I think I can understand your question/dilemma. I would strongly suggest that you go to the book store/magazine store or perhaps the library but I bet they don't have the best garden mags. If you're like me, you have a library of garden magazines so you may not need go anywhere except to your personal library. Anyway, browse thru the garden mags and find 2 or 3 (or more) pictures of gardens that you LOVE or REALLY REALLY like. (If there is a half-price book store nearby, that will work too.) Pictures don't have to be similar. They don't have to apply to your front yard. They don't even have to apply to your geographical location. But they will give some ideas for style that your landscaper needs to know, i.e. whether minimalist, cottage, formal, zen, symmetric, asymmetric, lots of horizontal, lots of vertical, tropical, etc. Don't worry if it seems to you that you have given him conflicting information. The only other thing is that if you think the pictures really DO show ideas that are too much of a contrast regarding taste, you might consider talking to the landscaper about the pictures (instead of just giving him the pictures) explaining why you think you like them. Anyway, you will need to buy the magazines that have the pictures that you REALLY like so you can provide the pictures to him but hey, I know these mags aren't cheap but what is 20 or 25 dollars at this point especially regarding your front yard. Last recommendation, don't make a career of this. Give yourself a time-limit or limit on how many mags/books you will look thru. Sounds like you really need to move on from this so don't use this task of finding pictures as another obstacle. Good luck. p.s. We have a (small) symmetrical house with door in the middle and one large window on each side of the door and our planting is very asymetrical and I like it very much. I DO have identical pots on our porch on either side of the door. I also have an Indian Hawthorne bush on either side in the garden spaced a little away from the walkway on either side. But after that, quite a difference. Lots of very tall huge Elephant ears on right side with sago palm on the end on the right. On the left, I have a very large, dramatic yucca/plant/tree (12 feet tall or so) along with a couple of Nandina bushes and some Caladiums and Verbena for color. (On the right side is a pot of asparagas fox-tail fern, almost forgot). Oh also, a sago palm on the far left as well so I guess I have symmetry on the immediate right and left and far right and far left and in the middle right and middle left, quite a diverse situation and I like it a whole lot.

In a previous kitchen I hung our measuring cups from a rotating set of cup-hooks that attached to the bottom of an upper shelf in my baking cabinet. I have know idea where we found it, and we left it when we moved, but it was handy while I had it. I've also tried hanging metal measuring cups on a magnetic strip inside a cabinet door. It was nice, except my magnet wasn't strong enough, and they'd sometimes come clattering down. : / Now I have nifty plastic measuring cups that say Pampered Chef (but I didn't buy them from there) that are colored. I love knowing that the red one is 1 cup, the yellow one is a half cup, etc. They live in a drawer that defies organization at the moment. I long to have my 1/2 Tbsp. measuring spoon again. It was plastic and I got it too close to the stove burner one day. I haven't found a replacement yet.

Congratulations. It looks like a wonderful home to raise your family. The most important thing is that they are playing happily and safely where you can easily interact with them and supervise them. This is their home and they are doing the important and wonderful work of play. So for these ages the basement does not work. A 2 year old (and even the 4 year old) need to be on the same floor level as the supervising adult, and your main floor room is ideal for that purpose. I would not close off the room too much. Maybe a curtain across the opening is all that you need. You need to hear what's going on. Or sometimes an unnatural silence is a clue that you need to pop your head in to investigate! Paint one wall with blackboard paint - it comes in many colours! There are lots of ideas on the internet for organizing smaller items (Duplo, books, puppets, stuffed animals/dolls, pretend hats/clothes). My granddaughters (ages 2 and 6) are often here and I have their things in heavy canvas bags with handles, the kind that you'd put beach stuff in. Some bags go in open cubbies and some into an armoire. It's easy to dump the bag somewhere to play, and then remind the children that one bags gets filled up and put away before a different bag gets dumped. https://mnmomma.com/ikea-toy-storage-hacks/ I love this idea! https://www.amazon.ca/Large-Children-Football-Organizer-Storage/dp/B01JLVC7NG/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B01JLVC7NG&psc=1 Or this one https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Toy-Storage-Organizer-Play-Mat-Outdoor-Basket-Large-Drawstring-Portable-Container-Bins-Floor-Activity-Kids-Room-Classroom-Gray/33XMDXW9HR61 I've seen deep old TV armoires repurposed very attractively as children's play places with lots of storage. https://thethriftycouple.com/5-ideas-to-repurpose-furniture-into-creative-play-for-kids/  Things like riding cars etc are more in-your-face but no less important for a child's development. This solution would work indoors too - a table with a curtain as the garage door. https://ourhousenowahome.com/2016/07/hide-kids-outdoor-toys-diy-storage-solution.html Enjoy that toys are part of your life now and don't stress that your house doesn't look like a sterile furniture store advertisement. If I walked into your house and the first thing I saw was your children's play area I'd think "Wow, what a wonderful family to grow up in!"

While you are foundation bush shopping, look at dwarf varieties for the very front or you will overwhelm your porch. My porch is similar and I had to rip out huge laurels that kept growing (despite my fierce pruning efforts) and blocking our view. I now have dwarf arborvitae along the porch and they stay small. I am also in 7a and find there are a lot of great bushes, plants and flowers that grow here. My hydrangeas are the best I’ve ever had and here in TN we plant a lot of knockout roses. They’re rebloomers and easy to take care of. They also come in a lot of colors so they play well with others.