Beginner, need help with front porch

Hi!

I'm posting some pictures of our front porch, I need help! I have zero idea on where to start, just want to make it presentable and clean looking. I don't know where to start... where to go buy what I need, and what I would actually need.

another picture

other side

Are you planning to keep the shrubs that are there? If so, I'd probably just get some colorful annuals to plant in front, that'll give you a nice pop of color. You could do the same thing even if you remove the shrubs too. For more suggestions though it would help to know where you live or at least what zone you're in, otherwise it's hard for people to make suggestions of what would do well for you.

are those azaleas?

hi, thanks for the responses. I'm in NJ. I don't plan on removing the shrubs.. mostly because I don't know how and I don't think I'll be able to replace the entire space entirely on my own so I'll just keep them there and just add more. I don't know what kind of shrub/plants they are... They were already there when we moved in.

The soil looks dry, do I re-soil them? Not sure if there's such a thing... Is it a good idea for me to go to a nursery and ask them what I should buy? I don't have a budget to go to a landscaper and just want to do this on my own. I"m willing to find out what I need and do it all myself. I borrowed some books from the library about annuals.

Thanks!

Also, is it futile to start now since summer is ending?

Actually it's better to plant things in cooler weather, it's less stressful for the plants when it's not so hot out. If you're going to do annuals though I'd look for ones that put on their best show in the fall rather than the summer, otherwise if you plant ones that peak in the summer you won't get to enjoy them as much. If you go to a good nursery where the people actually know something about plants (in other words not the garden center at Home Depot, Walmart, etc) they should be able to point you in the direction of plants they have that you'd be able to enjoy flowers during the fall. You could go for some perennials too, fall should be a good time to plant them too and you'll get to enjoy them in future years too so picking ones with a fall bloom time isn't as important.

For your soil--it could be that it just needs some mulch. Without mulch, the soil surface dries out very quickly and can look like that. Or it never hurts to work in some soil amendments too, but you'll need to be a little careful of the roots of the shrubs that are already there, and also if you're adding material keep in mind that you don't want to raise the soil level around the trunk of your shrubs since that can lead to rot, and you also have to be careful around the house foundation so I'd probably stick with just mixing in some compost when you dig the holes to plant your annuals, then mulch the whole bed when you're done (make sure to leave a few inches unmulched right around the base of the shrubs)

Where in NJ are you? We haven't gotten a drop of rain for 2wks so our soil is real dry too. When I plant I amend the soil as I go. When I did the hole I keep all the dirt out and put in new garden soil. The one shrub in the first pic needs some pruning I'd cut away all the dead material.
If you need an actual plan better homes and gardens has great onesfor beginners
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/
you need to register but it's free.
or some of the plant/flower companies sell a pre planned garden
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/layouts.html?picture=border%2ejpg&garden_name=Border%20Garden&code=BORDER&pdf=%2fpdf%2fbordergarden%2epdf

I'm always a big pre planner, flipping thru catalogs and magazines to see the plants and flowers I like then research them to see if they do well in my zone/soil and sun/shade requirements. Then I lay it out on paper.
If you just want some color for now you can always do mums or asters(both full sun)since fall is coming until you plan it out after doing some research.

Thank you for the responses! I'm going to check out bhg.com

What is meant by "amending"?

Adding the "good" stuff either with true garden soil or humus and manure mix, depends on what your soil needs, if you're not sure have your soil tested before adding anything.