The bushes growing on either side of the front door either are or are not laurel plants, also known as bay. If laurel, they are either of the Mediterranean or the Californian variety. If Californian, they are either edible or not, and if not, they are either simply unpalatable or positively poisonous. If edible, the leaves are either more or less potent when fresh than when dried.

Glad I got all that cleared up.

Addendum: consultation of a couple actual books has resulted in a positive identification of said plants as Laurus nobilis, ancient symbol of glory and greatness and best friend of soup-makers everywhere.