First of all, thanks for sharing this post. Your ideas on how to get and use landscape design help are very enlightening and I think could help a lot of folks on the forum. Most of us can't afford a landscaper to do all the work, but finding ways to collaborate is sometimes difficult. Some landscapers want to do everything from start to finish because that's the way their business is set up. But there are alternatives and we have discussed them on this forum before. The only other thing I might add to this discussion is what's the road like? The reason I ask this is my best friend lives on a busy road, and she put a berm in front of her house out by the road, and planted it with trees and shrubs. Then she has a fence along the driveway with a gate leading into the front garden. She has a patio out there and when you sit out there you'd swear you were in the most out-of-the-way secluded spot, even though it is right along a major commuting route. The berm worked wonders to screen out noise, and the landscaping makes it all feel very intimate. Of course I could be way off base, maybe this is not an issue for you.

you haven't painted it yet??? Not that you need MORE choices, but I think you need to consider BM blues. Much more selection to get just the right shade. Here are some. on the BM site each paint lists it's LRV - Light Reflecting Value. That is helpful to judge brightness from one to the other and avoid getting one too dark that reads black from afar on a grey day. (the higher the LRV number the lighter it is - white is 100) The larger sample in the links are more revealing. Notice how those chips above are not consistent. Bermuda blue came out different in two instances. Caribbean Azure seems to be a good compromise between navy and bright. Blueberry is just a little lighter. New York State of Mind is just a little brighter than navy -- no turquoise in it. This post was edited by wendyb on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 8:03

I doubt that's a yew, and even if it is, when a shrub is that big it has a root system that is capable of pushing out a lot of growth every season and so makes for an unnecessarily high maintenance plant even if it CAN be pruned to shape. Same with the maple, I think, though I believe they can take root pruning as is done for bonsai. I have, however, NO idea what time of year that should be done, or how, or even whether it should be done on a mature specimen, so don't quote me! Since the discussion is ongoing here, I'll also paste in below my comment from the other forum (the thread there needed an addition, so I initially posted there). To take the focus off that bed for a moment, it is also worth going back to what Laag said about putting in a new bed along the sidewalk and across the hedge, and also about weighting the yard differently. Sometimes I find that the longer I delay a decision, the easier it becomes - and that might apply to the maple, so you could do other stuff first and then re-evaluate. In addition, if you have other new plantings in, the loss of the maple won't leave you with a moonscape. KarinL "You do have an interesting problem with that maple. It is the only softening influence in what is otherwise a very linear house and yard, and it is the only thing that crosses and thus muddies the rather sharp dividing line between yard and driveway. What Laag has written on the other thread addresses the lines of your house and the DESIGN of the front yard in a way that will mitigate some of its unfortunate features: the half-yard half-driveway frontage, and the vertical linearity of the house. I put "design" in caps to distinguish it from "decorating" the yard, which is what a lot of people limit themselves to when looking at their landscapes. If you step back and think just about the lines, ignoring the details, I think you'll see the house as Laag does. And Laag is right that its removal will leave you with a bleak prospect, a very driveway-ey house, one dominated by unattractive lines. However, the maple is big and so I think I too would be inclined to remove it - or as has been mentioned on the other thread, try to have it moved to another part of the yard. This can be done in fall in my area, and you may get some dieback, but the majesty of the plant is likely to be preserved. And really, if you don't like the maple, it is your house and you can't be expected to house it as a favour to the forum. The trick to coming out of this with a good design solution that will make you happy AND make your house look its best is to identify what it is about the maple that makes it a good design feature. I believe it is the fact that it obscures the line bordering the driveway, which from the driveway side is a lovely rock wall, but from the front is just a straight line that is elongated by the driveway itself and the fact that it connects visually to the nearest column. So the fact that the maple breaks up that line close to the house is key. So perhaps you could prune the maple away from the sidewalk and just let it overhang the driveway, if you were inclined to keep it. Or you could replace it with a more upright variety and enjoy the early years of its growth, rather than the latter years of this one. Add in other softening, border-crossing, horizontal-arching plant material right up to where the green ball shrub currently is, and you may have an all-round pleasing result. It might also be an idea to paint the columns a less stark colour, but that's not my area of expertise."

OK, - Yes the stone and what I think is your lilac. To me the two 'spots' would look better as one larger free form. - By 'extension' I meant the section on the right (2 windows) that extends out. A Nootkatensis is a big tree, but it doesn't grow as large as it does in its native Alaska. 20-25 feet 15 years maybe. Natives can triple that. - Yes single DeGroots. I think centered on the side panels they would fit in nice and they are fantastic when they are full grown. - I have some small leaved PJM rhodies (very common) and pruning them after blooming will keep them in check. Mine are under windows and I take my electric trimmers once a year and keep them low and round off the edges. - I was thinking Sagae on the left side of the house. They will get 3-4 feet wide and are nice looking hosta. Good for shade and thick leaves for slug resistance. This is a photo of where I think Liberty would be great. This is Liberty with Hakonakloa grasses. It is the 2015 hosta of the year named by hosta growers who have picked it as low cost, quick growing and easily tissue cultured which means it should be readily available. My mail order favorites are Hallsons and Naylor but there are many and you can probably find it locally as well although maybe not in 'box stores'. Steve 'Massachusetts' a hybridizer himself, has a thread going on the hosta forum about places to buy. Link here --- Places to buy hosta - The flower bed I pictured would extend out past the walkway in front and two cherry trees or Japanese Maples centered in between the four windows and the two windows They are smaller and shouldn't block the view or light. mad-gallica- I have herds of deer and over 150 hosta. Spraying with an egg mixture (main ingredient of most repellents) with some pepper keeps them in check as well as having a dog that leaves her scent. Deer and rabbits are a problem, but they do not bother either the hosta or the rhododendron near the house. Away from the house, they are definitely a problem. They also forage in woods rather than come near the house and when they get real hungry in the winter the hosta are dormant. Also my PJMs in the front of the house never get touched. I'm glad you liked some of the ideas and I'm sure you might substitute some other ideas. I wish I had a program to show a sketch of my thoughts. Best of luck with your project and ask away if you think I can answer any other questions. Jon