Oh, I'm sorry that I missed these responses! I thought I indicated that I'd like a notification in my email when someone responded... perhaps I made a newbie mistake! Anyway, I'm glad I checked in and do appreciate all of the responses. Also, I've already been considering many of the suggestions you all have made - that makes me feel less inept! Yesterday I bought three dwarf soft touch Japanese holly to place below the windows on the left side of the house. I've also cleaned out all of the yucky and old pine straw. To the poster who asked about the shrubs on the right side of the house, by the dog, I have not yet ripped them out. I think we'll be doing that tonight though. I was considering keeping them (really, I felt like a plant murderer, haha!) but I honestly hate them and who plants azaleas crammed between a house and concrete walk way?! You can't see it, but there is one still left over.. To be honest, at the time of posting this initial thread I had somehow missed how low the windows were. This weekend this fact hit me, and I realized that many of the shrubs would have to be low and mounding. I was, however, considering putting a large burgundy shrub at the outer corners, and then perhaps the inner corners (the corner to the left of the door and the corner to the right of the enclosed garden space) putting some matching burgundy/reddish plants. I was hoping that they would 'pop' more being flanked by a lot of green. Then again, I also like the idea of including some chartreuse shrubs. Perhaps I could plop two larger shrubs that offer this color on the outer corners, and at their base create a grouping of lower mounding burgundy shrubs? If any of you like this idea, could you recommend a chartreuse colored shrub? I'm new to this, and can only think of a nandina variety.. but it turns red later in the year. Wodka, I really like the knockout rose suggestion. I'm actually hoping to include them somewhere. They do very well in this area. Dave11, I don't like those trees so close, either. The home is 15 years old, and I'm shocked that they weren't removed at some point. I actually had them looked at recently by a tree person. I was shocked when he said that he didn't see it as an emergency to remove them. The pine, I believe, is a long leaf. The other tree is an elm. They are 10' from the house. Since I limbed up the elm, they distract the eye much less. I'm not sure what we are going to do with them, but if we remove anything it will have to wait - the pine alone will be extremely expensive. I will try to get some extra photos later today and post them. Many thanks to everyone!!!

A variety of evergreens and deciduous flowering shrubs would most complement a cottage style garden. Boring straight lines of the same plant used as a hedge is icky. Be creative. Use groups of odd numbers. Play light foliaged or variagated plants off of bugundy foliaged or dark green foliage. Many china roses will be virtually evergreen in your climate and will bloom from April through November. Look at Cramoisi Superieur, Old Blush, Ducher, Louis Philippe, and Hermosa. These are well foliated shrubs with blooms, not leafless thornsticks with candy apples on the ends.

I had the same situation, I needed a plant that could take the roof runoff. I planted an iris looking plant, that I bought at Lowes. I can't remember what color it bloomed, I bought it mainly for texture. I like airy plants. It got so large that Albert dug it up for me, maybe he can tell you more about the plant. Roselee took a picture of it and put it the photo gallery in this forum on 5-23-11( honeybunnys garden). I looked it up and its on the 3rd page. Its the 2nd picture down, next to the white indian feather( gaura). It was the only plant that could take the runoff, everything else rotted. I tried sky flower, yellow bells, and hibiscus they rotted. It fianlly got so large, it was blocking my sprinkler from watering the yard, that is why I gave it to Albert, who is the perfect neighbor. Indian feathers also come in pink, they bloom all year long. I cut them back in November, they are already 6 inches tall. They get dapple sun, and are planted on the North side of the house. Barbra

Sigrid, I LOVE weeping cherries, magnolia, tulip trees, etc. I really want a smoke tree somewhere on the property, too! I'm on a corner lot (second picture in above comment is taken from the corner of the road) so there are visibility issues to contend with. Your suggestion does bring to mind that I could probably put something out in front of the planting bed that would not obstruct line-of-sight for vehicles, so I'm going to think about that! I'm planning to transplant the hosta from the flower beds and rip out the pokeweed, and then plant with a nice mix of evergreens (maybe inkberry, japanese holly) and perennials. If I put a deciduous tree out in the front of the flower bed instead of in the corner, what might be a nice choice for the corner? Just aesthetically speaking I feel like I want something taller than the other front plantings in that spot, and I probably want it to be an evergreen to decorate with lights during the holidays, and to provide some privacy from passing vehicles. I'm definitely going to put a shrub of some kind on the other side of the door. I love Annabelle hydrangeas, so that's a possibility. I also may go with an evergreen again, so it won't be bare in the winter. The square window back on the ell is my kitchen window, and it would be really nice to have some nice views of flowers or trees while I'm at the sink. The false door on the ell could also use some landscaping, but still not sure what I want to do there. What type of magnolia do you have, if you know?