Just my opinion:

Your post is a little confusing to me, you say you don't like the hodge podge look but want to have a cottage rather than formal design. I always equate hp with cottage so...

A "head on" view of the front of your home would make it easier to tell whether or not things balance. As it is, I think the balance looks okay with the larger bed and tree on the left, plus that being the taller side of your home, balancing out the large lavender azalea and whatever else is happening on the right.

But, if you want to prune the huges azalea, then put it on the three year plan. It's so beautiful and, to me, doesn't seem out of scale with your home at all. You could also consider thinning out the bottom, creating more of a small tree form. That would decrease the "heaviness" of that azalea. As far as your Girards, I like landscapes with lots of color so would keep them. Since you say they bloom later then color clash is not an issue.

Entrance: I wouldn't flank it with anything very tall, maybe 3-4 feet tall shrubs at most. Why cover up the pretty architecture? As far as the lily of the valley--transfer if you want but you don't have to have identical plants on either side to achieve balance. Are you going for balance or symmetry?

Spirea: expand the bed forward and move the spirea forward, spreading them out as space is created. That will also give you more room for your new daffodil arrangement as well as room to incorporate some of the deciduous dwarf lilac you mentioned.

As melle has said, you are asking for two things. "Manicured, formal" equals evergreen, and pruned. "Casual, cottage" equals deciduous and herbaceous. You can achieve crossover between the two by building a framework of the former and decorating it with the latter for spring and summer, but don't make the mistake of considering something like lily of the valley part of the backbone. It is seasonal jewellry. (Or more like an ill-fitting undergarment if the truth be told - never stays where you want it).

This yard needs help, so obviously the picture does not accurately portray the real thing. That azalea covers up half of the front window. You can't see that from the pictures. It's pretty now, but nothing spectacular with no blooms.

As for the design style that I'm going for, I guess I did not explain it well. Cottage is not the right word. I don't know what the word is so I'll just describe it. I want balance in that I want the shrubs to be about the same height and form. Symmetry is not necessary. As for hodge podge, everything looks like it was randomly placed rather than planned. You may have 1 of the same plant scattered in 3 different locations. I prefer to have many groupings of a variety of plants. I have never seen a good-looking garden where everything was planted randomly.

Anyway, I have decided that I will prune the large azaleas after they bloom. I am going to plant 3 yews staggered behind the red azaleas and stagger 4 more early blooming azaleas in front of the red azaleas to achieve fullness. I will plant 2 more red azaleas next to the lavender azaleas. That way there will be azaleas in bloom on both sides at the same time and be more dramatic. I will move some of the spirea and clump all like plants together in various locations.

You say that after the azalea finishes blooming, it is nothing spectacular, and I agree with that statement. Your property looks beautiful with the benefit of spring blooms, but every flowering plant you've mentioned only blooms in the spring (azalea, spirea, daffodil, lilac, viburnum). How about expanding your plant selection to include some blooms at other times of the year too?

Along the same lines as vicki_ca: consider selecting some plants with burgundy or variegated foliage. Even when nothing is blooming you'll still have more interest than just green on green.

Yews can get quite large, so be sure you're not planting something close to the house that will eventually have to be removed.

I second the suggestion for summer, fall, and winter interest. Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms in summer and has wonderful fall color. Maybe one of the red-twig Dogwoods, Cornus alba or Cornus sericea for a splash of winter color? Boxwood for year round structure?

Thanks for the suggestion for fall interest. There is a burning bush hedge along the right side of the property. My neighbors say it is beautiful. I've added a photo of the house straight on to give a better perspective of the lack of balance.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:21441}}

You are also right about the yews. Much too big. I think I'll go with Korean boxwood behind the azaleas instead.

I see the lack of balance; the question is, in what direction to restore balance? I think it might look better to have low plantings on both sides of the entry and rise up to bulkier plantings at the house corners. I think the big azalea does not look so good in front of the window. So instead of trying to design around the bulk of the large azalea in its present location I might think of moving it laterally--to whichever side it could go--and balance that out somehow. You can prune the azalea back hard but it will always want to be big.

Big old azalea are a frequent mixed blessing where I live. You hate to remove them but many are too big for their original locations. If done carefully you can often relocate even a large azalea to another spot. However they are so spectacular in bloom that many people just live with the old giants where they are. I am doing so right now and still pondering whether to tear some out or keep hacking them below window level.

I would reduce the size of the azaleas on the right and add something off the left corner of the house to add some visual weight. It's too big and out of scale IMO.

I agree with not blocking the architecture of the house, it's very pretty, or the windows, either. The house itself is the star here, plantings should enhance the house, not upstage it.

The bed could be made deeper to allow for some shorter shrubs and perennials in front.

Looking at the latest picture, I agree with your assessment. The Azaleas are too large and there seems to be a lack of consistency between the two beds. The planting does more to hide the wonderful character of the house than enhance it. I would aim to make the bed feel like one continuous bed with a walk running through it. This can achieved through various means...repeating plants, bed edging/border, common planting style, etc.

