Viewed as if from the front of the house. 1' per square. Southeast half of the front yard:

Northeast half of the front yard. (I didn't have room to draw the full width of the house so it exists in limbo on these plans.)

I'm aiming for a naturalistic feel with four-season interest and views that are pleasant from the front porch and within the garden (of course it should look nice when viewed from the street but that's not my main priority). We like to attract and watch birds/bees/butterflies. I think these 'bones' provide room to tinker with perennials, add bulbs and so on for summer bloom without the maintenance that large perennial beds involve.

I welcome your comments. This is the first whole-yard garden I've designed and I'm very excited. I'll be installing it myself a bit at a time as funds allow.

Since you mentioned wanting to attract birds/bees/butterflies, I would browse some of the landscape plans at https://green2.kingcounty.gov/gonative/ I would definitely include some red-flowering currants in that list - perhaps to replace some of the red cornus?

I would have room for it next to the Darlow's Enigma rose even without replacing anything with it and I was looking for something taller than the cornus ... and there would be a good view of it both from the bench and from the porch. Thanks for the suggestion, it's going on my shortlist.

(I probably went a little heavy on the cornus ... but I love it in the winter. Also I plan to use varieties with berries for the birds.)

My frame of reference is landscaping, not gardening so this is different "take" from the scheme you are proposing. One of my objections to your scheme is that plantings are bulked up the closer they are to the entrance and thin out as they retreat from it. This is usually almost the opposite of what I view as the objective because it is not creating a visual invitation to enter. It is suggesting a need for protection from the public, many of whom are your neighbors. While it's OK to screen the view of the house from the street but I would try to temper this impulse to whatever degree you can tolerate it.

In the sketch, I'm showing planting beds that grow in size as the distance from the entrance increases. Conversely, they recede from the viewer and shrink in bed depth as one nears the entrance, creating a visual (and physical) invitation to approach. While I show some plants, it is not for the purpose of illustrating specifics. It's more about location, general mass & form. I note that you are opposed to symmetry. You could diminish this greatly while retaining balance by using planting locations that are relatively symmetrically placed but using plant forms that are radically different... though I'm not showing that. While I show a fairly simple arrangement of plants, you could radically change the character of it by filling the beds with your variety of plant choices. Pretty sure I would keep plantings (not the trees) low as they near the city sidewalk, using groundcovers and such.

I see your point, Yardvaark, but, frankly, I don't actually think I want my house to look welcoming to the public in general. I'm a private and eccentric person and my desire is for a garden that feels intimate, as if entering it is crossing a border to an extension of the house. (I know the usual space for this type of garden is in the back, but my back grows my vegetables and dries my laundry.)

So, I think your sketch is attractive and I can really see how it accomplishes its purpose, but it's almost the exact opposite of the feel I want. I'd feel uncomfortably exposed trying to enjoy the birds and butterflies in a garden that visually invites entry.

Thank you, though, and I really mean that, because it was so helpful to turn around and look at my desires and my plans from the other side.

You are welcome.

You did a good job of honoring my request for the front photos. So pat on the back for that.

Anyone -- how does the use of different textures and foliage colors seem? Not too busy, I hope. I tried to repeat groups of the same plant, or similar colors. The yellowtwig cornus is a variegated type, and the red cornus has just green leaves. Cotinus 'Old Fashioned' is bluish with red-tinged new growth. The Beni Kawa maple has green foliage with red veins in the spring and green in summer; the existing Japanese maple is also green-leaved. Rosa glauca is a cool species with bluish foliage.

Not really a comment on the different textures but what you want to do kind of reminds me of the rhonestreetgardens blog. They use a lot of grasses to give mass. They haven't updated their blog recently but there's a lot of photos you can probably get some inspiration from.

*googles* Thank you!

(Speaking of grasses, I would have liked to incorporate a few great big ones, but my husband is violently allergic. Ugh.)

It sounds like a big mess, but that is the look you are seeking. Sedges are not a grass. If you really want to add something grass like you could find it a spot in the shade. I think you should start with the Lonicera so that it can start to do it's thing.

"It sounds like a big mess" Elaborate, please?

Curious as to the opinions of people here on this garden. It is very much in our Pacific Northwest regional gardening style and closely resembles the feel I'd like to create.

Elisabeth Miller Garden

... smothered in a variety of foliage which generally descends in height as it approaches the foreground. You are probably doing that (though I haven't analyzed your plant material.) To reflect on Emmarene's comment, to some this cottage-gardenesque planting style looks a bit messy and overwhelming. Others love it. It's hard to go wrong really mixing in about anything as long as the plant performs well and the heights are more or less organized. There's a lot of leeway so not much to fear. One can always relocate a plant if one senses it's not going to work in a particular place.

I like the linked garden. I think some people's idea that a cottage or native garden is a mess is because homeowners who get those gardens may not realize there's just a much work keeping it look good as there is in a formal garden so they let it just get messy. The PNW style does tend towards the less formal style and I like it. Keep the pruners sharp.

It's funny because I generally associate "cottage garden" with "mess" too! In my experience it often describes a garden stuffed full of flowers (as opposed to plants) without a plan. OTOH I have just enough knowledge of garden planning to understand that careful artifice goes into the PNW "natural" look.

I think maintenance details like clean trench-edges on a mulched bed go a long way toward making this style look tended.

I love cottage gardens. Over on the Perennial forum a member often posts photos of her garden and it is lovely. As far as the mess comment this is what I meant. ln most gardens tall plants are not put in the back of other tall plants. For example: You want to plant Choisya near the porch but you plant another plant which can reach the same height in front of it. Then you do it again with the Sweet Box with the Salix in front of it.

I also meant the lack of repetition of species, except for the Cornus. To me, a Hollywood Juniper is not a repeat of Blue Star Juniper.

All I meant was that your plan is a good one for the goals you have mentioned.

Most importantly I want to be clear, that I was not trying to offend anyone. If you took offense, then I apologize. Sorry about that the photo was meant to be after all the text and it would not let me fix it. This is a photo from Woodyoak who posts a lot in Perennials.

The Salix and Cornus are going to be coppiced every other year to keep them small and colorful; that's why they're on 3' or 4' squares instead of the 6' or 8' they can grow into.

I'd be really interested to see how this turns out. I think it could be quite lovely. You've got a sweet house.