Whether you should choose option #1 or #2 depends on how much time and interest you have in gardening. Keeping the plantings on each side in the same color family and repeating some of the same plants is key. For example you could use perennials with silver or blue green foliage and only pastel flowers (or only vibrant, hot colors).

So you are moving the walkway and replacing it ? Can you post a pic from further back ? Where does the walkway lead on the left side .IMO the house is not symmetrical so that IMO says do not do symmetrical plantings that will only draw attention to that fact. I think the space on the left is so much smaller I need to see exactly why the walkway is there now .

Comparing the beds with the steps, both versions look very narrow. Supposing the steps are about 3 feet wide, your beds will be only around 1 foot wide over much of their area, which is too small to be useful. I would make the beds convex rather than concave and go with option two. If the steps are 4 feet then the beds are going to be even smaller by comparison.

Are you keeping the gravel path to the left when you lay the flagstone? If so, would you make it narrower?

You could just plant an evergreen shrub on the left, about 2-3' tall. I don't see any real advantage in making it symmetrical and making a small fussy bed there when one shrub will do

On the right side with option 2, it would depend on how much lawn is left. Don't leave a small patch that you have to haul a lawn mower out for. Is there lawn in front of the path and in the backyard?

I agree, the shape of the area on the right should not be concave but rather follow the arch of the front path outward from the steps for your planting bed. It should be conceived as a strong focal point with a dwarf colorful red Japanse Maple, a smaller shaped evergreen juniper, ferns and colorful annuals and perennials. Use your rocks as the border of a small winding gravel 'stream' amongst the plantings. Striking natural elements lead the eye to the front entry from the street and driveway for a welcoming vibe.

Move the front edge of the left side forward so it is in line with the front edge on the right side. You can still have the egde curve, but instead of having it be concave as in your drawings where it carves in towards the house, have the curve convex so there is a gentle curve back towards the house on the outter edge.. This will give you so much more planting space than if you curve them as in your drawings.

You can also keep them squared off and just soften the edges with grasses, shrubs, or plants that spill over. But I think in both of your drawings the planting area is too skimpy and they don't do the house justice.

What climate zone do you live in? Think about what you want to plant first, get inspired by the shape, texture, and layout of different plants, then let that inform the shape of your bed.

Here is a google image search forCraftsman Cottage Front Yard Landscaping.

I suggest you don't overdo it with a lot of small fussy plantings that could detract from your gorgeous house. That's quite a focal point and doesn't need a lot of garden to compensate like a plain house would. The flagstone path will add to the interest too.

Could you take a photo that shows the entire front? It looks like there's lawn, and if so, I would assume additional plants or a tree or two.

Don't think in terms of symmetry, think in terms of balance and height. Because of the bow window, you are limited in terms of height on the right but could use some on the left. Striving for symmetry will end up leaving you stuck with the limitations of both sides, rather than focusing on what is best for each of the two very different spaces.

If you were to make symmetrical gardens, you're either going to have a lot of low stuff on the left to match the limitations of the right, when you need some height there. But if you put a larger shrub on the left and matched in on the right with it pulled forward so it fit, it would highlight the asymmetry of the house. Plus, at least based on your pic, one side seems to get more sun than the other, so that what works well on one side might not be a good choice for the other.

You could pick choices for the two spaces and then echo the colors in different plants on the other side.

@cecily 7A I have plans for a columnar shrub in the back, snowball virburnum in the middle and a few perennials in the front.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting Here's a photo pulled back a bit. You can just barely see the arbour leading to the driveway on the right. The walkway doesn't lead to anywhere on the left. The whole side of the house is gravel and I eventually want to pull it all out. The garden bed on the far left against the fence will be gone too. I've got the plants out, just need to rake it out to the level of the lawn and seed it with grass.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK The steps are 7.5' across and the short edge of the garden beds I've drawn are 2'. 2' is the current width of the front side of the right bed and it seemed to work, but I'd shape it based more on the shrubs and plants I wanted in the bed than a quick illustrator sketch.

