What do you primarily want from the border? Privacy, ornamental appeal, wildlife value, etc.?

Show a picture that includes surrounding.

The area is to the left as you are looking at the house, alongside an interior side room. We plan to re-do the front with a professional, which is why I’m doing this part myself, to save a few dollars. The tree at the corner of the house will be shaped by an arborist shortly And I am re-distributing some of the many hostas around the back. I’d like this border to be mostly ornamental, good year round interest, maybe some color on the outer part of the border. Privacy not an issue at all as there is a nice little side patio on the other side of the house. Thanks for your thoughts.

You would need to take the picture straight on so that the background -- the house -- shows. Plants would be determined based on the existence of windows and their placement. (Sometimes the basement window gets ignored. It depends on how important the light is relative to what is needed in order to make a pleasing arrangement.)

The tree is overdue to have the low-hanging branches removed, especially since you are trying to grow something under it. Leaving those branches gives an unkempt, neglected look to your house, and doesn't help show off other plantings. The good news is that 60% or so of whatever you cut off will return quickly in new growth to some other portion of the tree -- mostly the upper region -- greatly increasing your chances that foliage will be where you want it instead of where you don't. You are safe to remove branches up to half of the tree's total height. We can't see the top, but if it is lopsided you could give it a light touch-up to round its shape

The Houzz picture posting situation is making me crazy. Here's the bed, you can see that the tree has little impact on this space I want to develop. My arborist is coming and I trust him so we will see what he recommends regarding the Japanese maple. Also, the basement window need not be considered as that is a crawl space.

The low hanging branches of the tree actually are blocking a view. The view doesn't stop at the house corner like a wall but continues around the side of the house. I agree every tree does not need to be above head height, but for the house to look right, the overwhelming majority that are in the front yard do. It is an exception, not the rule, where a lower canopy makes the most sense. Then there is also, the clutter factor. When low-hanging branches are too close to plants below, there is not clarity ... there is clutter. You might be right, GG that the degree of clutter one likes is personal preference. But just like in the house, MOST people want things looking tidy. There are always going to be exceptions to most people, but in terms of advice to most people, I try to think in favor of their general preferences.

"... you can see that the tree has little impact on this space I want to develop." It is part of the space and the view.

I would plant a couple of shrubs (at red dots) and let them grow to fill the size, shaping them together as one. Can you grow Carlesii Viburnum there? Or Spiraea bumalda could work. Going wireframe this time ...

Thanks. I have grown viburnum successfully here (in another house but same weather etc). We have lots of spiraea on the other side and it does well. I had a thought, see what you think: skipjack laurels (maybe 3) as the background, closer to the house and providing some height, maybe 4 ft to start. Instead of the laurels I could do rhododendron. Emerald gaiety euonymus in the front interspersed with hydrangea. Maybe move over a few of those hosta you see in the front as you've suggested. They seem to love it here. With all due respect to gardengal, I think I would like that tree to be trimmed. I am anti-clutter (just ask my poor husband).

I am not sure how anyone could consder that beautiful tree "cluttered".......it is by far the most attractive and valuable element of the landscape. But it is your garden, your tree and you get to make the choice. It is not something I would do nor would it be somethng I'd recommend to clients. I just hope your arborist is skilled with JM's - they do not get pruned like most trees and malpruning (which is more common than not) only makes them look worse, not better.

Yard, I'm sorry but your reasoning makes absolutey no sense to me. Maybe it is a regional thing but nothing about that view is cluttered IMO. I also do not accept that it is blocking any view - it is part of the view, just as any other plants are or will be!!

btw, unless I am missing something, that is not a front yard - it is a side yard

You might love schip laurels. I've used them on large commercial jobs to the point of gagging, so just can't get into them any more. Plus, they grow way huger and faster than most people think. Too much cutting for my likes. Im my mind, there is not a front and back of this bed. There is just the bed and it has room enough for one row of shrubbery, where that shrubbery can develop to its potential, and that's it. There is room at the ends of the shrubber for some hosta. Maybe I have more patience than most, or maybe it's because shrubs seem to grow very fast for me, but in my view 2 plants of 'whatever' is enough to fill the space. OK, 3 could be squeezed in, but it's not really necessary. Whatever way works for you.

Wowza. Thank you both. Just a few things: I don't think I said this was a front, but thought I made it clear it is on the side. Really, not many will see this view but I will and so I want it to be cohesive and pretty, nice in all seasons. So I wasn't sure that spirea or viburnum would do that? Thank you for the tip on the fast growing laurels. Maybe just a few beautiful rhodies there and I can fiddle around with some annuals or something for additional color. GG, I LOVE this tree. When I first moved in, my tree fellow came around and that was the first thing he talked about. He took care of my JM in my last home - which was one of the prettiest around - and he took care of it but not doing much at all. So I think whatever he recommends will be good. Thanks and if you have any other ideas I'm open. I think the area is a little bigger than Yard sees - it's like 20 feet wide and maybe 7 feet deep - so do you think just two shrubs? I thought to layer it a bit...

" Really, not many will see this view..." It stands to reason that if the tree were trimmed, and there were grown plants behind it and only hosta in front, that people would see it when they're looking at the front of the house.

"I want it to be cohesive and pretty, nice in all seasons." OK. But this is subjective as to what is nice. Some people can't stand to see no leaves. I love the brushy, pastel look that stems and branches show in the winter ... IF they have been developed to show them well, neither abused or neglected. Subjectivity is one of the reasons I got kind of tired of helping people pick plants here. It's easier if they look around where they are, see something that fits well, and then find out what it is.

Everyone's going to have a different opinion on it, but my personal thinking about shaping landscape plants, which is mainly by trimming (in addition to making the initial choice of the plant) is that the designer is going to give generally better advice ... advice that is pertinent to the overall design whereas an arborist is going to give advice about the plant, sometimes irrespective of its surroundings, possibly ignoring the job the plant has in the landscape. I know there are going to be exceptions so don't everyone jump on me because of them. But the arborist is going to look at the tree in a way similar to how the farmer looks at his corn. He's concerned about it's health and making sure it lives up to its genetic potential. The designer is trying to make sure the tree, as a piece of art, fits as best it can as an extension of the architecture (if it's part of a foundation planting.) I am not saying that the designer and arborist are wildly, radically apart and typically the result of either of their direction is going to be satisfactory. I'm saying there are degrees of "best" or "better" that one professional might finesse a little more than the other. As another example, I was talking with m nephew the other day, long distance, using photos, about drainage of a difficult piece of property. He's a mechanical engineer and perfectly capable of figuring out a solution that works. But his vision is too much like a series of rigid flumes, where mine looks more like subtle swales covered by a thick layer of melted cheese flowing smoothly over the land. His requires less digging and is less expensive ... but I would not want to see it every day!

Thank you.