According to Wyman, the Siberian crab is susceptible to fire blight so it is not a good choice. He likes the Sargent cherry, Prunus sargentii. The inkberry would not grow tall enough. Rather than framing the windows I would be inclined to plant two flowering trees, the same or different in the middle of each bed. As they grow I would prune them up to 6-8 feet.

Hmmm....you mean in front of the windows (and eventually prune them so they are above the window)? Got me thinking again - thanks :)

I don't know if weeping redbud is hardy in your zone, but two of them, on either side of the window, might be nice. Another thought is Acer griseum, paperbark maple - they can branch low, and could be trimmed to branch under the window, so you could train 2 branches to go up the sides of the windows, removing any others. You would have to do some annual trimming to keep wayward branches in shape, but it could be dramatic. Any tree that lent itself to hedging/tight pruning, and that grew tall enough, might also work - white pine, yew, holly, hornbeam, etc., etc. I am not sure all these are hardy for you, but you could look out the hedging plants that are.

I think hornbeam is hardy, and also that there is a columnar form - one on each side of a window could be nice. Look up other columnar trees, as they could be used instead.

Anything that espalliers, or a vine, could be trimmed to grow around the windows. It might look a little bare in winter, except for the bare vines, but you would have bare branches anyway, unless you got an evergreen something. Apple tres do lend themselves to espallier, so that might be a thought. Pruning in the winter, and then summer training would be necessary, but you would get spring blooms and summer fruit. You could use 2 trees, on either side, or one tree, starting directly under the window, training 2 branches to go up the sides (rather formal) or else take one tree, plant it to the side, train one branch to go under the window and then up the other side, while letting the trunk go up the side and train it across the top when it got there, for a less formal look.

You are aware that this would be a relatively long-term process? Anything that grew fast would also leave you with trimming it back to shape several times in the summer, maybe even several times a month! You will have, at a minimum, to trim stray growth back from the windows, maybe only once a summer, and maybe twice or more a year, depending on the tree/plant, how it grows, and how fast it grows. If you just want shrubs that will grow in your beds, and grow up between or next to the window, without "framing" them, it would be less work. Just be SURE to pick shrubs or trees that will mature at heights/widths that will be low/narrow enough, so you don't have to hack at them annually to keep them in bounds - it usually ends up with an ugly mess, and a lot of hard work for little return for you.

I might go shrub (and I've looked into some columnar trees) - is there any worry about planting smaller trees (not exceeding 20ft) that close to the house (within 5-8' of the foundation)? Maybe a the right shrub would be the way to go...just haven't found the right one yet.
I know the inkberry holly won't get big enough - but is there another type that might? I haven't had a great deal of luck finding info about hollies - any suggestions on places that might have more info? (They have the colouring, texture, evergreen & possible flowers + berries that I'd like :)

i think you are way ahead of yourself here ...

you need to design and build the beds ...

personally i would build a retaining wall to anchor your house to the land ... here is a picture of what i did at my place .... way more than you will ever need ... but i cant tell you what a difference it made to making the house 'feel' like it was anchored to the ground ....

in the first picture .... the edge of the brick is on the sidewalk .. presumable level enough for my eye.. and is an inch or two below the transition from cement wall to siding .... allowing for a rich amended soil on top of my pure sand .. note that it is only 2 courses of brick ...

{{gwi:241765}}

here ... i had to bring the grade up to cement patio to avoid run off problems .... IMHO .... it makes the house look like a castle on the hill .. instead of a house stuck on the hill that looks like it could slide off at any time ...

{{gwi:244854}}

spend the next year or two .. developing the bed design ... plan ahead for size and scope ... and you will be happy with the time you have to start developing what your minds eye wants for the front of your house for the long run ... ... if you start planting and sticking things here and there.. before you get the hardscape down .. you may work yourself into a corner ... and regret that which you have done ...

as an analogy .. its like you are asking us which couch would fit best in the living room of the house you haven't built yet .... build the house [the beds.. maybe walls] ... put in the carpet and paint the walls [build the soil and mulch and think about your goals for the verticals] ... and then come ask us about the rest of the design [the couch] ...

make sense.. hope so .. good luck.. and congrats on the new house .. i hope you have a little budget left for the landscape ...

ken

Actually we've spend the past couple of months "hardscaping" (sorry no updated pic) but we have a 6' stone walkway three 6x6 steps leading up to the front door in stone, and a raised patio and lower firepit/circle area in the back yard (which is the on the left side of the house...corner lot...). The beds have been (for the most part) designed, with a curved gravel walkway in front of them leading to left (backyard patio) and right (driveway at the side of house) of the main step around the foundation plantings. (Our foundation plantings are curved, but range about 8-12' from the house.) Your house looks great - but I was just looking for some suggestions on columnar trees.

Don't know if I can do the espalliers thing - but thanks for the out-of-the-box suggestion. :) And I'm going to look more into the paperbark maple (and pruning...)

Since the last post I've discovered:
- Burk's Easter Redcedar
- Sentinel Yew
- Moffat Rocky Mountain Juniper

(Thinking about colour too now - going with our all-white garden them - wondering which go well.)

Any experience with these trees?

oh jeez .... so never mind your first post.. you changed EVERYTHING in the picture... lol ...

update your pix. and maybe we can get specific on suggestions ... bed designs matter to plant suggestions..

and you will be further ahead .. if you start learning the latin names .... i fought that for decades.. but it really helps online.. to make sure we are all talking the same thing ....

also you are in the tree forum ... but you list conifers .... i presume you are looking for either .. but you keep talking trees .... you are going to miss things by your imprecise use of descriptive words ....

for conifers.. see the link below to the American conifer society website.... lots of info and pix .. and a database with pix about specific plants ....

in the second of my pix.. right next to the stairs is Thuja occidentalis 'DeGroot's Spire' .... 8 feet tall by about 12 inches wide.. deep emerald green ... a good plant for foundation plantings.. for a strong narrow vertical .... google it.. or the link for more info ... behind it..

and i know its hard to see is larix decidua pendula ... a really cool focal point ... there is a recent post on drooping plants.. with better pix ... in the conifer forum .....

other uprights include some junipers communis .... gold cone and gold totem ....

yews may or may not be effective in your zone ... unless you like shearing them often ... and whether you have snow load issues ...

continued good luck ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: acs