That's a beautiful setting. Are you going to grow roses on your arbors? For me privet is a weed..comes up everywhere and gets as tall as a small tree. I am not winning the war against weeds here but just have to do battle with them. You can always use a weedeater. But a fence seems to me an invitation for grass and weeds to grow up next to it. One more expensive possibility would be to build a low rock or brick wall instead of a fence. You could clear out the grass and weeds on the inside, and either not worry about the other side or weedeater around it. It seems like a choice between growing things you want along your wire fence or neatness. Not sure you can get neatness and the plants too without a lot of weeding. I don't know if I'd want to try to keep the outside of the garden neat. Hmm..maybe on the outside of the fence you could put some rocks flat on the ground with some spaces between them. PLant what you want in the spaces. You'd still have to weed but maybe less. Another possibility...make a REALLY low brick or rock wall, then have your wire fence above that. Hand weed on the inside, weedeater on the outside. That would be a major undertaking of course but you could do it gradually. Especially if you have suitable rocks on your property. A commercial edging might serve the same purpose. If I were you I'd concentrate on the garden within your enclosure and let the outside be natural. Linda

I tend to put the bed line in after the plants so that any gentle waves make sense as far as what is planted there. You want the attention on the plants rather than the bed edge, so let the plant design guide the edge. If you can spare another foot or two, it will give you extra room to add another layer of smaller plants so that there is more interest in the bed. Like Floral, I would suggest at least some repetition, though not all of the plants need to repeat. Perhaps choose one strong looking shrub and one perennial to repeat in 3 chunks, and the rest can be more random. I used a 3 varieties of evergreens, and 3 or 4 types of perennials in a larger mixed shrub bed to do this, but the rest is random. Quickfire is a great choice, one of my very favorite plants in my garden due to long bloom, lovely flower panicle shape, and sturdy branching. It will need the entire 7' width to grow since it's large (plus enough room to reach around the back to do any needed maintenance), but it is so worth it. You could also plant a smaller Hydrangea paniculata in another spot in the bed to provide some echo without it being an identical plant. One of the things love about QF is that it makes a great trellis for clematis. My favorite combination is with a loosely growing clematis such as Little Bas, though there are many other clematis that I grow into shrubs such as Guernsey Cream and some of the bell-shaped clematis. Here's QF with Little Bas. I use perennials and shorter shrubs in front of my larger shrubs and have clematis both on trellises and growing into stiffer-branches shrubs such as QF and lilacs. Think about what your goals are - do you want berries for the birds or shelter for nesting? If so, think about some of the evergreen or deciduous hollies or viburnums or other relatively dense berrying bushes (and don't forget the males if needed.) Do you want winter interest? Look at plants with interesting bark such as red-twigged dogwoods and evergreens (broad-leafed and conifers.) Do you have a height preference? Do you want lots of flowers? Look for plants with long bloom time. Is fall foliage color important? Also, don't forget to think about foliage color and texture so you have some interest and variety when things aren't in bloom. You haven't given location other than zone, so be sure to know your soil (get a soil test if you don't know) so that you plant things that will be happy there. If you give us more info on location and/or soil, you will probably get more suggestions since MO has fairly different growing conditions than CT, though both have the same zone.

Maybe you like what I like. A structured jungle :-) You have a great space and a wonderful fence (I agree with Kent) for a backdrop. With white above it which allows you to choose any colors. How nice! Since the wood edging will not define the bed, get rid of it. Lay a hose to find a pleasing bed outline (Sunset trick). If you are not going to have an outline, plan paths you will need for access (to cut flowers, clean-up etc). Defining spaces is most important for a successful garden. Are you are going to keep anything major? Rip out now what won't stay. How can we amateurs visualize anything with such obstacles? Take a new picture of as much of the area as possible and change it to black/white. Print several copies and draw in pencil on them. Study your space at twilight to see where mass is needed. Colors don't detract then. I love the triple layer bed effect (tall, med., short) to create depth. It is a formal look and effective in shallow spaces. I mentioned sasanquas in that context plus the sun/shade. For a non-formal look I would consider a grouping of 3 birches over to the right (to conceal the vertical wire and provide a focal point. They are sold bare root and can be planted in the same hole or further apart. A grouping of 3-5 shrubs (one of the shorter Raphiolepis possibly ie. 'Jack Evans' so there's very little pruning) planted triangularly rather than in a row. Perhaps a rose bush. How much maintenance do you want. What colors are you drawn to? Agapanthus and Lantana also do not require watering after establishment. Oops, unless you're on sand. At the garden dept. put different plants side by side to see if they are complimentary. Start a plant list of what you like. If you purchase make sure it's returnable if it doesn't suit your space. I'll shut up now with what helped me, hugely. Drive around. Take pictures of all gardens you like. And copy!!!

Sounds like the house is new to you. I'd live with what's there for a while and see how well it meet your needs. Once you remove a mature planting it's gone. Can be very pricey to get large plants and trees. Go smaller and you'll save money and maybe even have a stronger planting, but you'll have to deal with the lack of privacy while things get established. I'd be inclined to remove anything dead. Trim back areas drastically overgrown. Add color via annuals or easy care perennials below the limbed up shrubs in the ground or in pots. Then sit back and assess where you like the coverage and where you need a change. youll get better advice once you identify what you have. Sorry I'm not sure.