Another photo

This photo shows the grading from the driveway to front door. I want to eventually build two tiered retaining walls with a natural stone staircase leading to walkway, to door. I was thinking of using either the Nootkatensis, the Japanese Maple, or the Paper Birch. Or using a combo of two with a short jap maple (5' max cultiv) on far side on proposed staircase with Noot or Paper birch closer to home(still 8-10 feet from foundation.)

This post was edited by HumarockTom on Wed, May 21, 14 at 14:48

Is that your driveway or the road in your middle photo. Dimensions would really help.

Also, when you say front beds, where exactly do you mean? Are you talking about foundation plantings? Or are you creating new beds? Those blackish areas I see - are those the beds?

Do you have some plans from the LA you could post to help us figure out what you are trying to accomplish?

Ask the Landscape Design forum.

Congratulations on the new home! It's lovely and the photos are a start in helping us visualize your situation.

I agree with Pixie Lou's suggestions that showing the plan would help, especially knowing where the beds will be and hopefully some contour lines. I'd also love to see photos from the front that includes the driveway.

Here are some thoughts and questions about what you've posted so far:
I am not totally clear as to what exactly you are asking. Do you want input on your choices or their placement or both? Do you want other suggestions? Do you want comments on the LA's plant choices? Regardless, before planting, work out your hardscape and how you want to use your yard, such as paths around the house, views you want to accentuate or ones you would like to hide, any wishes such as a hot tub, play structure, veggie garden, etc. Think about whether you want your house visible from the road and how to frame it. Think about using your planting to make the main access to the house visible (don't plant a tree in front of it, can you plant in such a way to enhance the entry, etc.)

Paper birch might have some issues for you that you should check out before purchasing. In some areas they are effected by borers, and I am not sure that 8-10 feet is enough distance for a paper birch from your house. You don't want to have to clip back branches to prevent them rubbing on your shingles or walls or as it is growing, having branches across the walkway or stairs. Especially in an open growing situation, they can get fairly wide and you want to have room to paint and do maintenance. I'd ask locally about borers and ultimate size of paper birch. My memory is that there are more borer-resistant light-barked birches (some of the river birch selections have white bark, and 'Heritage' has almost metalic looking bark) if borers are a problem in your area.

Boxwoods in CT have had a new disease issue recently, boxwood blight. I am not sure how quickly or if it is spreading or traveling, but you might want to check out that issue. If you decide to use them, they have an odor that some folks like and some folks find unpleasant. You might want to decide whether you like the scent before deciding where to place the shrubs.

If you are talking about foundations beds, with western facing beds you will want to check out your plants' tolerance for western sun, both for winter kill issues since the heating of cold tissues due to reflection off the house can be an issue, and summer heat stress.

You have some interesting and lovely plant choices. (I am assuming that the second plant is Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'.) If you can, see if you can find some of them in gardens in conjunction with other plants, either photos or real-life gardens. That may give you some ideas on placement and other plants that will look good with them.

The architects plan. I made some notes to help (grade is 45' not 48' at front of home.) One thing to know is that the current beds shown in photo above are on my neighbors lot right up against mine. we own 16 feet from the corner of our home to the property line. The LA proposed a cleveland pear in this 16 foot space but it would block our only truck access to the back of our home so it doesn't work. He also proposed an expansion of our driveway that I don't like. The giant red maple is proposed but currently there is an old/ugly cedar about 10' away that will need to go.
I really want something with height (7' min) in front of the AC units but over 20 feet tall will hit power line!

This post was edited by HumarockTom on Wed, May 21, 14 at 13:44

Lot's of paint!

Thanks for all the feedback thus far. I am open to any suggestions. I was a bit overwhelmed with thinking about the plantings and bed designs so I figure that I would focus on planting the trees this year and then next spring turn to more plantings. The front of the home is not huge so mostly foundation plantings which may include some shrubs, or anything within 20 feet from door.

Here is a good luck from today

The paper birch would look interesting flanking the front corner of the driveway. The area I'm talking about is the area being retained by the black plastic in your last image.

Nice house.

What kind of soil do you have? Sandy, clay, acidic, salty? What zone are you in?

It's getting a bit late to plant trees. You want them to have a chance to establish roots before summer droughts (and in the case of flowering trees, before they try to produce fruit or flowers). Plant what you have this weekend, then do your next tree planting initiative in the early Fall. It's a great time to plant trees and many places have sales.

I like redbud. Have you considered Washington Hawthorne?
Wind tolerant trees would be important in that spot.

I don't like boxwood...it's boring and needs a lot of pruning. I personally prefer Holly.

Have you considered weeping white spruce or weeping white pine?

Evergreens should go on the north side to block winter winds, deciduous trees on the south side for summer shade without blocking summer sun.

Oh, and I kind of like the cedar. It's going to be less maintenance then whatever tree you plant in it;'s place, and trees that grow on site often have a better root system then larger trees planted there after being grown elsewhere..

This post was edited by edlincoln on Fri, May 23, 14 at 19:38

I like the cedar too; you're on a fairly steep slope, and that may be what will keep your yard from washing down the road, in the next big storm. Old cedars develop a lot of character over the years, and yours is probably just a little young to show its stuff yet.

I've transplanted fairly big shrubs and small trees in mid-summer - not by choice but because of construction. It can be done, so don't worry *too* much about the timing! Since it's late spring, though, you'll want to lay out soaker hoses, and use plenty of mulch around whatever you plant ; don't relax until fall, because your plants will need some attention all summer long, if they're going to thrive.

Because of the strong verticals and the elevated windows, I'd be very careful about planting anything low-growing as a 'foundation planting' - it will take a wide and tall garden bed to make the house look like it's at home on this hill.

What I would look for are some strong vertical accents, probably in the form of a few tall, narrow evergreens - fastigate conifers or something like Castle Spire Holly (Ilex x meserveae). Ginkgo biloba Magyar is deciduous, but is a cool vertical accent - there are others that might be even more narrow.

Obviously I don't mean that you should ONLY plant tall narrow trees, but I' hope you make sure to include them.

This is a nice house and an interesting, maybe even challenging, setting! It sounds like it's going to be a fun project, so I hope you have fun with it - and I hope you'll keep us posted.