Oh and I should add that we have a deer population to consider!

Great house! Annabelle hydrangeas. I would plant them along the entire length of the porch and front of the house. They’ll work well with your house and climate, they can do well in sun and part shade, and they’ll be the right height. They’re a pretty safe bet, but you could try planting a few this year just to make sure they’ll thrive in your soil conditions before investing in a mass planting. If you have the room between your porch and walkway, you could some border plantings of boxwoods, flowering perennials like coneflower or black eyed Susan, or even alliums, chives, etc.

I would also prune up your evergreen tree(s) so that the bottom branches are at the same height as the roof of your porch (will increase curb appeal and views out from the porch).

The deer will be thrilled by the hydrangeas! And for God's sake, don't "prune up your evergreen tree(s)." It's bad practice.

Consider how much maintenance you want/don’t want, decide on your budget and how much you are willing to do yourself, look on line for ideas/combinations and head to a good nursery - during a down time. They will ask lots of question; we did this (it was free) and they walked around pointing out suitable options, and layering was key.

Given the season, I’d head to a nursery asap. Good luck.

I forgot about the deer. Snowball viburnum (v. macrocephalum) might be a better, more deer-resistant alternative.

And yes, the controversy re: limbing up trees: some feel this can be harmful to the overall health of the tree, others don’t. My first home had 9 massive evergreens on a smaller city lot, so we wouldn’t have had any yard or daylight inside my house had we not pruned a good chunk of the lower branches off (like the forestry service does in parks). 20 years later the limbed up trees are as healthy as when we moved in. But if you would rather not have to worry about mulching underneath or want it as a wind/privacy screen, then just don’t take the advice of strangers online.

It’s hard to see exactly how big the flower bed is, measured from the porch out to the sidewalk. 3 or 4 feet maybe? Not that big, compared to your graceful large home.

Therefor, you need small-ish plants. And it would be a shame to hide the porch with tall stuff! Deer resistant boxwood, juniper, foxglove, lavender, lamb’s ear, allium, hellebore, sage, salvia, astilbe, coneflowers, Shasta Daisy (Becky variety), marigolds, some ornamental grasses, etc. If you think a plant is stinky or has an unusual or rough texture, a deer does too.

Thank you all for your comments! Little bug…..yes the bed is 3-4 feet along the front and we’ve got a large group of huge Holly trees right there which dictates the walk way and bed size. It gets a bit bigger on the angled area at the turn of the porch. All of your ideas are very helpful!

There is still snow on the ground so my guess is the ground is still too frozen to plant. Get a landscape designer who undertsands where you are and what to plant . I like the look of large beds with well planned foundation plantings designed for your situation. I love hydangeas but not all of them for sure . Deer are for sure an issue but there are some untra sonic deer repellents that could work. . There are also plants to do on the edges of beds that deer do not like. Lambsear is one we have found they leave alone but I live in BC . Got to your local nursery most have a tleast one staff memeber who has good knowledge of what will work best . I would do much deeper beds and a much wider walkway to the front door for sure maybe even a sweeping curve .