How do you start a full-yard garden?

Why perennials? Do not plant anything by your sewer line. Focus on framing your home in color. If you choose seasonal, they should be in the ground already. You will need to compromise this year. Stake your beds out and get them pre-ready for next spring. Now you are not rushed and can concentrate on selecting plants indigenous to your area. There are so many. Go to your local big box store with your iPhone with pic’s of your planting area. You need to work with your yard now like it’s a baby. Once you have selected a few fall/ winter candidates, take them home and move them around in your area/yard until you get the color and design right for you. This is a big project so you must persevere and work a little everyday until you feel super confident and start preparing indoors for spring!!! Happy planting!

Congratulations! Darling craftsman style bungalow. I can't really tell exactly what that hedge is, but I would remove it for something a little more colorful. If you want an easy to grow tree with a non invasive root system, look at crepe myrtle. Do you have any idea of what you might want?

Do you want to plant the whole yard in perennials or just the strip between the sidewalk and and the street? You are smart to get rid of bushes in that area. try planting plants for butterflies there and you will have extra beauty added to your home. butterfly plant, echinecia, black eyed susan , herbs are all good fragrant plants. salvia is also good.

Start with a paper plan. Map out where you want your beds. Then go to your local plant nursery - ask what kind of soil you have, what the growing zone in your area is. Watch the sun - see how much sun/shade your yard gets - That's very important as many plants won't grow well without at least 6 hours of sun. They can tell you what grows best, how big the plants will get. You can see what the plants look like, the color of the leaves, etc. Figure out how much time you'll have for gardening - a lot - then you can go for annuals - a little time - go for shrubs with color in the leaves, you get the idea. Plan first - then it's easy peasy.

Call before you dig. You should know where all your utilities are before you shove a shovel into the ground. Supposedly you can go 12 inches deep without a problem but telephone and cable installers are famous for being shallow people and I have seen them just let their wiring lay on the ground to be covered by the sod layers. Paying extra to fix phone lines you roto-tillered up is not fun.

Sometimes gas lines are put in too shallow too and are often plastic.

What a neat house, If you put in raised beds you won't have to dig and they'll be easier to maintain. Perennial raised beds are nice because they offer a clean and beautiful presentation and lift your eye so everything isn't at the same point. Something to think about for the front yard.

Also think about adding herbs in the mix so you can cook with them. P/Herbs are so easy and would compliment perennial bloomers.

You can find some ideas here.

https://www.gardenupgreen.com/2018/03/four-raised-bed-garden-ideas.html

Dwarf lilacs are easy care bushes that require very little effort. I would make a few beds and heavily mulch everything else, using landscape fabric under the mulch.

I LOVE lilacs...so I am def going to pursue your suggestion

Rose brushes create a small English cottage garden, I would make the front entry door pop wth color cute house but everything is Brown.

This post might help https://chascrazycreations.com/garden-101/