Thank you very much for your feedback!

I hadn't really considered removing the center bed, but I can see how it might obscure the front door and path to it.

Widening the path to the sideyard is challenging because of the existing crape myrtle on the left planter. I probably need to plan to keep the path fairly narrow (2-3' wide) and informal (dry laid flagstone with mulch or gravel fill).

I'll take a shot at updating the drawings tonight.

my computer back in the repair shop so limited ability to comment and make suggestions. I agree that it would be best to remove the bed adjacent to the left side of the driveway. It has the disadvantage of confining and creating a barrier without any advantages that I can see.

ok, here's another take that removes the center bed and includes an initial round of plant picks for all the other beds:

Please let me know what you think.

Thank you!

...and here's some edited photos to help visualize the current proposal:

This is so much nicer. I hope you can transplant some of the shrubs in the middle bed. They are nice, just in the wrong place.

I have a hedge of Wheelers Dwarf in my front bed. I love it and it needs little water. Myrtus is my all time favorite landscaping shrub. I have two, one in front and one out back. The one in back is a tree and it receives no supplemental water. Guara can look a little scrubby at times. When that happens I sheer it down and let it start over. I think they need sun. I really want to see what Yardvaark comes up with.

Here's another idea that avoids the Gaura:

- Replace the Gaura with an ornamental grass for similar texture/movement like Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'

- Replace the Festuca glauca in borders with a full sun, white-flowered perennial (e.g. Melampodium leucanthum). The Festuca near the entryway could instead be Pennisetum alop. 'Little Bunny' set in some smooth river rock for a little creek environment near the hose/valves.

- Choose a different perennial for the base of the dark green evergreens along the house (maybe Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' for light pink flowers?)

...and one more option that tries to avoid the repeated foundation shrubs, repeating the left planter plantings along the house:

What do people think about the more varied house plantings? Too distracting from the house? or a good change from simpler foundation plantings?

Some misc notes/thoughts:

- I was thinking of using the Ilex to change up the plant heights/colors/textures some (slightly taller, large dark green leaves ==> contrast w/ lower profile and light-green new growth on PTWD, fine foliage on Myrtus, etc.).

- I put a 3rd Ilex in the left bed to try to help tie it together with the house and reinforce the general arc there. I wonder if it'll be awkward having a larger shrubs like this at the planter edge along the path. I could push it away from the path, but then less clear arc among the 3 Ilex. Or I could move it back behind (above) the Crape Myrtle, but then not reinforcing the arc at all (but maybe better since taller shrubs should generally be in the back?).

IMO, it would be better to simplify the foundation planting in search or greater strength and impact. This could be done by surrounding the bay with a single plant that emphasizes (like a picture frame does) the rounded shape of that portion of the house. Add some color by the entrance and a single, right-sized shrub below the lone window. Without a doubt, it would be better to remove the planting strip at the left side of drive and replace it with grass. The gardens at the far left and right of lot are plenty enough variety planting. The strip at left of drive obscures the entrance path and in general, distracts.

Thank you, yardvaark! I appreciate it. I feel like I could come up with different ideas all day and the direction really helps :)

Some initial thoughts on plants to fill the roles you've identified:

- For the larger shrub under the window, we're looking for something 3-4' tall x 5-6' wide, I think. Full sun, preferably evergreen, possibly spring or early summer blooming (since nearby Crape Myrtle has got mid/late summer covered). How about Choisya ternata 'Aztect Pearl' or Viburnum tinus 'Compactum' ? The shape you drew also kind of reminds me of Chamaecyparis pisifera which I like but this location might be too hot and sunny.

- For surrounding the bay window, we're looking for 18-24" tall, full sun, evergreen. It seems like the Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf' used in the side planters could fit in there (maybe a little tall eventually?). Other low growers might be some kind of taller groundcover like a Trachelospermum,

- For color near the front door, I'm less sure what would work well. Don't most flowering shrubs have fairly short bloom seasons? I suppose it could also be a group of long-blooming perennials. My earlier plans were to put a less colorful shrub there, repeat that on the left garage planter, and rely on some containers next to the front bench for colorful flowers.

