"What can I do?", below, in my email last week.
In winter a wasteland, above/below.
A few ideas to fix this landscape: evergreen shrub/s, evergreen groundcover/s, hydrangeas, espalier evergreen shrub at blank wall, keep & rearrange perennials, bench (need the curve of a Giverny bench)at base of espalier evergreen shrub with flagstone leading to it, stain board under rail same color as shutters, use a darker shade of white on trim/rails/posts/windows creating sense of space, climber up corner post & along top of porch.
Treat entire space like a window box. Prepare the soil and pack your goodies in. (Note: Cheaper than annuals, above, less maintenance, & pretty all year.)
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More ideas to fix this landscape (phase II from piggy bank): all of the above plus remove rail at end of porch & add a stone step creating a new entryway to porch with stepping stone from drive to porch. Pair of evergreens at each end of this new path. Match same evergreens with a pair at front steps.
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Let's spend some money to fix this landscape (fat piggy bank): Remove front/side rails & add stone curbstones for steps where each rail section is removed. Add flagstone terrace between concrete/house with space for the evergreens/climber/espalier/bench, surface sidewalk in same stone as new flagstone terrace, remove large section of turf in front of house abutting the sidewalk creating a courtyard space with same plantings used at house plus an understory flowering tree with clematis growing thru it. Create entryway in this new courtyard space on axis with the front steps to house. Voila, an enfilade to the front door. Depth, drama, curb appeal.
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Old money fix: evergreen groundcover, pairs of evergreens at entries, evergreen climber, evergreen espalier at blank wall & bench. (Gotta love the old money fix!)
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Eccentric garden fix: is the owner in love with Warhol, Monet, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jekyll, mid-century modern, MOMA, natives, topiaries, conifers, roses, herbs, dahlias, fragrance, pollinators and etc? Fun in each direction.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Bamboo rake bought for aesthetics.
A new pleasure, dragging a bamboo rake thru gravel. Aaaah, the sound, the feel of rake thru gravel, new body movements, making swirls, curves, lines, intersections, mindlessness; but not. 
Shot Pea Gravel, above, hasn't settled yet. Adirondack chairs resting upon 1" thick Cherokee gray flagstones so legs won't sink.
View, above, from the same chair in middle pic. Variegated boxwood in terra cotta pot, above, same as viewed from inside my house, top pic.
The same chair, below, seen from inside my home this morning.
DOUBLE AXIS, baby dolls. AND YOU WANT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!
Gravel at the door.
Making 5 topiary shapes, 4 poles each, at that price?
Cheap pots WILL break. No time for cheap. Anymore.
What's not to like about aging? Buying quality terra cotta pots, above, requiring a man & forklift.
I could supply studies of: landscaping, property value, curb appeal, heating/cooling savings, mental health, longevity, wildlife & eco babble. 
In winter a wasteland, above/below.
A few ideas to fix this landscape: evergreen shrub/s, evergreen groundcover/s, hydrangeas, espalier evergreen shrub at blank wall, keep & rearrange perennials, bench (need the curve of a Giverny bench)at base of espalier evergreen shrub with flagstone leading to it, stain board under rail same color as shutters, use a darker shade of white on trim/rails/posts/windows creating sense of space, climber up corner post & along top of porch. Treat entire space like a window box. Prepare the soil and pack your goodies in. (Note: Cheaper than annuals, above, less maintenance, & pretty all year.)
Here, above/below, in Susanne Hudson's backyard.
Looking thru the gate, below, is a view from the frontyard.
Blossoms, below, each had honeybees. Wish you could hear this tree.
Notice winter's bare branches? I adore the frisson. 
Her garden, below, as well considered as her closet.
Her quince, above/below, last Friday. 
And the same quince, above, from her porch.
Collecting affordable ideas from client bathrooms across the years. My new bath, below. 
Clawfoot tub, circa 1910, was in my garden many years. 
Compare statue & misc. styling, above/below. Adore this attention to detail.
Ha, a feeling of deep rest glancing at it. 
