This is pretty cool. lotsa urban homesteading here!
Pam- I planted Roses on my front perimenter and then I am putting in Lavender (fast as I can clone it) beneath with Wormwood at the end. I have a big Linden in the front (flowers and leaves are medicinal) and Grapes with Hyssop underneath, Mullen, Echinachea, Yucca, Sage, Rosemary, many different kinds of Mint etc. throughout the beds. Lotsa of thyme for groundcover too. hehe- I even snuck some Rhubarb in and it looks beautiful.
Admittedly, my area of town is not so picky yet- they tolerate a couple of cars I might fix someday and a perennial recycled lumber pile etc.- but really- I could clean it up all the way pretty fast, and the mix of plants between known landscape favorites like roses (they are edible and medicinal too though!) and many herbs go by unoticed by most.
Thymes are pretty hardy groundcovers in my area and there is a big variety. Grapes look good on a trellis. Mullen, Rosemary and Wormwood can get pretty tall 3-6 feet, Echinacia, Sage and Hyssop will get 2-3. Mints run crazy so I put them where I can mow them on the side of beds. Before I mow I pick some and make sun tea while I mow and revel in the smells of freshly cut Thyme and Mint. Some good annuals include Basils and Oregenos- which if you let some bloom and seed will keep coming back and have beautiful displays when they bloom. I also like Tarragon to make vinegar each year. Mine died after 9 years last Summer and I miss the vinegar on the shelf!
A more recent find for me is Troutback lettuce. It is an heirloom with varigated leaves- red and green mottle. It is very cold hardy, produces tons of seed and brings early and late lettuce to the table. Swiss Chard is gorgous and Sorrel not only makes a great soup, it fits right in a flower bed as a well placed clumping green.
One thing I have realized about neighbors too- offer them your extra produce, or if they stop to smell your roses, offer them some. Even if they don't take them, they might begin to appreciate what you are doing more. They might even let you farm that old garden in their back yard a few houses down, if you are looking for such a thing
I had a complaining neighbor for most of the years I lived here. She expressed that She disliked most of things I was doing- mainly not cutting everthing down and putting in a big weed free lawn like Hers. Eventually She started to soften up a bit. Never took a Rose or a Squash, but in the 5th started asking me for a bit of lumber or how to mend a bit of metal for her on occasion. The next year She would visit my Roses regularly and even though She said they were messy things, She loved their aroma. She only admitted it once though.
She died last year and I miss her. She still mainly told me about the things She thought I was doing wrong (like composting or letting my Silver Maple tree live), but would visit fairly often on the sidewalk in the Summer. After She died, her brother drove by to see Her place and stopped at mine to thank me. I didn't even realize She liked me, turned out She spoke highly of me to him and He thanked me repeatedly for being good to Her. Go figure. She never let on to me.
I would just plant a mix of conventional landscaping and herbs in the front if possible with some veggies thrown in. A Rose hedge lets a lot of things go unoticed and sets an old-fashioned tried and true landscaping theme.
This might be obvious about the dogs, but have you thought about a fence? I had to fence sections of my yard for the same reason.
Best of luck in winning the neighborhood over! Sometimes the loudmouth is quieted in the face of all the other neighbors being ok with what you are doing.
