I agree with Charlie, adding a few espaliered (pruned into a planar form) fruit trees would be very cool along the wall. For the smaller bed, strawberries would probably work. I'd be concerned about whatever you plant in the smaller bed getting beaten up by the snow getting pushed onto it by the snow plows. Strawberries would probably survive. You could try other edible vines, for instance hardy kiwis would probably work well if you trained them onto the wall. They'd probably do fine in the area with less than full sun, too. Cool project. I hope you don't mind other people helping themselves to your fruit, because I could imagine people walking down your sidewalk and grabbing some of your treats

Or MAYBE install shallow swales on each side of main sidewalk. 1) Use a string level to make sure you have a positive grade from one end of main walk to the other, and can outlet water at low end with no problems. 2) Grade ground to slope sides gently to bottom of swale, especially making sure side next to main sidewalk slopes gently away from sidewalk for two to three feet. 3) For the short walks coming from the units perpendicular to the main walk, you'll need to bore under them and install 3 small diameter PVC pipes in series under each. These pipes should be about 10' long. 4) Slope ground away from perpendicular walks about 3 to 4 on each side to inlet and outlets of the pipes you just installed (to keep folks from stepping into a drop off if they happened to step off the walk. Also looks better). 5) Add gravel to discharge end of pipes to prevent erosion. Could also add larger rock to inlet ends to help prevent clogging. 6) Grass the swales, or create rain gardens with appropriate plants for function, beauty and to treat runoff. This should stop ponding in low areas unless there's an area of the walk itself that's depressed. If so, that section should be removed and relaid. NOTE: in large storms swales may fill and top walkways temporarily, depending on number and diameter of pipes under perpendicular walk, width and depth of longitudinal swales, etc.

I don't think you are looking at the big picture. Many or most things in landscaping are some sort of balancing act, weighing trade-offs ... benefits in one place vs. benefits in another. Having a tree outside a window, several feet away, does not mean blocking a view. It means seeing a tree trunk. While I drew a multi-trunk tree in the other picture, it would not preclude you from specifying a single-trunk tree, once you weigh all the factors. If you choose no tree, I think you will help ensure that the barren, industrial look prevails, instead of things looking a little homier, with a sense of shelter and protection that a tree canopy affords. A tree helps a home look nestled in instead of being cold, hard and just stuck on top of the ground. From the complete left to complete right of the house face, it's a long way to go unbroken by any foliage. I dare say there are quite a few forum participants who would want the view of your house nearly obliterated by many trees with low hanging foliage! I am not one of them and strive to avoid covering or obstructing architectural features. But to leave the upper portion of the architecture entirely naked seems a move in the opposite extreme, as though one's criteria were of that of a shut-in who never saw the outside, and thought it to be unimportant. It's better to strive for balance.

This would be sooooooo much easier for you if instead of laying out hoses and electrical cords, you'd take some house measurements, plot them on paper, and explore the walk layout problem on copies of the drawing. If you created that plan, too, it would make your issue easier to understand for anyone following the thread. Per your second picture, you're definitely not going to want the walk approaching the house as shown ... creating a 6" skinny planting strip between walk and house. This would be neither useful or maintainable. Secondly, it's not a great idea to have the walk close to a wall for it's run, if it can be avoided. Thirdly, where the walk terminates as a landing for the stoop, it should be the full width of the space between wall and post, or it's going to cheapen the whole house look. For what amounts to very little cost additional you can place a walk that doesn't. Create the landing and then arrange the walk away from the house. Another separate consideration of designing a walk is how it ties to other features such as stoop and drive. About 97% of the time this needs to happen at a 90* angle .... not some slanting angle. Occasionally a 45* angle is appropriate, depending on the surroundings and circumstances. But all the other angles are almost always out. It's not really any different than as with automotive intersections which always have the goal of connecting at 90*. Exceptions are usually due to someone's earlier error that is later too difficult or costly to fix. The angle is measured at the walk centerline, not its edges. Those might vary if curves, alignment issues or design "flourishes" are involved. It's often the case that trees set off of the corners of house are an integral part of the foundation planting, helping a lot to frame the house and make it look integrated into the landscape ... as opposed to appearing naked, isolated and unprotected. The smaller the tree, the closer it can go to the house. The larger the tree, the farther away it must be placed. Before you commit to the walk, it'd be a good idea to seriously ponder what size trees might be desired and their probable or definite location determined ... so that a wrongly placed walk doesn't force you into making a bad "compromise" later on.