Pieris japonica and a small-leafed Rhododendron like "Olga" for next to the steps and the other corner of the house. Calluna or Erica or something low-growing for in front of the windows.

I'd love those beautiful brackets under the windows. Have you had windowboxes? Do you plan on putting some up? Maybe the brackets will need something extra so they wouldn't fall, but whatever you do with the other spot, windowboxes would really enhance the look of it all.

Red twigged dogwoods are pretty shrubs and look nice in the winter. -Ais.

well definitely window boxes, thats what the brackets are for. which is pretty much a summer/seasonal thing.
for spring i had a friend who used to pot up crocus and miniture daffs to put in her boxes-- and followed with primroses she bought each spring. in the fall you can use asters/mums and finish with branches of oak leaves, staghorn sumac and pumpkins with evergreen trimmings, then in the winter just have evergreens branches with ornaments.
for summer ther are 10,000 things you can do.

to the left of your porch i would put up a trellis and grow
a vine-- clematis??

I'd go with a set of dwarf alberta spruce on each side of the steps-- just to have something to decorate and that would keep its size. but for winter interest you are going to need some evergreens. You don't say where you are in IL-- but it looks like the chicago area, so you will need something hardy that can take the subzero winds. Rhodies and azaleas aren't good choices.

You might consider red and yellow twig dogwoods. kerria has great green stems all winter and lovely yellow flowers in the late spring. heaths and heathers would be nice too. There are also some nice ground hugging junipers you could plant in front of the lower windows and under plant with spring bulbs as well. Some peonies would be a nice summer accent and wouldn't shade those lower windows during the winter, but would during the summer. (what are those windows-- do you want them screened from view, or would you like some light to get in there?)

on the right of your house you could plant something very contorted--witchhazel, harry lauder's walking stick, hazelnut?? or something 15-20 ft tall that has wonderful spring blossom, good fall color, and some type of berry for the winter-- a hawthorne, a crab, or maybe a holly?? a dogwood would be nice-- but will it survive. The same questions come up for magnolias. you could also plant a cluster of shrubs/trees on the corner of the house extending the border out into the yard by a good 12 to 15 feet and allow the bed to taper towards your steps

diggerb

Thanks, everyone! This is very helpful - especially because we'll end up doing the work ourselves.

We don't have window boxes now, but I would like to get some that can stay out year-round. We've been in the house about two years and we're slowly making our way to outside projects.

To the right of the porch: I'd do it up with some tall ferns (dixie wood fern, Christmas fern, Sensitive fern) add some francis williams hostas and some abiqua drinking gourd hostas. Somewhere in there I'd put a Boulevard cypress (or maybe two!)and maybe some red ligularia (brit marie crawford) a couple of either jack frost brunneras or maybe a couple of hadspen cream brunneras. I think you can get away with Girard Azaleas in your zone, they have many nice colored ones. I would go with something light colored to brighten it up a bit before the hostas start coming up in the spring. You might check out glossy abelia, its a nice semi evergreen shrub which has tiny white blooms in spring.

It looks as if the Left side is alot smaller than the right, there I would plant a bloodgood japanese maple and place some hostas in with it. I'd carry over the same kind of hostas as the opposite side.

I like what you've done with the pots, I'd add some more. I'd also suggest taller and lighter colored ones (a nice terra cotta?) A set every other step or so. Put some trailing petunias or million bells in them, maybe an ivy (but dont let that ivy touch the ground!)or a nice bright green sweet potato vine with something bright orange blooming (and im NOT suggesting marigolds!) You could also train a mandevilla up the rail from a pot.

I'd hang either a basket of impatiens or a boston fern from the top of the porch. Impatiens in white would brighten things up a bit, your porch looks dark!

I would try to use brighter colors to compliment and contrast the dark brick of your house, such as bright greens and blues (ferns,francis williams hosta, abiqua drinking gourd hosta, boulevard cypress), whites and variagated leaved plants (the brunneras, abelia and impatiens), bright reds (bloodgood JM and ligularia). You have a nice looking place, and nice beds, we want to see after pics!

Paula

Just checking, did you ever get anything done with this spot? I'm anxiously awaiting some AFTER pics!

Paula

I'm jumping in late, sorry about that.

Pieris japonica will work as a shrub, so would one one of the earlier Spirea cultivars (also maybe Kalmia - mountain laurel). For smaller plants and some color; you might try hellebores, astilbes, aruncus, pulmonaria, and bleeding heart.

Definitely build some redwood or cedar window boxes, and plant annuals, some seasonal decoration and silk flowers for the cold months.
Dad