It may seem tedious, hard, and unnecessary to move these plants, although most gardeners enjoy re-arranging to improve their garden's function and appearance. Most hate trying to move or rip out the mistake of previous owners, mistakes which sometimes then reveal damage. Because these plants are still manageable, this situation can be set right. Once done, you will be again at the point of considering next steps toward the goal of eventually having very little upkeep to handle. You will have lost nothing and gained several benefits: Protection of your home. Healthier plants. Better looking in terms of appropriate rather than crowded spacing. You will still have: Same plants. Screening of windows. And there are psychological and physical benefits: Lowered anxiety about whether the paint job and wood will deteriorate due to those pieris. Spring exercise planting your beautiful shrubs. Self-esteem up because you've gained knowledge and improved something wisely. Yes, you calculated the spacing, but forgot to calculate appropriate distance from building. Also, a shrub doesn't reach a certain number and then say to itself, "I'm 5 feet tall and wide now. I better stop or the shrub police will come and get me." Shrubs are living and, unlike humans, continue to gain height and width throughout their lives. I think the size ranges are estimated for 5 to 10 years?, but the shrubs don't know that and they will keep growing. What's to lose here? Re-planting 3 shrubs? Ah, c'mon! If I lived closer, I'd come by and help! Wellspring

I'm not sure I understand the reason for the round raised bed. The side curved bed flows nicely into the bed in front of the porch, and the raised bed seems unnecessary. I think it actually breaks up the flow of the bed. The bed in front of the porch needs to be deeper, or you won't be able to fit much of anything in it. What did you have in mind for planting there? If all you wanted was a low groundcover shrub planting or a few perennials, you're probably OK, but there's not enough space there for much else. Read some of the other recent threads here and you'll see that it's a common mistake to make beds too narrow. There have been a few discussions about the extruded concrete edging on this forum in the past. I feel that it looks too commercial to use in a residential landscape. It does address a need for keeping the grass out of the planting beds, but it isn't very attractive. It also means you will have a hard time making any changes or additions to the plantings in the future. Depending on whether you're a hobby gardener or not, you can either plant the side of the house with groundcover and run a stepping stone path through it, or make a shade garden. Did the trench for the water line go down the side of the house? If so, you may lose those oaks if the roots were sliced off by the trencher.

If you are thinking of fruit trees, I'd think about American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)...one of the few native fruit trees, and one of the few tough fruit trees. Put some males near the road and females elsewhere. I like American Holly (ilex opaca) for areas you want an evergreen for screening.

Kansas City? GO CHIEFS!!! Lol. I see you have small arborvitaes now (I think that’s what they are) but you must not like them. If you want low maintenance and color, I’d recommend going with perennials. Since your house is east-facing, perennials probably won’t bake in the sun and rocks too badly. The problem with perennials, though, is that most have a 3-4 month blooming season with dullness/lack of leaves the rest of the time. There’s a wide variety you could pick from and I recommend visiting a good nursery (not Lowe’s or Walmart) for healthy plant selection and advice. My personal favorites here in north Missouri are rudbeckia, coreopsis, and monkey grass. And finally, I can’t resist posting my attire for the day.