First of all, lose the undulations in the bed. They look foolish. In this case, the bed should follow the fence line--straight. The bed appears to be 2-3 feet deep maximum, MUCH too shallow for lilacs, hydrangeas and smoke bush, all of which will bush out many more feet than the bed is deep. If you want to keep such a shallow bed--and since the yard is small I would think you would--then you need either shrubs that will stay quite small (like many boxwood) or else shrubs that will grow tall and narrow (fastigiate shrubs/trees). In between, you might consider a non aggressive groundcover--perhaps Geranium 'Bikovo' or 'Karmina'. An additional word of advice, when you choose fastigiate evergreens/conifers, make sure they can handle snow without splaying and breaking. A couple of fastigiate trees to consider, neither evergreen, are Magnolia 'Golden Spire' and Parrotia "Vanessa'. I have personal experience with the magnolia--very narrow after 12 years--but not with the parrotia.

Resurrecting this post from January with homes to receive additional input. Was honestly taken back by laxeyvail's recommendation to follow straight line along the fence. Any other thoughts?

I'm not a landscape designer, just a gardener. :)
Personally, I am not a fan of the "throw in a curve there just b/c we feel obligated," design style. I too would without question keep this bed straight (ETA: I like the way they curve off at the ends-- it's the random bump in the middle that I think is unnecessary). I also agree to decide if you want to do larger shrubs as the company suggested, you'll need to seriously consider giving more land to the bed. Those shrubs will fit in that area nicely-- for a year or two. If you want to keep the bed that narrow, I'd stick to smaller perennials?
Good luck with your design! I love the fence, and railing on your deck-- I think it'll look great with a long bed along the fence.

Agreed! Gentle curves on the ends look smoother and more finished than the curves for no reason and will be so much easier to mow around.I'm not talking about 'soldier straight' beds, just a more flowing look.

We seem to be besieged by DIY shows (and apparently landscapers) advising to place a garden hose down in some random pattern and mark the bed line out, the more curves the better :-) Not sure why that advise gets repeated over and over, since it doesn't really work in reality and in my opinion looks too busy.

It's your garden and if you want you can lay it out like your rendering if that's what you want. I'm just offering an opinion.

Good luck!

I agree with Laceyvail on most of her points, both on bed shape and plant selection, and based on the landscape company's design and suggestions, would go looking for another company that is more realistic. I would probably go with a mix of low care perennials and smaller shrubs and make the bed about 4' deep to allow for a couple of layers and slightly larger shrubs. I am not fond of the look of a single line of plants. I do like that they used most of the types of plants several times; too many different types in a small garden looks too chaotic.

Lilac, smokebush and holly are all far too large for the space, and I wouldn't use boxwood since they have unfortunately developed two different problems in New England (one disease and one insect) that may leave them looking homely. Endless Summer hydrangeas can be unpredictable this far north, and so I wouldn't give them space in such a small garden. You could look at Hydrangea Tough Stuff, which is smaller and has been more reliable for me (just north of Concord, NH.) Of the shrubs listed, I would consider keeping Bobo hydrangea, which is rock hardy, long blooming, and low maintenance. It needs about 4'. The dwarf spireas will be fine in that setting but generally aren't to my taste since many combine chartreuse foliage with pink flowers. I do like Spiraea 'Ogon' (sometimes is listed under the unfortunate name of Mellow Yellow), which has a graceful, slightly weeping form, gold foliage, and white flowers. It also will be about 4'. Look at Virginia sweetspire, Itea virginica Henry's Garnet (3'-4') or Little Henry (2'-2 1/2') for late summer flowers and stunning red fall color. Some of the half-high or lowbush blueberries would be nice as well, with spring flowers, fruit for either you or the birds, and gorgeous fall color. Rhododendron Checkmate is a small form of PJM (under 3' after many years in my garden), and looks nice all season, including during the winter when its foliage develops a mahogany cast.

For easy care perennials, single peonies are great with nice spring flowers and tidy healthy foliage. You would want to cut down and remove the foliage after freeze in the fall to prevent disease problems. Veronica 'Georgia blue' is a great ground cover that will slowly spread by doesn't ever overwhelm other plants. Blue spring flowers and tidy dark green evergreen foliage. Caryopteris 'Snow Fairy' has green and white variegated foliage and blue fall flowers. One of the smaller clematis (type 3 hard prune) on a wire obelisk or trellis or rambling over the Bobos would give summer flowers. The only maintenance any of these require in my garden is cutting back after fall freeze, though you will want to be sure that the soil is improved before planting and that a layer of shredded organic mulch is kept on the beds to keep moisture even and discourage weeds. The bed will need to be edged to keep out the grass, and every couple of weeks look for and pull any weeds that have appeared so it stays looking tidy.

I would put in some daffodils for spring color, tucked behind where one of the deciduous shrubs or perennials such as the peonies will cover the dying foliage as they leaf out.

Does your dog patrol the fence line? If so, leave space for her/him to run without having to deal with plants.

A final suggestion - I wouldn't go with the tag size, which is often given at 5 years. I use the Missouri Botanical Garden's plant finder to look up a more realistic size at maturity.

For those who might still be interested . . . Smoke bush is a nightmare of seed heads, seedling weeds and tree base sprouts. Just took out three this spring--hooray! If you want red leaves, try one of the red leaved weigelas. I think they are breeding dwarf ones now. Low bush blueberries might also foot the bill if you like the berries. Or fothergilla, the dwarf one, Mt. Airy. I planted the small Miss Kim lilac in a similar space, loved it and was able to keep it in bounds with light pruning every couple of years. Also loved my magic carpet spirea, lots of interest in foliage and flower. A wonderful evergreen that would work maybe better than the holly is golden globe arborvitate. That one did extremely well for me as a small hedge shrub.

Wow! You all have provided me with a wealth of information and ideas to think about. Thank you!

Our dog is small, just 13 pounds, and does not dig, except if he suspects chipmunks in the area. Haven't seen a single one since we moved in almost two years ago, so I should be safe.

I get what you are saying with the curves. Will definitely discuss this with the landscaper. We are most likely nixing the patio, which will prove our Bingo a bit more green space.

Now I need to start researching all the suggestions so I can be educated when we go and select plants.

This is Bingo checking out the new fence before the gates went on last summer.

nhbaskets, since this more of a plant choice question rather than design (since you have a fair amount of feedback on the bed design), you could also ask on the New England forum, linking back to this thread so folks can see what has been suggested so far.

I love Mt. Airy Fothergilla and have several, but it suckers, so it would perhaps involve more work than you may want to keep it looking tidy and within bounds. Mine in sun are probably 3 1/2' tall and 4' wide with spring flowers and gorgeous orange/red/gold fall color.