I have gotten some good ideas on here about what to plant in the front of my house. I am reposting the picture that yardvark made, replacing the overgrown arbor vitae and juniper with some nicer plants, and a sketch of the enlarged space with dimensions.

House faces east and currently has full sun, but if our parkway sapling does well, the sun will decrease over time. I would like 4-season interest, and my husband hates hostas.

I am still quite enamored of japanese maples, and also of plum trees. I have seen several very small japanese maples around here - maybe they are dwarves. Is there any chance I could have both a maple and a plum? With careful pruning? I do want one small tree in the left bottom corner, where I slightly extended the bed.

Is ivy an option for ground cover, or would I regret it b/c of how it spreads? I do love it.

Some suggestions I like from other threads include ornamental grasses, Veronica 'Georgia Blue' or 'Waterperry Blue,' Hydrangea paniculata (altho I don't like them in tree form), evergreen rhododendron (dwarf?), coralbells, azalea, trellis & vine, evergreen ground cover. And after rereading the previous threads, I owe NHBabs big thanks for making so many suggestions.