Thank you karinl for your response. I agree, I also think that I haven't quite formulated the correct question. It must have sounded a bit bizarre to talk about wanting to eliminate hedges and wanting to keep one, LOL. I am still trying to figure out a way to get rid of that hedge! I didn't explain well enough in my original post: "the alpine currant hedge on the top flat level (in front of a retaining wall below his fence there)". Removing it would mean stepping onto our deck and looking at a 3-foot-high railroad tie wall with his fence above it, not too appealing. Even in winter, the hedge is twiggy enough to cover the railroad ties, so I'd want to replace it with something else dense enough to do the job. The selection of cold hardy and drought tolerant plants that will fit in the available space is limited but I am still trying to find alternatives. I hate it but it's not really completely pointless. Maybe I can shorten it and mix it up with some evergreens that will fit the space. I also understand the steps comment. What you can't see in the photos is that there is a nice flat area behind the house, then just a bit of slope to get to the paths in my main planting area. I walk the area in question only to mow. Thank you, rhodium for your perspective; I hadn't even thought about golden evergreens, will research for possibilities. Might be nice next to a small purple Ninebark? Our modest house suits our needs, we own it, we love the view and our neighbors and want to stay here as long as we can. DH can't do yardwork anymore, so I'm just trying to do the best I can with a site that is probably ill suited to good design. Even though I don't know enough to contribute to this forum I've been reading, enjoying, and trying to learn for a couple of years. It is, by the way, hard to formulate a query that isn't too long and doesn't have too many pictures to annoy readers but includes all the relevant information! Yes, I have to work this out on my own. I contacted one of the few local landscape designers awhile back, would have happily paid a couple hundred dollars for a 1-hour walk though the yard and just her thoughts on the subject....no interest.

Thanks Fruitnut, Yeah that's pretty much the question. I hadn't planned on doing anything about the roots, just building the bed and being done with it. But I've found many roots from the neighboring Podocarpus and the old Juniper that are larger than 4" -- which is big enough to make me want to get em out of there. I also have small sections of the bed dug out already for another issue (grading/drainage) so I thought "now's the time". I understand your point about the new trees. But is there no way to help them decompose faster with amendments? It's hardly any extra work, so if manure will help decomposition (and secondarily increasing soil life) I'd like to do it. What do you think?

I remember how difficult it is to get started when you have a bare, flat yard. I kept staring out the windows, trying to imagine what I could plant where. It helps if you have someone stand outside while you look out the windows. Have your helper walk around from place to place, waving his/her arms, and maybe even holding a broom up overhead. Try to imagine your helper is a bush or a tree. When your helper gets to a spot that looks good from the inside, make a note of the position, or have your helper plant a garden stake (much easier to move than a tree!) Then go stand outside, or across the street, and see if that really is a good place for a tree. Use pots of annuals which you can move around until you find a space placement that suits you. THEN dig a bed. You can always set out empty boxes, or laundry baskets or even chairs to find spots for a shrub. Anything of a similar size that's easily movable will do. Here are some general principals I've found helpful. If the front is your main entrance, plant things that you will be happy to see when you come home. Start planting close to the walk and steps. This will encourage you to expand. Take it slow. I read once that you should live in a house though one set of seasons before you do any major changes. I translated that into planting annuals at first...which will have to be redone anyway. Fall is really the best time to plant trees and shrubs, as then they will get lots of rain. And, they will be cheaper at the 'year end' sales. Plant evergreens and long season perennials in the front as you and the neighbors will be looking at this area every day. Don't be afraid to take out something you don't like. Try to transplant it, or give it away. If it lives, fine, but you don't have to put up with something you don't like. Bare ground will make you feel better than a plant that irriates you. Don't plant acid loving plants close to the foundation of the house or near the cement path or sidewalk. They won't thrive. I figured this out after losing a row of azaleas, one by one. You can buy spray paint that is specially made to be sprayed holding the can upside down, so you can mark the edges of the beds. Just make sure that it isn't 'clear' paint. (Yes, it does come that way - a friend did this!) Or take a container of flour out and use that to mark plant placement or bed edges if you want a very temporary marking. The front yard is your house's public face and a place to show off your gardening skills. Rather than screening off the street, plant so that people driving or walking by will have something pleasant to look at and your visitors will find inviting. And for safety reasons, you don't want to 'hide' your house. Burglars go for entrances that are screened off from the view of the neighbors. Re paths: Make sure you leave good access to the utility boxes. Make sure you can get a lawnmower and wheelbarrow everywhere they'll need to go. You won't want low branching trees too near paths, either. If you don't have a pleasant view out the windows, one small patch of bright color will draw your eye away from the eyesore. Try a few pots of color, just set out on the ground, and see how they draw your attention. You do want to 'hide' the foundation of the house with taller, more solid shrubs. This will help transition the house into the lot, and help it look 'planted' rather than just 'plopped' onto the lot. Place lower plants further away from the house, along the path and sidewalk. You don't have to have ANY lawn in the front, but you don't have to take it all out at once, either. Have fun! Daphne in Tacoma

ella - what a lovely space you created! To help keep the soil in good shape you'll need to add organic matter yearly. Compost spread as mulch in late fall topped with irregular wood chips has worked well for our beds. I reach into the beds in spring using whatever tool is handy to be sure the mulch is pulled back from the plants, but don't dare step into the beds because the soil is just too soft & wet. Slug control is 3 pronged - sluggo type bait, hunt & remove when soil is moist, & also spray with ammonia water... Repeat. Repeat. Especially vigilant late summer to get all the adults possible and in early spring spray often with the ammonia water to get in & around emerging hostas to prevent damage. You're right that Burgundy Glow ajuga spreads less vigorously than Bronze Beauty, but in my 9 month wet climate still spreads fairly well. --3 Burg. Glow bareroot starts from a plant swap this April -- poor soil mulched with coarse wood chips around stepping stones across a low area in part shade became 30+ by now in August spreading out 3 feet square! --spring planted Bronze Beauty 12" apart on center by the next spring was solid around stepping stones, hose reel, etc. That patch is easily 4 feet x 6 feet up & over each other so that not all even rooted just runners spread. Easy care for that area when stepped upon & an easy source of countless starts for other gardens. In another area about 10 runners removed & planted became 3 feet x 6 feet in a year's time growing over pathway rocks toward stepping stones in the middle of the path. If you keep an eye on it & remove the excess runners your hosta will be safe. Otherwise the ajuga will over run & shoot runners between stems & even into the crown. Since the biggest growth spurt is in late spring I just snip the runners in early summer before they root. I am running out of new garden space and friends who don't have their own ajuga patch.