How close to the house? Can you post a picture of the front of the house?

As always photo(s) would be great. Otherwise: does your house have a geometrically symmetric façade? If not I would recommend against identical pairs of anything.

Just edited my post to add pictures. I'm looking to replace the holly trees on either side. Embothrium- yes, my entry is symmetric, so I would want two of the same evergreens on either side. Thanks!

Try looking at what independent garden centers have, seeing what appeals - you'll have to choose from the local selection anyway unless you order off the web and have your plants shipped.

By the way you do have a thematic inconsistency present in that the planting and lawn shape in front of the house, beyond the immediate vicinity of the doorway is informal. So that even though an identical pair flanking the door echoes the geometric symmetry of the façade it does not match most everything else around it. So that taking into consideration the setting as a whole it would be best not to have the twin green butlers greeting visitors at the door, after those visitors have passed through a setting that is almost entirely informal on their way to that door.

An example of informal balance at the doorway would be a large shrub to the left and a small + medium shrub to the right. There is balance because the total volume of each set in comparison to one another is the same but the 2 sets are not otherwise identical to one another, making the arrangement informal in tone.

Otherwise if your place were mine I would probably install a formal garden that went out far enough from the façade to balance and compliment it, continue to plant the rest of the property informally. With enough size to it the formal section would form a transition zone between the area dominated by the formality of the façade and the rest of the setting around the house.

Thank you very much for your feedback Embothrium, however I am not quite understanding what you mean. Any chance you could send me a picture of what this would look like: "a formal garden that went out far enough from the façade to balance and compliment it"? Just trying to visualize :). We had a landscape architect do this last year and I am not happy with it. I think I was probably trying to accomplish a more formal landscape and he clearly did not get my vision. His son has since taken over the business and has agreed to replace some of the plants, so I'm hoping to achieve a more attractive curb appeal....although the son isn't being too helpful with making selections.

He's a chip off the old block?

Picture something with a similar pattern as the façade done on the ground in front of it using earth materials like gravel, clipped hedges, solid blocks of flowering plants and the like. And of comparable size to the façade. Statuary and fountains seem to be favorite elements for such schemes also - maybe do a web search for "formal gardens". In order to see the details involved with approaches that others have taken.

Of course proceeding with such an addition to your home site would involve a level of initial expense as well as follow up maintenance that is a bit beyond what you are doing now. But it sure would enhance the visual impact of your house!

Formal & balanced

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Formal and semi-balanced

Suburban Boston · More Info

Here are some close up pictures. I like the inkberry (they just need to be shaped), as well as my sea grass (just starting to sprout again), the dogwood trees and my hydrangea tree. I circled what I want to go...just don’t know what to replace it with to get a more formal look. Where the septic is, I’m thinking maybe a bird bath or 2 white adirondack chairs (Something we can move when the tank needs to get pumped).