Well, if it were my yard I'd be using a white wisteria up the central post on the right of the photo. Climbing roses on the exterior posts with annual cardinal vines added for color up the stalks of roses. Honeysuckle wouldn't be my choice. I'd rather use bignonea(sp). On the left I'd be using moonflower vine but you'd need additional upright support to train it up the trellis. You'd have to clean the dead vines off in early spring but you'd get gobs of seed capsules for planting the following year.
Around the deck I'd plant a couple varieties of vitex to attract pollenators to the roses,etc. In-between the vitex I'd place butterfly bushes to train to standards with underplantings of perennials. Plant annuals in spots you plan to put perennials that like/need dappled shade. It will be a year or two before the shrubs are high enough to provide that shade. I'd use persian shield, lots of coleus and spots of yellow. You could also start some four o'clocks(yellow and rosy) but the bed would be empty of color until the four o'clocks mature to bloom. Caladiums are great until the perennials come up and bloom. Patches of beautiful blue lobelia are eye candy under trimmed up shrubs. Just a few ideas if it were my project.

Japanese honeysuckle is horribly invasive and the berries will be spread by birds for miles. There are some very nice cultivars of the native honeysuckle (called coral honeysuckle or Lonicera sempervirens) that you can purchase at most nurseries. Crossvine ('Tangerine Beauty' is a nice one) is also a good choice.

If you're covering the arbor with vines, not sure that you'll want to grow many shrubs under it.

Certainly, a beautiful project! What a fantastic job he did.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tangerine Beauty

Dottie, thank you so much for such nice and detailed suggestions! I love the wisteria idea! DH is actually putting some lattace work around the posts for the climbers.

Esh, I thought that was the case with the honeysuckle...I guess they will have to go. :-( And you're right, the area under the arbour is going to be stuff like hostas, ferns, solomon's seal, arum, etc.

Thanks for the nice compliment; he is proud of the job. Although he's a physician, he has the soul of a carpenter!

Many thanks,

Sally

I hope the curly willow is planted in a spot with an uninterrupted sky background. In winter you can appreciate the contorted effects of the limbs and twigs. If the background from your primary view area is tall trees you might want to move the willow.

Hope you have NO underground sprinkler control boxes within 20 feet of that willow.

Will you leave the arbor wood natural? If so, know that all that luscious wood will attract carpenter bees.

Was the photo taken mid morning or mid afternoon?
Do you want a screen from neighbor's view?

Clear the buildup of soil from the run of deck area farthest to the right so what drains through will not be trapped.
Lattice to cover the underside of the deck and use the plastic wood toned lattice otherwise you'll have every wild critter and every stray cat setting up housekeeping under there(believe me!). Don't use wood lattice..it wears out and needs painting and attracts wood boring insects.
The plastic lattice can be buried about 2 inches into the soil to keep critters from digging under it.

Does any part of the deck structure connect right up to the side of the house?
If so, you may want to take out some of the deck boards and run two to three board widths parallel to the house foundation and attach to the underbeams with stainless screws.
Purpose for that(if necessary in your case) is to give full access to the house foundation for termite inspection and treatments. You might find a guy who will crawl under there with a flashlight but if there's a problem you want the termite treatment operator to be able to access the whole house foundation.
You might consider putting some metal trellis at the end of the deck for some roses too. It visually defines the boundary, especially on an un-railed platform. Don't know if you have children but they love to run on these things and take a flying leap rather than use the step downs. Don't want them messing up your shrubs and borders at the deck edges.

Lastly, do something with brick or pavers around each post of the arbored area so you don't constantly fight weeds and grass with the trimmer that will chip up the base of the uprights.
Have fun!

One thing you might consider doing also. This looks like a long term project of planning and selecting plants and shrubs. Sometimes when I start a new bed and plant a shrub I'll dig the holes for perennials under it at the same time and then insert a plant pot filled with the soil and potting soil mixture. When ever you're ready to plant in that spot just lift the pot out..the hole is dug and you have backfill soil in the pot. That way you don't disturb the new roots of the shrub trying to dig a hole for a flower.

Gardenias would be a fragrant and evergreen choice for around the deck. If it's part shade you could plant the creeping 'Radicans'.

Gardenias are indeed a nice, well mannered shrub with dark green leaves. Unfortunately, they contribute little to sustain or attract the pollinators.
Sorry..since reading about the recent virus in honeybees on the heels of the throat mite devastation I tend to want to plant long blooming things that feed what honeybees are left in the area.