Hello Everyone,

My wife and I bought a house about 2 years ago that was being rented for a couple years. Last fall we decided to redo the front landscaping because it hadn't been taken care of for so long (renters that didn't care much). Well, my former neighbor does lawn and landscape, so I figured I'd give him a call. We had an idea of what we wanted for the hardscape (even showed him a house with the same hardscape), and he put it in (albeit one of the walls isn't as level as it should be). Well, he was supposed to help us design the landscape this spring, but because his Mexican employees couldn't get worker visas this year he has since said he can't offer us any help. Well, this was supposed to be a "free" service to us because we paid for the hardscape and were paying for the plants/install. So, now we're out and anyone we've talked to is either A) not creative at all, or B) expensive.

Please save any harsh criticism, as I am having a hard time with several aspects of our hardscape that I personally am not happy with. That said, if you could help us put together something that will look nice with our home I would really appreciate the help.

You'll see there are 4 areas to plant. One area that wraps around against the garage to the where the street sign is that is approximately 3.5ft wide. Then 3 little "bubbles" within the hardscape. While looking at the pictures you'll notice we pollarded a tree. It's a magnolia bush/tree that was growing over our house and was really taking over. We had to try something drastic to see if we could save it (IE, either smaller or gone was the option). We know that it may die (still green under the bark at this point and we radically pruned it 5 months ago), but we couldn't keep it the way it was. My wife loves the look of the magnolia, so we'll likely plant another where that one is if it dies, and simply keep it pruned.

For the other areas.. well.. there's one thing I know for sure. On the right circular bubble we want to put a Japanese maple. I've narrowed it down to either the Pixie, Twonbly's red sentinel, or Shaina (open to other's as well, I do love the bonsai look of an appropriately pruned/shaped garnet and crimson princess, but the 3 I mentioned are the front runners). That's about my limit. I have thought about some dwarf mondo grass, or some crawling ground cover that would partially climb down the hardscape, but that's as far as I've gotten.

I'm sure there are a lot of people here that have a knack for this type of design (I'm overwhelmed), and I would really appreciate some help if you have time to offer it. I want a clean and simple look that isn't too overwhelming. Something that is low to minor maintenance (pruning twice a year is fine). Should we rip out the magnolia, will it clash with the maple (maple is a must, magnolia is a plus)? What else to pair with it. Should we plant a hedge on the left side?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.