Landscape design for front of the house....please Help!

Hello,

I’m a newbie here and am looking for some advice on landscape design for the front of our first house
We live in the Northeast and have recently updated our front yard. In the process, we had to remove the shrubs in front of our windows. So now we have half of the area covered with stone (since we dont have gutters) and half is for plants.

Since i'm new to gardening, i'm not quite sure what should we plant.
I would prefer some flower bushes and some perennial flowers, fairly easy maintenance - i just don't know which ones. Preferably some evergreens that we can look at in the winter time as well.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Do you know what zone you are in? Is it sunny or shady?
Congratulations on your first house!

Thanks :)
We're in the zone 5A....New Hampshire. This area now gets full sun since we recently had to remove some pine trees.

I think you would enjoy evergreens for an all-season interest. Your area is kind of narrow, so you wouldn't want anything too bushy (except on the side near the air conditioner) or you would soon block the sidewalk.
What about something that has berries?

Daylilies are always nice... and roses. Knock-outs are very easy.
You could also plant a bunch of bulbs this fall for a really pretty tulip bed next spring.

The front of my house doesn't have gutters either, and the rocks work fine for me.

You might also turn your "elbow" into a flower bed...dig up the grass (where the sidewalk and driveway come together) The picture is an old house where I did just that.

These are all great suggestions, thank you so much :)
Looks like i have plenty of planting to do...!
I loved the idea of decorating the "elbow"....that would really add some color to the yard.

JulieQ,
Could you offer some suggestions for this firsttime home front? It's a young couple.

The house is in zone 9a, and faces east. It gets full on morning sunshine, but a bit of a shadow falls over a small part of the flowerbed. All the petunias outside the shadow area got fried, and died.

Thanks!

Here's another view.

And, one more.

Hi Gymgirl, I appreciate you asking, but I am not a certified landscaper, just enjoy it.
That is a gorgeous house!
Your first step, I think, is to decide what style you are going for. You could go with natives or cultivated plants. Do you want what is common in the neighborhood (ride around and look) or something really different?

You will also not want anything too tall in front of the windows, but maybe you could put something either in that corner, or a trellis against the side wall for some height. Another place that you could put some height is on the outside curve across the sidewalk.

Once you get your big stuff in you can fill in with smaller perennials. I would leave some room for annuals, too.

Your entryway by the door would be brightened up by some pretty pots of lighter colored flowers or foliage.

Ideas of hardy plants for your zone are: firebush "hamelia patens", rudbekia, shorter yucca and decorative grasses, lantana, verbena, salvia
ruellia brittoniana (mexican petunia) ...this will spread;
for the trellis: sweet autumn clematis ...this can be very tough,
for the area with a little more shade: autumn debutante azalea,

Have fun looking up different plants on the internet. This is not a wonderful time to plant, because of the heat, but you could probably start your planning. If you are a diligent waterer you could maybe go ahead if you are careful.

Thanks, Julie!

Be VERY careful with the mexican petunia. I don't know about Houston, but down here in S. FL, it's listed as an extreme invasive (even though you can buy it anywhere, including big box stores). I've seen it take over many landscapes, and is extremely hard to control, due to its spreading nature through a network of underground horizontal tuber growth. If you plan on planting them, a good idea would be to border them with plastic edging, so that the depth of the edging will keep the tubers somewhat under control. You can pull the errant stalks, but you can't easily get the tubers, as they detatch easily. Good luck!

Thanks for that tip, Grantman31!

GardenRookie24, Hollys are slow growing and evergreen and so are euonymus and take sun really well. Lily or Iris bulbs will come back every year but I would keep that space for seasonal flower interest. There are lots of annuals you will be wanting to plant when you see them. Also you could plant Hardy mums that come back in those spaces for a pretty fall color and still have room for perennials or annuals throughout the year. The ice plant is a pretty ground cover with cute purple blooms that last a long time.

Gymgirl. It is the best to create a Cactus Garden. Cacti are water saving plants. I begin my Cactus Garden 5 years agoon the front of my house. You can see it on my website http://www.mycactusplants.com. There are many cactus species that can grow in Houston. I can help you to choose this species. Plaese email me mikglad@cox.net