"...do nurseries have landscape designers to work with or how would I go about finding one?" While you could benefit from working with the right designer, the wrong designer could as easily take you in the wrong direction. Many designers lean toward over-planting and designers that work for nurseries are often in the business of convincing you that the more plants you use, the better. You must be clear on your own overall goals and interests. If you see landscape work that you like you can inquire to find out who designed it. If you're near an urban area where there are landscape architects and designers, you could inquire to see examples of their work. You could also try calling a landscape architectural office that does commercial work and inquire if there is anyone doing residential work on the side. These days, there are also online designers, but to use them you would need to be willing to collect and supply raw data (mainly measurements and photographs.) The picture I made is intended to get you started in a direction, not be the "end all, be all." I'm sure other planting details could be added to spice it up a little... maybe some trellises with vines or climbing roses or something. The trees I painted are modeled after Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana) of which there are many cultivars. (I'd lean toward a smaller ultimate size.) But there are other possibilities depending on the "flavor" that strikes you and if they grow well and are available in your area: PG Hydrangea, California Buckeye, Photinia*, Snowball Viburnum (macrocephalum), Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), Weeping Yaupon Holly (as long as they are female and you have a male nearby) as some examples. Whatever you pick, I'd grow it as a multi-trunk tree form and control the trunk structure from youth to create the desirable spread. *If Photinia fraserii grows well, it's a beautiful blooming tree if the top is unclipped. In some places it is prone to disease, in which case it shouldn't be considered. On the left where the drive appears to be elevated, I'd use a groundcover that is tall enough to come slightly above the level of drive. Variegated Solomon's Seal would be an example. At the porch, I'd use something that was lower. A solid bed of variegated Liriope could look nice.

yes, it is heavier. This house is similar to the house the DH and I just sold. It had a raised concrete patio in front of the house. I didn't know how to landscape in front of that PIA :o) and I don't know how to landscape in front of this one either. I don't know how this owner feels about their patio, but I didn't want plants large enough that they would obscure the view. Also didn't want the predictable symmetry of two same-size pyramidal evergreens on each side of the house. As I said above, I'm no designer. I'm just playing around with pictures, trying to keep reality in mind. To be real honest, if it were me, I'd never plant the large shrub by the corner of the house, just because I'm onery and it's one of those things that "everybody" does, so I wouldn't! That, and we had to cut down two at our previous home 'cuz they had grown to well over 30 feet high. Needless to say that they dwarfed our little ranch/tract home, a house that already sat on a hill. It was atrocious. Anyhow, thanks for the notice re: balance or lack thereof. I'll leave that to the homeowner, but I would love a suggested solution to landscaping around those darned patios. I don't have one anymore, but I'd still like to know. Moon

Can you scrape away enough soil/mulch, whatever that is, down to the grass level or slightly below if you want to use a layer of mulch again. Sink the shrubs correspondingly lower. Banked up soil will do a number on your house's wood. Get rid of the timbers and do a simple trench edge - tools needed would be a sharp flat head spade and a hoe to smooth out the edge. Lots of trench edging tutorials on the internet. Always looks neat and once accomplished it's easy to get out any grass that might encroach on the trench.

Yardviser, I agree that the existing front walkway needs to be widened. It's the same width as the front door, whatever that is. If the front door -- like most front doors -- is 36" wide, your walkway is 7' across, maybe a few inches more. But judging by what I can see of the bricks holding up the front step (and assuming they're regular size bricks), that area is likely 72" wide,so perhaps the front door is unusually narrow. While I agree that the original 3' (or less) walkway is too narrow -- and that it wouldn't hurt to deepen the existing wider area below the step -- I don't see the point of a 6' (or wider) walkway. It's much wider than is needed for the proverbial helping-unsteady-Grandma-to-the-Christmas-party situation. And it really makes the house look tinier than it already is.