Groundcover / hardscaping.

I suggest some stones with a large boulder as above for a clean look. You might also consider bamboo to mask the air conditioner. I'm not from your zone but basically there will be a variety that will grow lower in mass but be sure to plant it with large rubber casing to keep the roots from overtaking.

I would suggest the following Houzz search. Type in "front" into the search line, then click on "Outdoor Photos" "Landscape" and "Modern". I think you will find that the main recurring theme of a modern front landscape is 1. mass plantings of the same plant, 2. linear design elements, and 3. grasses and texture rather then many bright colors and flowers.

Good luck, and have fun with your project.

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any luck finding what you're looking for flyergal?

Thanks so much! I do like many of the modern and also the asian images. The rock and tall grass composition is really nice. Most of the pictures show gardens at ground level view, and not from above. No one designs gardens for the view from the inside? Which is what the view from the entryway will be. You are almost looking straight down on it. I put this big picture window to distract from the narrowness of the entry, So my plan was to draw their eye out to the back as visitors come through the front door. In this photo your back is to the picture window. Sorry as there is still some construction material laying about.

So you can see the planting area in question is quite small. 4x10 (10" to sidewalk). And while the far view down to the creek has its own charm, this small bed is the where I would like to create some interest.

flyergal: It is possible to do a removable (3 sided) surround/top to disguise the A/C unit, as long as there is adequate airflow. Lots of design options all over the internet. I think I would do a fairly open stained slatted wood design, with grasses in the landscape, some brightly colored dwarf evergreen shrubs for winter interest, a boulder or three of character (perhaps one with a dip in the top so you could have a "birdbath"), and at the end of the larger patio construct a slatted wood bench that would tie into the HVAC unit design. At the curve of the walkway by the deck, I would plant an open branched tree, that you could easily prune for size and open branching. Vine maple has worked well for me in this circumstance.

nwduck is this what you had in mind?

The large stones, and the varied colored evergreens, for sure. Some grasses that have colored leaves/plumes mixed in would give it dimension and movement in summer.

I looked at "disguises" for the HVAC condenser. But I think they call more attention to themselves than the actual unit. I do like Maples as well, and agree that corner would be a great location. Thank you so much for the ideas.

The other option would be to use some evergreens in a kind of "surround", but done in an asymmetrical way, allowing for access. Honestly, I was thinking more of the view of the top of the unit from the window when I suggested the wood surround. Maybe you could do both? That way it wouldn't be an obvious box, but look a little more organic from the house.

How about planting an italian cypress between the window and the hvac. Closer to the window. This will ensure that one never sees the hvac as it will be blocked by the tree. The rest c an bed one with grasses or as suggested above.Basically you need to create a tall barrier from the window so you cannot look down on the hvac to resolve the problem of the view from the window,. Taking third picture you posted into account.