I would try to integrate some low growing evergreens. Maybe some junipers...are there some spreading yews that will stay under 3' tall? How green do the azaleas stay during the winter? Ripping out mature plants can be painful, so I agree with your strategy of pruning them back and giving them a chance to fit into the overall plan.

- Brent

vmcenroe:

Firstly, very pretty house- it has "character"!!

I'd advise against the burning bush. I agree that they are very pretty, BUT they're listed as an invasive species by some neighboring states. However, there's quite a few other shrubs that will also provide similar fall color. My blueberries are gorgeous in the fall, and provide the added benefit of pretty flowers in spring, and edible berries!!

I noticed that someone recommended purple leaved shrubs. They might not provide the effect you're looking for. I live in a neighborhood with lots of brick houses. And the purple foliage shrubs don't seem to have any contrast with the brick. I had my heart set on a smokebush until I saw one near a neighbor's house, and realized you couldn't tell it was there. However, your purple coral bells(?) look nice with the green backdrop of whatever's behind them.

It's much easier to see, now, that the azalea is huge and out of balance with the other bed. I still think if you limbed it up into an open tree form it would reduce the visual weight. If that doesn't do it for you, go ahead and prune it all back.

It sounds to me like you have a good sense for organization. Seeing the latest photo, we can all agree the azaleas are too large, and the bed to the left of the door looks thin and disorganized. In the first photo, the small tree near the left corner of the house looks very nice, and I suppose it will grow larger. So you really only need to either thin or bring down the azaleas and put together something more pleasing to you in the left bed.

Such a charming house. I know it's corny, but I would be so tempted to deck out the garden in red, white, and blue. Must be your flag that is suggesting it. But really, the pink azalea color doesn't do much for the house. I guess it's my personal prejudice to go with stronger colors.

Does a house like this even need foundation planting? If anything, I'd keep it to a minimum, in the style of spreading yews - Taxus bacatta Repandens and boxwood. And I'd still take out all that distracting herbaceous stuff. It just messes up the house.

Instead I'd do something with the front edge of the property, which looks barren and thus entirely disconnected from the (to me) excessive foundation planting.

If you don't mind a very amateur opinion [first time I have been brave enough to do this], you really have to face up to reality. No matter what tactics you use with that gorgeous lilac-pink azalea, it will always look wrong against your brick. The color looks just terrible with the house. The cream, and brown, and red and sand don't like pinky-lilac things at all. The house is way cool, but has an awful lot going on visually with the stucco, the roof, the wood trim, the two kinds of stone and the brick. Clear out the stuff in front of it and set your house free. As Saypoint said, you can have a broad, low bed in front so that the house's character is not obscured. There you can grow creamy foxgloves, more dark heucheras, maybe dwarf goatsbeard, ceratostigma, etc.

If these large old azalea shrubs truly can be moved, [say out to the far right front of the lot], wouldn't you rather look out of the now-revealed and charming window on the far right and enjoy viewing the azalea in bloom yourselves, rather than let every passer-by feel the disharmony? You could still have the lily-of-the-valley under them, and mow the lilies when they get rowdy.

I also think that the junction of the walk with the steps is too crowded. Does the step extend across the width of the stone entry part of the house? Somehow it seems like the whole stone part should be visible to make the entry look right.

What kind of spiraea are you talking about? Please let it not be that magenta Anthony Waterer. A nice creamy white bridal wreath type, planted out and to the far left front and allowed to do the full ball-gown-sweeping-the-floor thing rather than the hacked-back thing, could look pretty cool.

And like karinl says, boxwood or other traditional greens are evergreen and appropriate. You don't want to use some hot plant-of-the-moment with a house of this vintage. Leave that stuff at the big box store for the people with McMansions.

Annie, hoping you didn't mind hearing my ideas

Good, I was hoping someone would advise eliminating all the small things and especially commenting on the colors. I'll bet pale lavender is the worst color that could be used.

To me, the house needs some deep rich green in different tones, strong foliage, and consider the pieris valley valentine I tried on the left. I just used some things I had put in my own pictures, but this looks a lot better to me.

Not both sides at once, of course!

{{gwi:21443}}

I would avoid using the very vertical trees in the front planting, as they become focal points, taking attention away from the house. If you want to use vertical or pyramidal shrubs or trees, move them away from the front of the house and plant them in a cluster of 3 with some lower, more rounded shaped plants around the base of the group to help integrate them.

Just my 2 Cents.

Thank you everyone for your opinions.

Maro, I am very impressed with the way you were able to redo the landscape on this photo. Is that a landscape software or photo editor software?

Balancing the proportions is exactly what is needed. I think I'll use the idea of 2 evergreens flanking the entrance but I'll keep the scale smaller.

