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I think it is easier to respond with photos in the body of the post. It seems that your plan is a bit crowded when you consider the ultimate size of the plants you are choosing and their placement. It has redo in a short amount of time written all over it. The seviceberry on the corner is a choice for example that really jumps out at me, and it would in short order.

If you make sure you use one of the upright forms and limb it up into a tree, rather than one of the bushier serviceberries, you might get away with it, but it's going to be tight. Also, it looks like you have a sewer line buried there as I see a cleanout in the lawn.

Otherwise, you won't have much happening there in winter. The few euonymus and one evergreen around the corner will be all that's left besides the form of the tree, if you use it. I would think more shrubs, fewer perennials, even if you have to wait a while to finish the plantings. Also, the burning bush outside of what appears to be a mulched area is going to be difficult to maintain/mow around? Is BB invasive in your state? It is in many others, you might want to check before planting it.

On the narrow side of the house, make sure that anything you plant is not going to require constant pruning to keep it in bounds. The willow is usually pruned frequently anyway, because the most colorful foliage is on younger growth. How are you going to mow around shrubs on the side of the house? Will you have to trim around each one? Mulch the whole area? You might want to leave the ground cover, it's a good low maintenance solution in that space.

I try not to plan around what I have and don't have, but rather around what I actually want to have. Plants you have but don't like can go in the compost; you have no obligation to them.

I like the addition of the more substantial shrubs out front away from the foundation. That actually changes the shape of how you are using plants to sculpt your property. Other than that, it looks to me as though you're basically keeping the same layout but moving some plants around. (Maybe having some more height close to the house is a change, but not necessarily a good one).

I think your proposed pathway is something that could get you thinking about a whole different footprint, using different parts of your property to plant things and different ways to frame the house than you are now. Is there space for some trees in the front yard, for instance, out near the street? A border along there, or along your new walkway, instead of (or as well as) along the base of the house?

KarinL

So much to think about -- thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

I'm not overly fond of the serviceberry myself so I'm kind of happy to see that shot down. :) I'm dealing with shade and as mentioned, the sewer line. The previous owner had nothing but evergreens, including two more big 'Christmas' trees in the front yard that came out with the last drain tile failure. I'm not telling anyone here anything they don't already know, but those roots are like steel wool and just a killer of 60-year old clay drain pipes! I couldn't wait to pull them out and am a wee bit leery of putting any more in after spending lots of zeros on sewer repairs over the last 10 years.

Anyway, one of my other challenges is shade. There are huge maples in the city parkways that aren't going anywhere and don't leave me much to work with in the way of sun. I'm not one for linear, perfectly symmetrical designs inside or out -- hate matched sets of anything -- so that was another aim. I like the trenched edge, mulch look, as opposed to landscape-block raised beds or plastic edging. I do want to raise the height a bit with a dirt fill.

I'm not tied to the stone footpath; I'd be OK if they found a 'natural' footpath through the mulch, actually.

I'd planned to trench beyond the burning bushes so that I'm not mowing around them -- the true planned edge just didn't show up on the scan.

Excellent point about the side -- the pachysandra is the ONLY thing that has ever grown there, and without a lick of TLC. It even overwhelmed hostas and there aren't many of those left over there either. At the very least, I need to leave it as a border to the sidewalk or I'd forever be brushing back mulch material.

Any suggestions on zone 5, partial shade, winter-interest shrubs that do not have an agressively clay-hungry root system? I do like the holly I already have on the side -- more of that?

For that downspout corner would a dogwood have the same issues as the serviceberry? It's so hard to tell from online pictures -- and pruning has so much to do with it, too, right? -- what it's really going to look like. I should probably just drive around with my digicam and snap shots of the things I like and take them to the nursery.

~J

Re: winter interest shrubs, that's a toughie!

Here are some ones I like, some need some sun, so I don't know if they are possible by your house, depends on how deep the shade is.

-Redtwig dogwood, or golden twig dogwood, depending on your color scheme and taste
-Really more late fall interest but still stunning--winterberry holly
-Some kind of rose with large hips, which would be the rugosa variety (needs some sun)
-Sargent crab, which is a small tree. You may want to think about it as a sub for the cornelian cherry or service berry. On the other hand, both the cornelian cherry and service berry are very early spring bloomers. I adore the cornelian cherry, it has vibrant yellow early blooms and fairly pretty bark. Depends on your color scheme I guess. The sargent crab has vibrant red crab apples in the late fall/early winter. You can prune, (or not prune as the case may be) a crab apple to be shrubby, particularly the sargent crab, but it depends on the look you want. (needs some sun)
-Cotoneaster--had bright red/moroon foliage in fall and red berries surviving into late fall. Not gorgeous in the dead of winter but passable. (needs sun)

For winter interest, there are the berried and colorful barked plants such as Winterberry Holly, Cotoneaster, Red Twig Dogwood, as suggested above, but also consider the many dwarf needled evergreen plants available that have interesting foliage colors and textures. Also, many perennials have interesting seedheads or dried foliage that can be left standing over the winter for their color and texture.

If you start by putting in a strong framework and shape to your plantings, with enough evergreens, whether broadleaf or needled, or other plants that have a "presence" year round, you can then fill in the rest for the other seasons knowing your plan won't disappear with the first hard frost.

Do a web search for "winter garden" and you'll find articles about what to think about when planning for all four seasons.