Sorry to leave you to deal with our crazy Chinese friend all by yourself. I think you're quite right not to block the windows and as such to go with perennials. The problem with that is that for a good portion of the year you will have empty dirt or dead foliage, as you point out, but on the other hand perennials are interesting to watch up close because they are changing every day and maybe attracting bees. Nonetheless I'm not sure I would put the garden there, but rather outside the main sidewalk. But since the bed is there, you might as well try it, and you can always change it. Plants can be moved. If you are new to this I agree with leaving the grass where it is for now, not expanding the beds. See first what your gardening personality is. I think you'll find your planned planting amazingly sparse at first, and will have a lot of weeding to do before it grows in. So maybe be sure to mulch when you plant, but even so, you will have to be vigilant. Regarding your focal point shrubs, something tall and rangy like a hydrangea might make the doorway seem cramped - for that reason I'd tend to put the height near the outside corners, not near the door necessarily. Near the door I'd go with something narrow and ideally pretty up close. There is a narrow shrub I love called Ilex crenata "Mariesii" or else there is a columnar golden yew. Tall pots with clipped boxwood might also be fun, but the obviously need to be clipped. Just some thoughts; good luck. KarinL

I'm not sure if this is what you mean mindy but if you visit a webpage that has pictures on it you can right click on each pic and select Properties and that will show you the link for that pic. You then move the mouse pointer over to the link then copy that link by double clicking with the left mouse button which highlights it,then select Copy from the pop up menu. Then just paste that link into the Optional Link URL part of the message box on here, or insert the pic direct into a message by surrounding it with ,minus the spaces after

We ended up going with the the 2 Little quickfire hydrangea centered on the windows and then 4 chicagoland boxwoods, as Embothrium alluded to we like the more fomal look of the boxwoods than that of yews. Plus everyone has Yews it seems in Zone 4 and 5 Yardvaark, relative to your comment about having multiple shrubs. I also had this concern, but one of the things we made sure of is the Quickfire hydrangeas will grow higher than the boxwoods. In effect you have the highest shrubs closest to the house and then boxwoods in front of those. This way everything is not " on top of each other" and drowning one another out. Still up for debate is what to place between the windows. Have it narrowed down to full size limelight (this would tie into the limelight tree to the right of the door) and we would place a little lime on the left side under the pine. OR get an upright yew something like Captita or Captain.

A few more. My Cedrus deodara 'Gold Cone' outgrew it's spot so I removed it and replaced with Picea Abies Suncrest which I had in a container until I made space. Cedrus libani glauca pendula? in the background Red Filigree Lace Japanese Maple, Picea Abies Pendula Photo taken 2 weeks ago of Crape Myrtle in full bloom