Remove the gigantic street lamp and random boulders. Paint the door, white trim, shutters a color that isn't such high contrast with the bricks. You have enviable tiered garden space in front of your home. Hire a landscape designer to create a garden that takes into consideration how much upkeep you want to be responsible for and something that has year round greenery plus spring, summer, and fall interest.

I'd remove the shutters as well. And there are wonderful plants for shade.

Yes 👆.

You have a nice home but it’s too cluttery/busy. Random boulders need to go (especially the ones in line with the door) and so does the lamp post.

We can’t see much of the yard - are there trees in front too? Do you have deer issues? If not, small (maximum MATURE height of 4’ or less) hydrangeas would be beautiful.

edited to add: I forgot - if you keep the white shutters, the door should be white. And if you want to use those rust-colored plastic pots, put them on the porch or the edges of the steps

I like the street lamp and I was thinking you were probably waiting to add those boulders somewhere, right? I’d plant a Clematis or other vine on that pole. Perfect opportunity to do so. I would like a different color than white on the shutters, greens or reds? I like red shutters on brick, if you find the right shade. Then you would probably want a different color on the front door. I would keep the railing and posts on the porch white.

The door is difficult to see in the shade of the porch, maybe a bright color - red? Since you still won’t see the door too well, if you wanted to, you could add some containers with colorful flowers on the porch near the posts on either side of the steps. Something that would be an extra project would be to add larger interesting molding around the front door and hardware on the door...a wreath?

It looks like you might have a lot of shade there? First step would be to observe the front area and time the sunlight where it falls in the beds. What time of day and how much direct sun you get there. You might not be able to have flowering plants all the time. If not then a lot of colorful foliage. You can have plants that bloom in the shade but more often than not, they are less flashy and shorter bloom period. I'd add as much flowering plants as your conditions will allow, but still add contrasting foliage colors and maybe some variegated foliage. Definitely some low growing evergreen shrubs and perennials. Definitely plan for 4 season color and get what you love and have fun with it.

I wish I had added more bulbs when I first started, to give them time to spread and increase. I eventually added them, and the oldest plantings just keep getting better and better. Under your trees, you could consider Snowdrops or Scilla, both of which will spread nicely. if you have enough sun you could add daffs and hyacinths and lots of others to choose from.

Boulders are a project hoping to create a fountain of some sort or they will be moved around to the back of the property. The area where the boulders are will become grass with the walkway extended to the drive.

prairiemoon2 z6b MA -

thank you - your insight is correct! Boulders will be moved(possible fountain); and I have alot of perennials in the beds. I'll post a few more pictures of the property and definitely some when the flowers are up!

Wish I could create a better sketch to show our future walkway & grass! 😆

That photo is about the way I thought you were doing it. That makes a lot of sense, I can see that area of grass between the driveway and the end of your front walkway and it will look great adding to the walkway and connecting to the driveway with grass on both sides. And your lucky to have all those boulders for projects!

It looks like you have a lot of plants in your gardens already. We can't see them. Wait until spring and point out areas you'd like to improve. In zone 6a, I think you need more winter interest. Do this with shrubs and or some grasses. Red Oseir dogwood is pretty and should be fine with partial shade. Mountain laurel is one of my favorite broadleaved evergreens. There are ever green rhodos and azaleas that do well in 6a and partial shade.

I'm not sure the shutters are doing you any favors. I'd paint them a similar color to your house, just a lot darker.

Berry Poppins™ Winterberry Holly · More Info

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Cornus sericea 'Baileyi' · More Info

Hadn't realized you already have plants there. So yes. More evergreens for sure.

Remove that enormous streetlight and use path lights to illuminate the path to the house.

stand in the street... show us the whole front yard and house...

then stand on the porch.. and show us the whole front lot...

we cant make suggestions without seeing the whole scape ...

do you want to garden.. or do you want carefree??

and give us a big city name.. north IL is not south IL.. zone alone isnt enough info... Illinois. Indiana.. same deal.. lol ..

ken

it could be worth it to get a garden designer for a consulation

those folks could give you a hand with

creating space

privacy screen where needed

give list of suitable plants (save you a fortune and lots of work)

my two cents after 30 y of gardening and working as a garden designer

dont do zone pushing

plant according to site: the right plant for the right place

use plants that are happy with the foliage/ old leaves in autumn, leaf blowing ist not neccessairy all over the place, and working with the leaves will improve your soil and cut back the need for watering in the long run

a lot of different early spring bulbs should work under those trees, for some you just need a few to start and they spread by seed

in a setting like this

go for larger groups of the same plant, that should create a calm, naturalistic look

native vegetation growing under trees tend to consist of few species in large groups

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seasonal higlights

if you work with those trees,

spring should look great

and probably fall with some fall colors,

sommer is probably not too exciting as those often prefer full sun

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I am weary of the recommended Cornus sericea as it tends to spread by runners

This reminds me a bit of your space. I would either hire a designer (have an idea of how you want it to look) or if that's not in you budget, then work with a local nursery (not a big box store) for help in selecting plants for your space. Do your own plan and fill it in over a few years. I like this pic because it shows a nice variety of shapes, sizes, colors and a mix of perennials and shrubs, with some evergreens included. It also shows how beautiful it can look with mostly foliage plants and a few flowering ones. You can also plant annuals amongst the perennials for blankets of color during the warmer months.