Although I'll agree that the lavender azalea is not the best choice, I'm not convinced that a flowering shrub has to match the house. The most common azalea in my nieghborhood right now is the fuschia colored 'Karens'. It's everywhere and I've never thought they looked bad. I'll also agree that this azalea would be better placed way off to the right. I just can't bring myself to move it without giving it a chance to be smaller where it is. I'm going to prune it down to 12 in. which is what many sources have told me to do. A reputable Cincinnati gardener who has a garden store and has written many books also says that an azalea like this should be pruned 1/3 EVERY year to keep it healthy and manageable.

There is about 5 ft. between these azaleas and the house so I will plant several compact yews called 'densiformis'. Its growth is 3-6 ft. I'll also plant those yews on the other side. I'll plant 2 compact hollies on either side of the entrance.

I will work with the red azaleas on the left. I'll move a couple and add some white azaleas 'Delaware Valley White' on both sides. So the end result will be an evergreen hedge against the house with a mixture of red, white and lavender azaleas all over in front of the yews.

Most of that vegetation you see are spent daffodils. They look horrible. There are hundreds of daffodils in arrangements you would not believe. I'm not a daffodil fan. For the short time they bloom, they leave a horrid mess in the front landscape. I prefer to enjoy them in a more naturalized setting. I was going to leave them for a few weeks to give them a chance to store energy for next year before I pull them, but I don't know if I can wait that long.

The 6 spirea bushes are in a crescent around the tree in the first picture. I'm afraid that they probably are the dwarf pink flowering variety. I so wish also that they were the white bridal variety. I'll do something with those but figure it out later.

You can't see in the picture but there is a hedge of 14 burning bushes along the front right property line. I like them. There are hostas growing at the base. I'll work with all of that as well as the coral bells and spanish bluebells growing(unorganized)right to the left of the sidewalk. Most of these will be moved into a better arrangement.

I hope all goes well and maybe I'll post a new photo next spring for an update.

Another rookie opinion:
I definitely second the suggestion to keep the palate softer and greener, and the doctored photo is nice. In lieu of the tall evergreens flanking the doorway, how about a couple of beautiful urns or pots with a small evergreen or even phormium, with other plantings mixed in? This would be a nice place for some color, although I think variegated foliages in whites and creams would look neat there. Fine Gardening's June issue has some container winners featured, for inspiration.

I use MS Picture It. For fun, I make cutouts of plants to play around with my landscaping. Almost any photo online can be saved into the program and cut out.

It was interesting to try some of them on your photo! Later today I intend to try an interpretation of what you plan to do. Of course, it's only a guess as to what a plant will really look like, but you can get shapes and relative sizes.

Maro

Maro, I've never done photo editing like this before. Thank you so much for the tips. I have photoimpression so I used that to do what you did with the picture of my house. Here are 2 totally different ideas. I know I'm going to get laid out for the one with all the azaleas, but hey, everyone has their opinion.

Here is a photo with yews and spirea. All the azaleas are gone.

{{gwi:21445}}

Here is a photo with some of the lavender and red azaleas moved and some white ones added. Hollies flank the entrance.

{{gwi:21448}}

I didn't do quite as good a job as Maro with cutting and pasting, but you get the idea.

I think the single coolest feature of your house is the flaring stone facade extension at each side. Wouldn't one want to let those show rather than hide them?

I don't have a strong opinion regarding the azaleas; I am much more sensitive to shape than to colour. And I do think that upright shapes flanking the door work better. with mounding shapes for the middle. I know this is just on paper, but the shapes you've chosen look a little too repetitious to me.

I'm with karinl on this especially as you seem to be approaching the problem from a "what shall I replace the existing with". As karin more gently suggests, do you need a foundation planting at all? If you could show a photograph with nothing planted that might be a better place to start and then you decide what you are trying to achieve from scratch. I like the detail in the house facade too and ornamenting ornamentation will always be untidy. It is also evident where the entrance is so sentinel conifers are also unnecesary. You don't have much space between the house and the street it seems but you might want to use all of it, an effect I would strive for is glimpsing this interesting house through a veil of lace like vegetation to add an air of mystery and not a 'guild the lilly' approach.

Just wanted to see a couple of different door-flankers.

A comment or two: I think you said there is 5' between existing plants and wall, which could accommodate a 3 - 6' shrub. That space is valuable just as space between plants and wall.

And, these collages are fun as a tool, but real plants with their real sizes will be different. I find that my use of this method helps me visualise colors and shapes, but ultimate plant heights have to be considered, as well as the dormant seasons and more.

Also, doesn't the house jog back on the right side (thinking of the hedge)?

Lastly, these are foundation plantings; maybe there are other things to think about. Some suggested above.

{{gwi:21449}}

{{gwi:21450}}

Like ink just said while I was posting!

I totally vote for the huge copper pots with the looser tall conifers in them. Also, I really like the idea of highlighting, rather than hiding, that great architectural feature of the corners..those are just lovely and shouldn't be hidden with some shrub. I like your idea, already in place, with a flowering tree placed off the corner.
Patty