Gladiolus will have to be dug up and stored for the winter in zone 5 or they won't survive. I think they're ugly anyway, but to each his own. Tulips, unless they are "species" tulips, which means they are very close to the way they are found in the wild, will come up for a year or two, if the voles and squirrels don't dig them up, and then start sending up a couple of scrawny leaves. Look up the tulips you have to see what kind they are. Hyacinths will come back every year. I'd plant them in front, or you won't be able to see them. Your shrubs would have to be awfully small not to block the view of them in the back row. Keep in mind that you have to let the tulip and hyacinth foliage remain in place until it turns yellow on its own in order for the bulb to store food for next year's flower. The foliage can be unsightly for a while, so people often plant them so that other plants hide the fading foliage. Daylilies are a good plant for that purpose.

Do you really need 'privacy' in the kitchen? It doesn't look like people can see in from the street. How often do people go down your driveway? How easy is it to see in from the path? My guess is that if you are at a sink under the window, maybe they can see if and if they tiptoe through your flower bed, they can see right in, but who does that? It's the window to the left of the door that might be a problem with privacy. You don't want a tree blocking your entrance. As it is, it looks visually barricaded and not welcoming.

They should be pushed in more over the counter rather than the edge? No My lighting designer advised me to put my 6" disc LEDs centered over the edge of the counter. That way there are not shadows either on the counter as you work, or being cast onto the fronts of the lowers. Mine are spaced just about 4ft apart (center-center) and that was based on the specs for my particular lights (obtained from the manufacturer's website) and 8' ceiling, so that the "cone" or diameter of the light on the work surfaces overlapped just a bit - for even lighting. My kitchen is small, no island, so it only needed lights on two sides - the second side (with the frig and pantry, and a small cabinet with top for landing space and phone) I placed the lights away a tad more, to illuminate the cabinet interiors and center of the room more, as there isn't really a work surface on that side. I also have a small pendant over the sink, which is set in farther because I lean in farther when washing things. She also said to pay attention to whether an open cabinet upper door will block a light from illuminating the inside of the cabinet - you may have to adjust placement for that. Please do not worry about symmetry in your lighting layout! You won't be looking up at the lights to admire their symmetry, but you will notice uneven lighting!

We had to have a retaining wall on two sides of our pool due to the the slope of our yard. At first I was envisioning the pool flat and level with the ground on all side. However, I love the wall now. It's a good place for people to sit as well. Also, I think the diving board next to the sidewalk would be fine.