Do you know the name of the shrub that's between the windows? What is behind the brick raised bed with the hedge? I like the suggestion to remove those bushes. What you do next depends on what is on the other side, next to the house. If you have a porch the same elevation as the front entry then I would buy some easy care annuals each spring, such as pansies, petunias, french marigolds. Creeping thyme will help control weeds. If the other side is more lawn or wanna-be lawn, then I'd put something in there that will get about a foot taller than the planter bed. Maybe an ornamental grass. To replace the shrubs I'd put something that will trail over the edge such as creeping thyme, moneywort, trailing petunias. As for the space between the windows I think you've made a good start with the shrub or small tree you have. It needs friends, something that is a bit shorter, one on each side. Maybe nandina, or camelia, depending on your climate zone. Neither needs much care and rare pruning. There are some roses, particularly floribundas that need very little care. When I lived in Bakersfield, California and in the Sierra foothills I cut them back to about a foot high each winter and that was it. I didn't fertilize, spray, nothing. They grew and bloomed just fine. The yellow and peach colored ones were the toughest and most reliable. Floribundas are generally smallish, about 3'-4' tall and have many small rose blooms.

This is such a neat spot to make a garden. it reminds me of the hill that I started my first garden on. Here’s the before and after these are almost all perennials that come back each year, and survive solely off of rain water. No pruning or deadheading necessary. I would aim for high plants in the back and low in the front If you’d like any of the names of my plants let me know!

If you want to have plants in front of the porch then place the path at least four feet from it. Path too close to the house is a common problem with new homes.

I love your house. What a classic beauty. When you say, "Any suggestions for what to plant that won’t become over grown..." and that you don't know your zone, it makes me think that you probably don't want to do a lot of maintenance, and need a full sun, slow growing shrub, that doesn't reach a tall height because you don't want to block your porch, and you don't want to do a lot of pruning. I'd go to various nurseries in your area, show them a picture of your house and ask them for just what I described above. They will start to list off a lot of plants that will work for you. They will probably also have some other suggestions. If you can go during times when they are not busy, you have the best chance of getting more in depth answers. You might also ask multiple people at the same place to kind the person who knows best. Do both sides of your front get equal sun light or is something across the street or a tree on the sidewalk possibly giving dappled shade to the left side of your house causing the shrubs to grow smaller? I have this going on with two urns placed on either side of my entrance. It isn't super obvious that there is a light difference but it has a huge impact on the growth of plants. This home has simple shrubs in front, like yours. I like how they extended the foot print of the bed so the shrubs have some depth and layering and are not just in a flat line against the house. I suspect this is more ornate than what you are looking for. Although the bed is straight across the front of the house, it also have three different height levels to the plants, which also adds depth. Insteading that they used planters in the garden for sculptural and color effect.