Welcom, Soxi! Thanks for posting the photos; they really help. I would agree with those that suggested that you plant on both sides of your entry sidewalk. Your walkway will go through the garden instead of being the edge of the garden. Over the years, I've yet to make a garden too wide, but I've often had to widen them. I've also had to whack things away from the house so it could be painted, so I'd suggest leaving a minimum of 2-3 feet between where the plant's width will be at 10 years (the usual info given for mature size, though most will get larger) and the house. I also don't like the look of plants lined up - I prefer having layers of plants, and I include bulbs, shrubs, vines and perennials to provide a longer season of interest, so bed depth is needed for that. I try to include at least some hardscape (like a trellis, birdbath, etc) or evergreens in most of my gardens so that there is some visual interest between when the first frost kills most of the foliage and when everything is buried in snow (or in years like last year with little snow, for most of the winter.) As Mad Gallica mentioned, often this period is several months of the year, so anything I can do to make March and November and any other snowless months less dismal outside, is all to the good. This isn't a foundation bed, but this could be done on a smaller basis in a your beds. A good chunk of its interest is year-round, and the evergreens and trellises add interest as background and support for the flowers in the growing season as well as providing all the interest during the 6 or 7 months in the non-growing season. From December 2010 In laying out the shape of the beds, be sure that they are easy to mow - don't make those inner curves too tight. I use the black plastic edging buried up to the top bead just outside of the bricks which edge my beds; the grass hides it and it keeps the grass from growing between the bricks. The lawnmower wheels run on the bricks and the blade misses the plastic edging, so a separate pass to edge the bed isn't needed. While I don't find the plastic aesthetically pleasing, it does reduce maintenance without being too obvious. Here's a photo of a bed edged this way, and you really can't see the plastic. From June 5, 2012 As a relative beginner to gardening, it's easy to get caught up in just the flowers, but also try to think about foliage. Varied leaf shape, color, and texture will add to the appeal of your garden even when there isn't a lot in bloom. Check to see if any of your plants have nice autumn colors. Try to plant so that you have at least some plants in bloom all through the season as well. The annuals will help with that, but also try to spread out your shrub and perennial bloom.

Thanks for the additional photos and the bed measurements. I am fairly sure from looking at your photos that your house doesn't face due north, since in all your photos there is sun either on the front of the house (first photo, taken either early morning or late afternoon) or on the bed itself (last two photos, taken an hour or two before or after noon, based on the shadow from the house next door.) So you should probably go to Google Earth (which always has north up like a map) and find your house to figure out what direction it's really facing before we go any further on plants. It looks more like it gets close to a half day of sun and even when in shade, the shade will be bright, so you have more flexibility on what you can plant beyond shade plants. I'd still love a photo from across the street or plot plan that shows how deep the lot is and how wide, so I can figure out where to put a tree or two which are the only things large enough to ground your house and how to pull the landscape out some to also help ground the house. I would also love to be able to see both corners to see how to frame the front of the house, perhaps some flowering small trees or a taller spire of an evergreen. I still think that a more vase-shaped medium sized tree such as a Heritage birch would look great offset from the house, both over toward the right side and well out into the yard. Plant it so that the ultimate width won't overflow into the neighbor's yard. I am thinking generally that the front beds need to be made just a bit deeper and planted with two rows of shrubs and in front of that a row of perennials in just 2 or three colors with several plants per group for mass effect. One row of shrubs should be all one kind of evergreen that will stay below window height or shorter, one a long flowering shrub such as one of the reblooming Hydrangea macrophyllas such as your current Endless Summer (since it is doing well) or one of the longest blooming, and then a front row of perennials in just 2 or three colors. Depending on the evergreens and the flowering shrubs, you might have either closest to the house (though plant leave at least 2 feet with no plants behind the ultimate shrub size for maintenance and to prevent house damage.) On the walkway side, the perennials can be on the side away of the walk away from the house, continuing across the entire front in a straight line but filling in back to the shrubs on the right side of the house. This will give you something with enough mass to be visible against the house from the road (unlike the current one of this and one of that), and walking to the house will be through the garden rather than in front of the garden. Look at the first photo in thisthread from the blog of a wonderful landscape designer in the Detroit area, Deborah Silver, for something of the effect I am thinking of for your house's shrubs. She used H. paniculata Limelight, a taller hydrangea that is only just starting to bloom here, but you can choose one that will reach a height that come to just about your window sill level. The evergreens provide some color and structure for the five or so months that the Hydrangeas are bare, but don't need to be a formal sheared hedge as this yew hedge is. They can be a looser, naturally low growing evergreen. For your proportionately taller, narrower house (compared to the one in the blog), I would plant the trees off the corners, whether small flowering trees or taller narrow spires and a larger tree off to the side farther out into the yard toward the road as I mentioned above. You might even consider a medium hedge out closer to the road (though not close enough to be in conflict with winter snow plowing) to help bring higher the "ground feel" from the road (which looks like it must be lower than the house) to balance the house height. Something low maintenance with flowers such as some of the newer low care shrub roses or rugosa roses, or Hydrangea paniculata might work. For your current plants, move them to the back or side yard if you have a place for them, or advertise them as free if the taker digs them.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I should have included a bit of back information that would better give orientation about my overall objectives. This first year or two, my main objective is to define the borders of the porch for my two large dogs. Until now, we had a pad and grass up to the pad (pad is the same pre- and post- porch construction) and they could exit the pad anywhere. Now, I want them to get used to exiting the pad onto the sidewalk in the center, because elsewhere will now be beds (and mud and mess and plants to be stomped). That's why I've bombed the front with the cinnamon ferns, to make a sort of visual railing while the dogs re-learn their exit, and while the beds age in with better soil and I get some other plants going (hostas, etc.). For the first year or two. It will be no problem to move the ferns around the corner when that time comes. I've always wanted a mass of ferns on this eastern facing side: My second objective is to create a streamlined mow line. The grass is maintained with a 60 inch deck mower so whatever bed edge I develop needs to allow the mower to move along it easily (I guess rather than undulating what I was trying to get to was smooth curves rather than corners, for mowing purposes). Third objective is LEAST maintenance from a hand weeding perspective. I know it won't be zero, but I'd like to have it controllable without being consuming. Fourth objective is "pretty." I'm not bothered with "curb appeal" in general as the only viewers are anyone coming up the driveway; this is not seen from the street. Eventually, I would like to grow and develop in a pretty foundation border. I got the ferns cheap and they will help my first objective. As I can, I will add more plants and soil amendments, so that is what I'm asking for - where do I EVENTUALLY want to go with this, etc. I appreciate all your inputs! Please add as you have thoughts!

brothergarm(Ont-6b), i missed the redpointe suggestion, it looks nice, unlike the armstrong which is too narrow. I found a website that lists a lot of different species and cultivars of maple to compare sizes.. I find the sizes change dramatically from site to site so hopefully comparing all the info from one site gives a better idea of what's bigger/smaller. From what this site says the acer rubrum, acer rubrum redpointe, acer rubrum october glory, and acer saccharum bonfire all grow to about 12-14m with a spread of 9-12m. With the redpointe and bonfire labeled as fast growing. Does that sound accurate? Out of those choices is any a stand out, am I better off with a cultivar? If I plant big, 4-5" caliper, how long will it take before it starts growing properly again? And say I had planted a 2-2.5" at the same time, how long would it take for it to catch up to the bigger tree? Yes I could put an awning, or pergola, etc.. but that's also money I could just spend on a bigger tree.