Is your only problem with the plan that you don't like schip laurels? If so, why not return to the designer, explain your dislike and ask what they could use that you do like?

People here are at a disadvantage of not having any knowledge of the site and its surroundings, so it would be hard to help you.

The plan does not seem fleshed out to me. There are trees and shrubs, but no perennials, groundcover or annuals. Mulch will be a major element. I can't really imagine serenity without groundcover. Somewhere. Especially around the stone pad.

There is some edge weirdness going on at some places with the bed edge. We don't know what is proposed vs. what is existing.

Nothing is existing at this point. We had to rebuild the retaining wall around the property and put up a fence so the yard has been cleared. There are no beds at this point, just sod. This was the third revision he did with the same guidance I gave here. It was more than I didn't like the laurels. It was also a $50 landscape done by a nursery vs. hiring someone to do an elaborate design so I can only make so many demands

What are you dissatisfied about specifically (besides laurels)? What are your goals and objectives? If you post photographs that support what you're talking about you may be able to solicit advice that will take you in a direction more to your liking. Just a note, it barely does any good to post individual shots of the yard from various directions. You need to stand at a single spot where you can see the most important view and capture the full sweep of continuous scenery from far left to far right, while panning the camera taking slightly overlapping shots. That way we can see the view more or less as you do. Typically, a back yard has a foundation planting and a perimeter planting, so there may be two important views that need to be captured, while looking in basically opposite directions. Just start someplace.

As Yardvaark said, stand in one spot and post a series of photos. Having photos really helps us visualize what the space looks like, including borrowed view from surrounding properties. For instance, I don't know what your fence looks like or whether your retaining wall is visible or not and what material it is made of. Same with the deck.

Think about how you want to use the yard - do you like to sit in sun or shade? Do you want a spot for the kids to play soccer or kickball as they get older? Is the deck the only place you want to sit in the yard? Are there other wishes not addressed in the plan such as a pool or veggie garden? Do you want privacy from overlooking homes or want to block out certain sights from where you most frequently view the yard (deck or certain windows)? Do you want the deck to be private or overlook the yard? Does the posted plan answer your needs other than the particular plant selections?

"It was more than I didn't like the laurels." It seems like you are hinting that there may be more problem than just the specific plants. Is this the case? Do you like the overall arrangement of beds? Do you like puttering in the garden or want low maintenance?

Kousa dogwoods, white-flowering redbuds and any of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivars like Limelight would suit your color scheme well, but so also would many other plants and if just the plant selection is an issue, ask for suggestions on the shrub forum, tree forum, and perennial forum. Consider what evergreens would be appealing instead of the ones you dislike: white-flowered rhododendrons, conifers of some type, one of the evergreen Viburnums? What ground covers appeal to you or do you want suggestions for smaller plants such as perennials and groundcovers?

I appreciate the feedback. I will take some photos of the yard to share.

Anna - when I was looking up the plants that were in the design I read the same thing about nandina being invasive.

I would find a new person to do my landscape design. The beds are very oddly shaped. I'd hate to have to mow your grass in-between some of the beds.

The choice of plants seem very strangely paired. It's almost as if a nursery went out back, saw what they had too much of, and put it into your plan.

What is the purpose of the stone pad?

emmarene - the stone pad does not yet exist, but the purpose would be a sitting area. That spot gets a little afternoon shade in the summer from neighboring trees.

To me the design is unnecessarily complicated. I would remove a few beds, like this.

When you say "deck and patio" are they on one level or is the deck above grade?

Who will be tending the plants once planted? Do you hire a service or do it yourself? Did you ask for a lot of trees? Are they placed strategically to block out view of other homes or utility poles and eye sores? Are they solely for shade? It would also help to know what is planted in neighboring land. If a neighbor has a large tree near the fence line then you would not have to plant one in that location, unless you simply want another tree.

I was not familiar with Skip Laurel so I did some research. My impression is that if planted you would be facing a lifetime of shearing them and they can grow to eighteen feet tall. It seems their dubious benefit is that they grow fast.

By the way, do you enjoy dead heading flowering plants? I enjoy dead heading roses but removed a Buddleia because I hated to dead head it and they are hideous with the dead flowers left on.

Please post pictures and do not be frustrated. It really does not have to be so complicated.

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I need to get some photos of the yard and hope to tomorrow. The bottom right of the yard has a swing set - we have two young boys, so we want to keep plenty of room for them to play. I think in that area I would like to put in limelight hydrangeas - we have them in the front yard and they seem to do really well.

I don't do enjoy spending time working on the garden, but I don't have a ton of time to do it at this stage. I would rather have plants that don't require drastic shaping or maintenance.

The neighbor in the back left has a couple large elms that actually give us a little late afternoon shade. The other neighbor to the upper left has some very small trees that don't impact us at all. I did say I wanted to incorporate smaller trees because we have no shade in the back making it really hot. We have a 6 ft privacy fence around the back but from the deck we have view into all of the neighboring yards. So the trees would help with privacy as well. The patio is ground level with deck a story up.

I know that I am over complicating this. Maybe what I need to do is focus on a single area at a time to make it more manageable. The bottom left might be a good place to start - I would like to create a nice sitting area there.

No, I don't think you are overcomplicating this. Your back yard should serve the functions you need/want it to. To my mind, you can build and plant in stages, but you want to have the general plan/layout in place first for the whole back yard. So we are back to the questions about use, views, etc. and whether the current layout does generally what you want, ignoring the specific plants. Are the beds where you want them, or do you like the modified plan better? (Do you want plants around the patio/deck or do you want better sight lines so you can keep an eye on the kids from both levels?) I don't see answers to some of the questions asked on Wed., though you have answered some in your most recent answer to emmarene.

Agree with NHBabs that you must do the planning for the entire back yard space at one time, though you can execute the plan as you wish, according to your schedule, budget and desires. Otherwise, you may plant a tree right where the hot tub was supposed to go! With a complete plan, being able to see what's to come, it will be easier to prioritize the order of planting to make sure that the most important things (usually trees) get planted first.

It might seem overly complicated at this point but that is mainly because we cannot help you, except in vague, general ways. Until we SEE the yard, we don't have any idea of what you're really up against. Please remember when you take photos that you must show CONTINUOUS scenery in slightly overlapping shots all the way from end to end. It can't be single shots taken from various camera angles.