As for your suggestion to go convex rather than concave, it seems to me that a bed line that followed the line of the house would compliment it more than one that bulged out in the middle and drew the eye away. But if you have evidence for the contrary, I'd love to hear it. :)

@Sigrid I agree with you about balance, but I'm confused about why it would be ok to put something in front of the window on the left, but not the right? I'd be inclined to put something higher on the right because there's more room depth-wise.

The front of the house faces south, but there's two large trees in front that provide some shade. The photo I took was at dusk, so I suspect that there's some shadows coming from the window jutting out on the right.

The main thing I wanted to get in there was a mass planting of snowball viburnum, which looks a lot like white hydrangeas, but are more deer resistant. I thought a columnar evergreen in behind and close to the stairs would compliment and draw the eye to the height of the stairs and up to the door. Because to me, the goal was to lead the eye to the stairs, I needed something on either side, but perhaps I'm wrong. Where do you see the focal point being?

I was then trying to decide if I just wanted some simple boxwood under the viburnum, or something with a little more colour like the attached photo and maybe some white begonia for ground cover in a couple of years once the perennials got established.

I see. So the steps are wider than I thought. But 2 feet is still very narrow for a garden bed and would only accommodate small plants. The side of the house isn’t a concave curve, so doesn't really follow the line of the house.

Could you give the actual dimensions of the beds in your mock up so we can think about whether your ideas would fit?

Have you considered building a sitting patio on the right side with a pretty fountain, birdbath etc? it could match your new walk - maybe consider not having plants so close to the house as to let the house breath and avoid pests nesting in there - bottom line I would go in a completely different direction and extend the right with some hardscaping -- if you want plants and color do plants in containers that are raised to bring some height --in the right smaller area I would again clear it out and do a nice sculpture

Is there a dwarf form of snowball viburnum? The ones I've encountered in my life are ten or twelve feet tall.

My immediate impression is the landscape rocks on the left are heavy compared to the planting on the right. I do agree with convex versus concave on the right. I love your house!

I love your house- so pretty and charming! Is it new to you or have you lived there awhile? I suspect the gravel on the side of the house next to fence is there because it probably doesn't get much sun/light to grow things as it is in the shade of the house or the fence for most the day... I'd consider leaving it. You could always set some flagstones into the gravel to let the path continue on that side of house for symmetry/continuity's sake, and to give you a nicer path to back yard on that side. You might look into alliums. There are taller and shorter varieties in lovely purples and whites you could easily work into your planting plan. Also, not only will deer and squirrels/chipmunks not mess with them, the smell of them may help deter them from the other things you plant that might be more tempting to them. Also, you could plant a columnar evergreen - maybe sky pencil holly or forever goldie arborvitae- near the right corner of house (as you face house) to almost mimic the strong corner post on the left corner of house.

I might rethink the beds and opt for single shrubs on either side of the stair.

You can create asymmetrical balance :

At 2’ or so, that bed is very VERY small and will hold very few mature plants. You have no hope of symmetry between the two beds so focus on balance instead through the use of similar plant form and color.

It is a pretty home. I like Doug’s understated plan which can be maintained at an appropriate size in these small areas.

At a minimum, I would get rid of the rocks on the left. It's already a small space and rocks are taking up a lot of it.

I love your house -- great design, great colors. Are you using Preen to keep weeds from growing in your gravel? Do you have deer come all the way up to the house?

What I would do to balance, and draw the eye to the stairs, is: starting with your Option 1, plant the right side as Dig Doug showed. I'd use ferns at the base of the house, and where he has a japanese maple you could put any interesting large shrub or small tree.

On the left side, I'd start at the base of the stairs and curve the bed out to join the existing bed near the fence. Plant a sweep of something low that allows the eye to be drawn to the stairs, with an annabelle hydrangea at the base of the stairs. Leave stepping stones through the bed for access to your side yard.

I looked up the nanum viburnum in your plan and hate to say it, but I think these would look too skimpy lined up at your foundation. Ferns, while not necessarily taller, would give a more lush appearance.

Bottom line -- I love your house, don't be hasty changing the landscape, take your time to get a good design.