It would help a lot if you could post photos :-) One could offer all manner of plant suggestions, however a visual of the situation would narrow down the very wide range of possibilities as well as offer suggestions for placement. Certainly the hydrangea and roses could be a possibility, but their season of interest is rather limited. For the front yard and especially at the entry, a more uniformly year round look is desirable and that generally leads to more evergreen plants. But there are also many excellent evergreen (or year round interest plants) that will stay small/compact or within scale without excessive pruning. 'Senior citizen friendly' can be more loosely translated to 'low maintenance' and that is often a major landscaping criteria for many homeowners, regardless of age and ability :-)

Including more specifics about where in zone 6 you are located is also helpful.

It sounds like the perfect setting for junipers, notwithstanding my total ignorance of your zone. And maybe other kinds of dwarf conifers, as long as you can water enough the first couple of years to get them established. If there is a specialty nursery in your area (check with the conifers forum if you don't know) you should be able to get a nice variety of really slow-growing specimens that will like your conditions.

I think anything deciduous is going to be more work than evergreens. But as long as you choose smaller shrubs, as I understand these limelights to be, should be well and good - if they can take the sun.

Spring bulbs might also be a good thought.

KarinL

Thanks Karin for your response - I am in Union County NJ. Deer are not a problem here, but an invasive like barberry is.

I guess I am thinking that if I need to sell in a few years that I would like the front of the house to be tidy and attractive.

The houses in the neighborhood were all built around 1940 and the newest owners have replaced their old shrubs with pom pom and spiral arborvitae that look really out of place with colonial revival homes.

Thanks again for your help.