I think you are west coast and I am east so don't know what will necessarily be good plant choices for you. You have a lot of plants so a pretty good variety to evaluate if any of them would work. For example, around the bay, the azalea you have seems a pretty good fit. If it were just a battery of matching plants as a surround, it would be a good solution. Surely, some of your other low growing plants would work. Below the window, for varietal contrast, I would lean toward a loose, possibly coarse-leaved look rather than something that must be tightly sheared. For the color by the entrance, i would use annuals as they have nearly constant color. Or maybe the Nemesia that you mention does well in your yard.

In placing shrubs it is better to use them in groups of three or five. The area under the bay window needs a grouping of just one shrub. All boxwood, for example. If the gardenia is doing well you could add two more of that same cultivar. When the variety of plants is high things start to look unsettling. I see no need for holly. In fact I think the left side of the front planter would look fine with no shrubs. Just a perennial of some sort. Something like day lilies. I love your brick and I think it should be visible in back. I think the shrubs on each side of the garage should match.

Take a photo before you start to move plants out of the driveway bed. You will want a before and after.

With the house planter, the temptation is strong to fill the house planter with shrubs, hiding the brick and matching what's common among other houses. I'm happy to explore other options though.

Here's another take:

I simplified the varied plantings, trying to minimize singular shrubs. I added more grouped perennials. I matched the sides of the garage and removed the shrub right next to the porch.

Some thoughts:

- For the bay window, another option would be to put 3 Rhaphios there. They have a looser, coarse foliage and the darker green leaves might contrast better with the perennials than the Pittosporum. If I did that, I could remove them entirely from the left bed to simplify that further and get some more symmetry with the far right bed. On the other hand, the PTWD have simpler color (green + light green) and there's already a lot of color coming from the perennials. Maybe it'd be too much with the Rhaphios too?

- The path from porch to sideyard is fairly linear right now. Maybe it'd be better to pull it further out (closer to street) in front of the bay window and continue perennials in front of it? That might further accentuate the bay window framing.

- For the right bed, I could use Perennial #2 (daylily) instead of the Myrtus. That might give more variety to the plant shapes there. It seems to have similar trade-offs as moving the Rhaphios under the bay window, i.e. more flower color vs more green.

One thing to keep in mind is that plants are the material, not the design. In order to pursue the planting design it would be easier if you forget about plants for a while and think of 2-d shapes in plan view and afterward, 3-d shapes in elevation view. After working out shapes, simple pinpoint dots can represent individual plant locations. In the most recent plan it seems that the bay window is still ignored as a feature worthy of accentuation. Instead of being surrounded as one would surround a picture with a frame, there is a rectangular object (comprised of plants) which extends beyond each end of the front-most facet. This reminds one of a couch that is too long for the wall and sticks out into doorways at each end. It's automatically looks like a misfit.

You may have already answered this to your satisfaction, but consider if the stepping stone path is necessary in the lawn area since the grass itself is a path of sorts. The answer depends on how frequently it is used. If you're convinced it's required, putting more effort into making it work to strengthen the overall artistic statement will give a more satisfying result. There is a strong circular theme using the tree as a radius point. I'd look for ways to strengthen that. The opposing circle suggested by the bay window is one possibility. (Not saying I'm showing the pinnacle here. But it's an example of how to continue the theme established by the predominant geometry while following some common rules.)

You're right I've been very focused on selecting plants and then basically working backwards from there. Some of this is because I was initially planning to work within the existing planters. But as I've spent more time going through options and wasn't satisfied with how things were turning out, I've relaxed constraints and now basically everything is on the table :) This of course means I now have many more options and the feedback I'm getting here is super helpful working through those.

I've tried to take a step back from plant choices and follow your suggestions from above:

There are basically 3 circles I'm playing with here: the mag tree, the bay window, and the crape myrtle.

I've kept the flag path for now. I'll experiment some with some alternatives tonight (e.g. absorbing it into the grass or just leaving a narrow mulch border along the house planter).

It is much easier to understand your intentions in this latest version and there is evidence of relating better to some of the more important elements. One tip on the walk/path ... its centerline should meet the fence at a 90* angle instead of coming in at a peculiar slant. It will look much more orderly and professional. Try to keep curves of walks and bed edges smooth, uniform and flowing. Avoid creating facets, bumps or changes of curvature within the curve.

