The reason the nursery is having a sale on shrubs is that this is the wrong time of year to plant shrubs. They are best planted in fall or early spring. That said, even though it's the wrong time of year, you can still plant now -- but you must take extra good care of your shrubs if you want them to survive and do well! Dig a large hole, add appropriate amendments (depending on your soil), and water regularly through the fall. [I will confess that I planted my small dwarf mugo pines this time of year two years ago -- and it was blistering HOT and we were still in our multiple-year drought. They survived and have done well ... and I am now in the process of moving seven of them (couldn't begin until last week, and if I wait till fall they'll be larger than I can handle). I will baby them ... and I'll be embarrassed if any of them die....] Here's the Shrubs forum's FAQ, which includes info on how to plant a shrub: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/shrubs/ Make sure to plant your shrubs well away from the house. You want to leave at least a foot or two between the house and the shrubs, for window-washing, painting and house maintenance, as well as maintenance of the shrubs. Note that whatever you plant will be growing, so you want to plant it far enough from the house that after several years there will still be that foot or two of clearance between the house and the shrub. For instance, if the shrub's mature size is 5' in diameter, place its center 3 1/2' from the house (2 1/2' for half the mature width + 1' for clearance). It might be advisable to move the rhodie and azalea. Do you know what cultivars they are and what their mature size will be? Azaleas vary considerably in size. Many (most? all?) rhodies just keep growing and growing and growing. About that asymmetrical roof: I'm not a professional designer, but here's what I'd do: center a small tree (or large shrub) between the windows (not directly under the peak, but midway between the windows). The idea is that its crown will conceal the location of the peak. You might want something evergreen; I'm not sure how effective bare branches would be in the winter. The tree should be located several feet from the house. You want something with a relatively narrow crown, because you don't want to block the windows (or shade the front yard any more than it already is). You want something which will reach the height of the roof relatively quickly -- yet you don't want something so huge it will endanger the house. The shape should be rounded: you definitely don't want one of the narrow columnar evergreens or anything triangular (pointy Christmas-tree type). Unfortunately I am not knowledgeable enough to suggest what tree (or shrub) would be appropriate for your zone. But unless the nursery is also having a sale on trees, you have plenty of time to do research. Good luck!

The photo is a little fuzzy so can't tell for sure, but you might consider allowing the burning bushes at the end of the house to grow into tree forms if it wouldn't conflict with any windows. And then underplanting them in the future. For below the front window you might consider one of the Japanese Spiraea cultivars. At the back of the perennials, if there is enough light, you might consider including Siberian Iris 'Caesar's Brother'. It has long lasting nice foliage in addition to the great blooms and general plant vigor without being invasive. Potentilla somewhere? Peonies? A tree Peony?

Hi everyone! Thank you so much again for your help and guidance. I thought I should pop in here for a quick update (I just hate when people post a question and never update their resolution!). It took almost 2 years but I'm finally at a good place with the bedroom decor. We ended up putting the bed up against the window because of symmetry and it also opened up a big space at the foot of the bed where we can play with our dog. We also ended up with a queen bed instead of a king. We don't mind the bed in front of the window at all. The bed has a wire headframe and barely blocks the light. We just need to hang some pictures or paintings and I think I can call the bedroom done! Thank you again for all of your wonderful suggestions and advice!

My personal opinion is that the 4 shrubs that you have now would look better if grouped 2+2 rather than every other. If you wanted to preserve them, i'd try to switch the locations of the 2 in the middle. If they survived, I'd prune them so that the barberries on the left are a bit taller than the green shrubs on the right. I think they might look very nice that way. The red barberries at the corner would offset the similar color of the front door. You could try some red-colored heuchera in the curved bed in the foreground which would echo the color of the barberries and the door. I'd float an island bed out in the grass in an attractive shape like a kidney and put the roses in the island along with some other perennials. Many roses in the raspberry/cranberry/burgundy colorations have red tinges to their leaves, so the leaf color as well as the flower color would echo the color of the door. All the reddish tones would be made more striking by the white fence in the background. And the island bed could also have a splash of something very white, like a clump of Platycodon, to repeat the white of the fence. (I know this isn't really what you asked, so please forgive me for opining. . . )