilities. A big favorable feature of natives is that the soil is more likely to suit them, thus fewer amendments needed, if any.

Hi Kathleen, I'm also in the San Joaquin Valley (Modesto). And the house faces directly south.

In that case, Paul, my strongest recommendation is that you purchase Sunset's Western Garden Book. It has plant lists by need (shade, sun, wet, dry, tall, short, etc) and the individual plant listings state the origin of the plant (Asia, southwest US, etc).

Check the nearest Ag area. Are you near the tomato growing farms (low incidence of late spring freeze), in the old river flood plain (sandy soil deposits with layers of clay), etc.

My home town was Bakersfield, the same freeze and heat zone as you. Your zone is 9b on the USDA list, although that is based only on winter temps. In the Sunset Western Garden book you are either zone 9 or 14 depending on how close you are to the San Joaquin River.

So, to modify my suggested plant list from above, subtract rhododendrums, beautyberry, dogwood and redbud. They all need extra water.

You can grow citrus and I highly recommend them for where you want a large shrub or a small tree. Lemons are handy to have and a very low maintenance woody shrub. Only once did mine lose its leaves - when we had a multinight freeze in the single digits. I cut off all the dead branches, leaving just the trunk (I wanted to save the roots). The next year is was fully leafed out with lots of new growth and producing lemons again.

If you decide on a wall, it will create a microclimate on the house side, a space where you can put shade and smaller plants that need a bit more moisture. Where your walkway from the driveway to the front door is, I'd position a wall 3' closer to the street. You could grow ferns, bulbs, azaleas, on the walkway side of the wall.

If you use open decorative cement blocks or shrubs on the west end and a wood gate with air gaps between the slats on the driveway side, you can remove the gate, etc that may be blocking ground level airflow through your breezeway. Your new sitting area would then combine with the space between the garage and the house. A sun shade sail could be strung between the house, garage and wall, making the area usable even in August.

A medium size tree about 10' from the southwest corner of your wall will provide summer shade for your sitting area about the time the shade cloth is worn out. Check out Desert Willow (chilopsis linearis), it is a medium size tree or large shrub with low water needs, spring flowers that attract hummingbirds, and it has interesting bark as it ages.

Ha! Just read a feature on Houzz about Garder Screens. It might be the best choice for adding some privacy to your front entry.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/why-you-should-consider-a-landscape-screen-for-your-yard-stsetivw-vs~147159257?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u15949&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery2_3&newsletterId=15949

My impression would be to soften the look of the hedge by removing/ transplanting every other shrub and letting the hedge grow higher and looser. Add a couple of small trees in the front and a shrub on the left side of the garage. A light tan house color might also soften the appearance.

Kathleen, a lot of great info. Thank you. I'll pick up the Western Garden book.

You're welcome.