I'd do broadleaf evergreens like Mt. Laurel and Rhodos.

In zone 4, creating all season interest is very important. That means a mix of ever greens and plants with interesting textures like tall grasses and exfoliating or brightly-coloured bark so winter doesn't kill you with boredom. Lots of early spring blooms from bulbs to counteract the grey days. After spring, you need to decide whether your yard work should consist of caring for the lawn OR occasionally dividing perennials that outgrow their spaces. It's about the same amount of work (and no, you don't have to have a lawn). Regardless of the choice, you'll also need to mulch any beds you have and occasionally prune the shrubs. Me, I chose lots of different perennials and very little lawn.

For low maintenance, you'll want perennials and shrubs. The shrubs should be slow growing so you don't have a continuous pruning battle. So no forsythia and carefully consider the mature sizes of any shrubs you do choose-- sometimes dwarf is less dwarf than you think.

For low effort in your zone, I'd be looking at these perennials:

• peonies (look for singles, and varieties that say "strong stems". Staking is for the birds!)
• daylilies (Hemerocallis, not Lilium)
• possibly a pavement rose if you have a sunny spot and think roses are worth a little effort)
• Rudbeckia daisies (yellows, oranges)
• Shasta daisies (white)
• Monarda (bee balm)
• Miscanthus sp. grasses (zebrinus is nice. It has stripes)
• Rhododendron yakushimanum (extremely hardy) if your soil is acid

And these shrubs/small trees:

• boxwood
• yew
• creeping juniper
• possibly Deutzia if you can get a hardy one (most are zone 5-8)
• dwarf ninebark (Physocarpus)
• purple leaf sand cherry

Thank-you for the zone 4-specific recommendations and care advice! What do you think about building face, front porch upgrades?

I think the building itself looks fine, even the porch. If I did an upgrade, I'd probably redo the porch in a composite, like Trex. And I'd likely choose a dark brown again, though perhaps a slightly greyed one to pick up on the stone.

Your home has no foundation showing and the windows are so low that anything other than grass or a similar very low groundcover would cover them. Landscaping really means placing the house in its setting. We can't suggest anything to do that without seeing the entire house, photographed straight on and including a little of what's on either side of it.

As it is, all we can see is a very small piece of home and yard.

Thank-you. I will take more photos today. I am hoping for more advice on how to embellish the structure and appeal of the house itself, ie colours, accents, doors, lighting fixtures, deck…but am grateful for the landscaping advice also!

IMO the house has enough going on already with no further embellishment needed . # finishes IMO are one too many . So just concentrate on the landscaping .

Just added more pics-dang! it’s snowing on April 24th!

Is the circled structure part of your house or is it someone else’s? I can’t tell.

The circled part is the house next door. see the other angie (attached) and you will see the side to back of my house.

Here are a few suggestions:

I truly appreciate visuals! I’m intrigued by the placement of the trees in this example to create a separation between the shared driveway feel between the two properties. Buiding up near the Hydro pole and the addition of potted planters to frame the window near the entrance is also a nice touch!

I would want to reduce the gravel/paving as much as possible, leaving only what you really need for access and parking. Here is one option that leaves a turnaround (or guest parking space) and the actual driveway but returns the rest to lawn and plantings. If you have good neighbors, maybe you can work together to create planting strips on both side property lines? Even a 3-foot strip would relieve the sea-of-gravel look and separate the properties visually. Each driveway would only be narrowed by 1.5 feet. (If you can spare more than that, great!)

I did include @Dig Doug's Designs trees in that strip (nice, Doug!). I would probably plant a third one, actually, if they're fairly narrow, but didn't add it to the photo because it covered the house too much from this angle.

Regarding the house itself, I did wrap the full-length posts for a heftier look and painted them with the siding color (or could be a bit lighter), so they don't just disappear and make the roof look unsupported on that side. Agree with @Jennifer K that a grayer color (something dark-ish from the stone) for the deck, stairs, railing, and landing would give the house a more cohesive look, although I didn't do that in the photo. (I don't suppose setback requirements would allow extending the gable roof to the right to make a carport? The longer horizontal line would be nice.)

Some ideas, anyway . . .

I am expecting new neighbours in June, so this strip between driveways, I will discuss with them. The space is tight for the driveway next to the house, so I’d have to be careful what trees I select.

I’m also thinking deciduous shedding of leaves in the fall over both gravel driveways will be a pain. I do however like creating that framing effect for the house.

I also like the practicality of this suggestion for front landscaping being the north side of the house as the plantings are not going to be shaded here.

The roof used to be a carport but was amended just before we bought. I will look into wrapping options for the posts and thank-you also for the deck colour recommendations!