Sorry for the slow response. Busy weekend with kids...

Design updates:

- I've reconsidered the flagstone path to the door. I added this back when I was leaning toward a less traffic-tolerant groundcover to replace the lawn. But Festuca rubra should be fine w/ the occasional trek to the sideyard and it simplifies the design.

- I tried to make the path to the sideyard a consistent curve and meet the gate straight-on. Any remaining curve bumps are just me being lazy with the drawing program I'm using :)

- I've stopped trying to lay out circular plantings centered on the Crape Myrtle, instead focusing on the large Magnolia circle and the bay window.

- I moved the hose and valves closer to the sideyard gate where they're less visible and cause less trouble for the plantings by the front door.

Here's what I think is my preferred design so far:

Filling the awkward shape of the left bed was challenging. The scheme above is the best I've been able to come up with so far.

Another slight variation of this is the following:

This variation (a) avoids any grass-like perennial (yellow circles) by the front door -- distracting? too complicated? -- and (b) breaks up the larger perennial mass near the left sideyard with another shrub. The latter is trying to continue the arc started in the left bed and repeated with the arcs of the border filler and perennials.

I could of course mix and match between the variations too. For example, it might make more sense to keep the yellow perennials around the bay window to further reinforce that framing (first variation) while also pulling in part (b) of the second variation (i.e. the shrub near hose/valves).

What do people think? I feel like I'm getting closer :)

I think this is improving, but one feature I would try to move away from is the creation of lines of "hedges," one in front of the other, as if you are creating a hierarchy of edgings. The same plants placed in blocks (instead of lines) will look better.

Where you question "Too large a space for just filler?" ... I say absolutely not. Whether it has been stated, or not, I can't help but think that creating a pleasing view to passersby is one of the objectives of making changes. Creating some unification and making the "design" easier to read/grasp will make it seem "stronger" and more effective.

For myself, I prefer the lawn without the stepping stones. But if you had to have them, I'm including a suggestion for one possible way of arranging the path. Naturally, I would not implement it without mocking it up in marking paint first. It can be the greatest help for visualizing an element and determining if one really likes it, or not ... before going to great expense and effort.

As long as one grasps the basic, most important ideas, there is not too much cause for a gardener to fret over the details of planting design. It could all come together rather quickly and offer itself up for serious reevaluation. If it's determined then that there are obvious changes that need to happen, it's not difficult to move smaller plants around and improve the scheme.

BTW, I applaud your efforts at ACTUALLY WORKING ON A PLAN! It's what most people seeking advice here should be doing. It tremendously clarifies communication. I also note that there is a radical improvement between your first design and the most recent. For sure, this would be a great project to come back later with a photo of the "finished product."

Not sure if discussed or not, but I would consider planting the mulched area around the main tree with a single variety, very low groundcover. Green and leafy is just better than brown and crunchy.

Have you started removing the center planter? I think you should stick with Yardvaarks last drawing. Moving the hose bib and sprinkler is not a simple task. I would leave it where it is.

I have started removing the center planter, clearing out the higher water plants I don't plan to keep and moving potential keepers to pots temporarily.

I know moving the hose and valves will require some plumbing, but I don't mind working with pvc. And I had already planned to do some valve work to simplify once the current lawn and center planter are gone.

re: lawn stepping stones, my current plan is to hold off on those and just see how things go. If I find myself going over the sideyard frequently enough to upset the grass, I can easily add stepping stones later. But I could just as easily not need them at all.

re: the magnolia, most people around here just surround their magnolias with river cobbles. I've heard it can be challenging to grow stuff underneath them due to thirsty surface roots and constant litter. But I agree green and leafy sure would look better. Maybe I could try something like some sweet woodruff or hardy geranium. I should have some time to do another iteration on the plans tomorrow.

re: before and after photos, happy to share some pictures once complete. It's the least I can do to thank you all for your generous help :) I plan to get most of this done in early May.

The best luck I've had with growing groundcover below trees with extremely dense surface roots are where the plants are viney and root wherever they touch the soil. I could see plants that reseed and tolerate the light conditions working well, too. Plants that must have holes dug for planting are about impossible, unless it's for rooted cuttings that need a thimble sized hole.