Please help me decide what to plant!

My husband and I are relatively new homeowners and I have very little gardening experience.. actually I have none. Upon moving last August, my husband got a weed wacker and promptly got a little trigger happy, tearing up most of the shrubs in front of our house. I desperately want to plant something there but don't know what would grow best as we get direct sunlight much of the day in the summer. 

Here's a picture so you can see the space I have. On the lefthand side are a couple of Japanese maples and on the right is the spruce tree (that my husband wants to get rid of.. he seems to have a pattern) and a sad, dead peonies bush that was blooming beautifully when we first looked at the house. 

Any and all ideas are welcome and appreciated!

my advice would be to leave everything alone this year and see what comes up this spring / summer. My peonies bloom in the spring/ early summer, then are dormant the rest of the year... One big regret I have is that I pulled out what ended up being a type of hydrangea ( thought it was a weed- pulled before it bloomed), which I would have just moved to a different spot if I knew better... Give it a full season to see what surprises your landscape gives you

It just looks so bare and ugly!   

Do some containers this year if you want some color in the front.  Wait and see what comes up and once you have an idea you can fill in for next year.

Here is a thought---since you get a lot of direct sun, would you consider some window boxes?  They will draw the eyes up, and would soften the look of the house. You could really use color effectively, and it would be a quick and easy fix.  I would do them on the first floor, and only under the window above the peak of the porch roof.  Then I would add some tall containers on either side of the front door.   Good luck in your new home!

I didn't think anything could come up again since my husband tore it all out. Shows how much I know! 

I like the idea of window boxes, calli. I had thought about doing it last summer but was just too pregnant to do anything about it! 

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Check out Better Homes & Gardens for ideas.  Knockout roses rebloom and they would add some color to the front of your house.  

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/

W/ regard to roses and to flower boxes, you want to keep in mind having some items with year-round interest.  You don't want to dress-up your lovely home for summer only!

eta:  Personally, I would recommend hiring someone to help you design your landscape if you are inexperienced in this regard.   I wasted enough money on "mistakes" to know that I should have spent more money up-front to hire help.

I am agreeing with mjh about hiring someone. At least for ideas. You do need plants that keep their greenery during the winter, or you will have the bare look during the dreary months. I can see why your husband might not like the spruce right up so close to your door and right in front of your window. At least if you leave it there, you need to balance it out with plants around it and on the other side of the door.  I'm also wondering about how much shade you get in the summer, given the shadows of the trees I see in the photo. 

Idea for something very basic:

you could put any number of Ilex (hollies) as foundation plants.  ie Blue Hollies or japanese hollies(ilex crenata) or Inkberry (ilex glabra).  (take out the straggly maples, imo)

Follow planting instructions for depth and spacing.  I , too, don't think that spruce (is it a spruce?) is in the right place.  But if you want a bit of height on either side of front, try Ilex "sky pencil".  They are columnar in shape.

Under your side room on the left where the little boxwood are, you could add height and interest with hydrangea paniculata.  The blooms would are attractive all summer and turn lovely shades int he fall.  Just cut off spent blooms late winter.  I would move the little boxwood to somewhere more appropriate on your yard.

Thanks, everyone. Who should I hire? A landscape architect? I got my husband on board to find someone for ideas at least and am getting excited!

If you can wait until April 11th, The Maplewood Garden Club has a speaker at their April meeting who might interest you.  The meeting is FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC.  Held at the main branch of the Maplewood Library, lower level, at 7:30 pm.

April 11, 2016 (please note: this meeting is on the second Monday of the month)

Subject:  Garden Design in the US & UK 
Speaker: Sonia  Uyterhoeven

Sonia has worked in the field of horticulture, both in the UK and the US. She is currently the Head of Horticulture at Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills. Garden Design in the US & UKhighlights travels through the southeast of England and a decade of working and teaching at the New York Botanical Garden. The lecture will cover design principles, searching for designs that suit your style, and an exploration of some maintenance practices that will make your gardens look their best.