I think what you're mostly lacking is scale. Unfortunately scale takes either time or money. :-) If you want any trees in front, I'd do that first - well, this fall, anyway. Shrubs would be a main consideration, too. Though do check and see how big they get and plant for their mature size! It'll take a few years for your plants to mature, but it's worth the wait. If it were me, I'd put something tall at that corner to soften that edge; maybe a juniper? Though that close to the house, I'd check and make sure their roots won't become a problem. Other than that a twining vine on a trellis might be a good choice.

If the designer has a solid coposition, I would suggest that you ask her for an alternative plant for the reasons that you gave. She is more intimate with the entire composition than any of us will be from a description and is in a better position to make changes that work as an entire composition. I know that when I am asked to change out a plant for whatever reason, it is not uncommon for me to change to a plant much different than the originally proposed plant. The important thing to me is that the entire composition works and I would expect that of your designer as well. The funny thing to me is that the last two times I had someone want to change out a plant, it has been a columnar yew (Veridis Yew). It seems that the males in the house tend to be uncomfortable with the form. Depending on the comfort level of the males in your house, it may be a good thing to ask for a plant with a different form right off the bat. Veridis Yew is a readily available columnar form yew that I can easily find at 4' high. You might consider it as an alternative. Thirty years ago, my father told me not to use upright rocks in gardens for elderly clients and not to use columnar shrubs for guys that seem obsessed with a macho image. His stubborn son has had to knock over upright rocks once (seems I learned that one) and removed columnar plants twice (for the president of an NFL team from outside my area) and just last week (although the landscaper may have been behind that as he was the one who had to replace the shrub that the NFL guy did not want).

As a professional landscape designer, I highly encourage planting low maintenance, drought tolerant plant materials that once established will require very little time. Begin with keeping the scale of the design in mind - how tall is the structure? Then add a few evergreen small trees or large shrubs and tier plantings of a combination of evergreen and deciduous shrubs that will bring year round texture, form, color and fragrance. Also begin with a good soil preparation and top with shredded hardwood mulch after planting. I prefer a plant specific fertilizer along with mycorrhizae enriched amendments in the soil. Keep in mind what the garden will look like at completion, in three, five and twenty years from now. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish...most plant materials that are inexpensive is because they grow fast and will cost you more to maintain them with pruning and such. Happy Gardening, Linda Greenberg, APLD 704-995-7173 linda@lglandscapes.net

Paula, I vote for encouraging all perennials and flower garden people, especially those who arrange them so well in nice big groups instead of polka dots. Maybe you prefer looking out over the big expanse of lawn, but If this were my porch, I would get the height you want by adding one or two of some taller shrubs on the outside of your sweeping sidewalk in order to give a bit more enclosure to the porch. I'm in your zone & I might choose one of the bigger viburnums because of their flowers/berries/& good structure. Or the smaller lilacs? I might even put a low hedge on the outer side of that, creating an enclosure for even more big groups of perennials. Me, I would use the late season fragrant hosta massed inside box, probably, or even dwarf spirea, which is way cheaper & I think looks almost as good in winter. I understand such isn't the current standard in landscape design, which I also like, and it wouldn't be appropriate for someone who doesn't like flowers or gardening, but I'm wholeheartedly in favor of those who have some garden personality flashing it ! Sam