Another shot

Before landscape

Adding some privacy often improve curb appeal.

I don't know where you are.Z7 or z6?

Good landscaping need more designing to select.

nice house! what zone are you in and what type of style do you prefer? theres really all kinds of things you can do. Have you ever heard of the program landscape architect by realtime (idea spectrum)? the program costs money but you can use the trial version like i do and you can use all the features and even save your project. You can use your photo as a backdrop and place plants and trees and water features to test out things to see if you like them its a great progam. Here is an example of it I did for my front yard.

{{gwi:10119}}

It looks like the house is low to the ground on a slab fountain. As a result, your current fountain planting look like a nice height. Hopefully you have selected dwarf, low growing plants, as they will need to stay low. I think your foundation planting has 2 spots for larger (but still dwarf) uprights on the end caps. I would take advantage of those two spots and select something really nice.

The main curb appeal needs to occur away from the house and adding some hardscaping, such as a custom address stone + planting island would look really nice. Add in some green grass and you will have some serious curb appeal. Nice House!

Shawn

You guys are great. Those are some really nice looks and ideas Shawn , Ash and Yin. Thanks for taking the time and your complements. If anyone else care to chime in thats ok too. We love our home and want to keep her pretty.

I try many times,can't open my Yin49.hope I never any ofend.

I think SC77 has some great ideas in their design! The only additional thing I would consider is adding a tree (or a few) if the front of your house gets a lot of sun. If you do add any trees, make sure to place them in a way that will frame the front view of the home.

I didn't see where you are located - is dyed red mulch the norm? I know a lot of people like it, but it seems so plastic-y and artificial to me. If you are in Oklahoma, where the dirt is red and clayey, it might not look out of place. I don't like cypress mulch either because it's orange.

I always buy plain brown mulch. (I live in Missouri where the dirt is brown. If I lived in Iowa where the dirt is black, I'd probably buy black.)

Love your house ... and your current landscaping, which looks like it will turn out to be quite complimentary

Keep in mind that the shrubbery will grow ... and that the presentation of your landscape will change as the shubbery grows. Denpending on what you have there, ... it looks like some yew, some boxwood, and maybe some privet, .... your shrubs will grow at a somewhat different rate.

tI will be of benefit to you to identify what shrubs you have, ... as they will grow at different rates ... and have different pruning needs. I'd propose employing a knowledgeable service to come in, maybe annually, to prune and advise you on your shrubs.

As far as other landscape elements, I'd consider adding a tree out some distance into the front yard. I like the yin49's first graphic proposal. You don't want any trees up close to the house. That just causes problems for the house ... and the trees. Even shrubs can eventually grow to be too large to be very close to the house. Be very careful about what you put in your house's foundation area.

I would propose a "Heritage River Birch" situated out in the front-space of the house.

The Heritage River Birch is a medium-sized, multi-trunked tree with attractive shaggy multicolored bark (beige/off-white/brown) and a less dense canopy of foliage of medium sized bright green leaves. The leaves blow in the breeze and turn a golden brown in the fall, and you get catkins in the spring.

The tree should grow well in your area and give you years pf enjoyment.

Below is photo of a River Birch in a bedded situation like that shown by yin49 ...

{{gwi:10120}}

Heritage River Birch

I would only remind that you don't want the tree too close to the house. I would recommend, at least, a 20-30 foot distance out.

Here's a photo of the tree's bark and foliage ...

{{gwi:10122}}

And here's the tree in the fall ...

{{gwi:10124}}

This post was edited by aegis500 on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 7:41