I think I might owe you an apology for having paid more attention to your back boundary than the side, and maybe being the cause of diverting discussion to where it wasn't helping you. But having said that, I think your overall needs are much clearer now - you want to plant a shrub border along the side property line where one end of it will need to cope with the occasional river. Now my attention is diverted again from what you maybe want, which is an opinion of your plan, to the issues on the ground - specifically, how you're going to integrate your new bed with the neighbouring yard. Right now, both you and the neighbour have really easy mowing jobs because it is only lawn next door. When you build a bed, you could potentially be making both your mowing jobs more difficult. On their neighbours' side, addressing this would mean either leaving a strip of grass on your side of the property line, or putting in a strip of pavers for their mower wheel to ride on. In other words, I actually think the question of how you are going to edge the bed on its two sides should be addressed before the question of what you plant in it. What you plant in it will be largely a matter of taste. I would give some thought to how it will all look in winter, as I guess you will see it out the windows. I do think it is a great place for the shrub/tree border, as you have said this is the west, and it will give you afternoon shade in summer. I will say that butterfly bushes commonly grow a good bit bigger than what you've drawn. You've also drawn your swing as though it will be in the bed... what do you plan for a surface under it? Grass might not grow well, and mowing can be awkward under it, but plain dirt will be a weed patch and will track dirt around (recent query on this forum about just this). You might consider a ground cover. Those are just some implementation thoughts as I don't think your overall plan has very much wrong with it, and as I said is more or less a matter of personal preference. KarinL

Winter is a great time of year to make these design decisions because it's when the 'bones' or, in your case, lack thereof, of the garden are revealed. Perennials are my favorite thing to add to the garden and I've been guilty of jumping ahead of myself to get them in. In reality, they should be the LAST thing that goes in. Perennials should fill in the spaces between the permanent bones. Bones can be evergreen shrubs, and architectural feature, boulders etc. Basically, it's what's left when the foliage of the perennials dies back. So, the first thing you need to add are things with permanence- such as the mini conifers you mentioned and perhaps some 2x2 rocks, buried 1/3 into the ground so they look more natural. The conifer forum has TONS of information on mini-conifers. Warning: they will get you hooked on them! As far as deciduous shrubs go, look for 2 things- foliage color and form/texture. I'm guessing your perennials are mostly the same shade of green on the foliage? Add some shrubs like 'Mello Yello' Spirea or 'Burgundy Carousel' Barberry which will bring in some leaf color. If you want a butterfly bush, choose 'Silver Anniversary' or 'Harlequin' which is variegated. Consider a 'My Monet' Wegelia which has a very compact form and stunning green-white-pink leaves in addition to dark pink blooms. For a columnar plant (7' H by 2' W) consider 'Fine Line' Buckthorn. It has ferny, glossy green leaves and is sterile (some forms of the plant are considered invasive in some areas). If you have any big, green shrubs or non-flowering shrubs you want to liven up, plant a clematis to ramble through the shrub and give it more interest. Grasses are a must for texture. Black Mondo grass or 'Lemon Zest' carex provide some serious front-of-the-border color and texture while Pennisetum 'Hameln' gives a faint glow. Bronze carex gives an odd orange-brown color. A Miscanthus 'Zebra' provides some tall filler for the back of the border and 'Karl Forester' Feather Reed Grass is stately and wonderful paired next to other 'prarie' plants like Rudibeckia, Echinacea, Agastache or Helenium. I hope that helps.

I have a similar problem along the south side of my yard, where there are 3 large Silver maples flanking the property line. Two are on the neighbor's side and one is on my side. Acer saccharinum is a fabulous tree but it is difficult to grow anything under the shady canopies and in the root zones of these trees. They're water hogs and have aggressive roots and probably shouldn't be planted anywhere near human structures, septic systems or sewer lines, or gardens. I can only imagine that Salix babylonica is even worse. I've planted Grey dogwood, American hemlock, 'Dark Green' and 'Green Giant' Arborvitae, Forsythia, Cornus alternifolia, crabapples, American hazelnut, and others along this border and most are hanging in there/doing ok, but I had some dieback in the drought this past summer and no doubt they would be growing so much better if they didn't have to compete with big Silver maples! I will probably attempt to do some root pruning of the silver maple roots next year to reduce competition with the smaller shrubs and trees.

Please do some research and ask locally about bamboo. In the 80s and 90s, bamboos were promoted relentlessly in the UK. When I started out as a pro-gardener (design and build), I almost gave up because so many of my jobs involved the (difficult and exhausting) removal of bamboo. Contrary to popular supposition, it rarely remained within bounds...even with high grade rootbarriers. However, a number of customers had also planted bamboo above ground in galvanised containers...which did a reasonable job of maintaining a clumping form...but what hardly anyone had considered was the enormous amount of water these plants require to look decently clothed. A dry bamboo is a horror of brown, dessicated foliage (hard, sharp little leaves at that) which littered the ground on a daily basis...while the culms themselves were semi-naked with a mix of green and dull tan leafage. A most unnattractive look which resembled the famous lush bamboo groves of those Chinese films (Creeping Tiger, Raise the Red lantern, Hero etc.etc.) not one bit. Thankfully, the fad for bamboo (so easy to propagate and sell for eye-watering prices) has finally crawled to a stop here in the UK...after so many home-owners watched their pond-liners, concrete paths, foundations and walls simply crumble beneath the persistence and vigour of a rampant phyllostachys. Post and wire gives you numerous options - from roses and jasmines to glory vine, ampelopsis, akebia quinata, climbing hydrangeas, tropolaeums, passiflora, clematis and honeysuckles...with a huge number of easy (from seed) and interesting annuals and temporary climbers to amuse you with different additions every year (thunbergia, eccremocarpis, gourds, sweet peas, ipomea, cobaea, runner beans...