Zone 8 where? Zone 8 in the PNW is different than in the deep south.

Zone 8 in Texas

What we found to be very helpful was to visit a large nursery for a consultation. We went during a slow period and they were happy to make recommendations, discuss how garden would look over time and how to achieve that look with height, etc. This was free, as they assume you will buying from them. Bring a picture of your home, discuss how you want the garden to feel, maintenance needs, etc

Thank You. We have been to nurseries and some of them are helpful. When it comes to placements and how it would look like once the plants gets bigger , I get totally lost.. lol..

some ideas:

Pictures of the whole front would be helpful. Can't design a front if we don't have the whole picture.

If you ask to speak to the head horticulturalist vs staff, even for a fee, they will cover all needed components in regards to location and long term results. Our person drew out a rough plan, provided specific suggestions for our soil type, sunlight, etc and we then were able to select.

If boxwoods are suitable for Texas, you won’t have to imagine long term what garden below would feel like. Note extra height as well and tree should be a dwarf so it won’t grow too large. Pretty simple design...basically 3 layers is simple and pleasing to the eye. Good luck.

Beautiful. Thank You Dig Doug's design

I have the same problem visualizing. It helps me to drive around and look at other people's landscape. See if you can find something similar and then do that. It also helps to see what grows well in your area. If you see it everywhere thriving, it will most likely thrive in your yard. Anything goes with roses really. They are your back plants, then do something smaller in the front. unless you are planning on expanding the bed, it looks like that is all that will fit.

what roses do you have?

Thanks Mamaham. Its the mounting roses in red color.

Are you in D/FW? (I am.) Be careful with roses, as Rose Rosette Disease has been hitting hard for years.

What I’d do first is remove all boxwoods around the crape myrtles. Then:

Dwarf Yaupon Holly lining the front of the house on each side. They’re native, evergreen, super hardy, don’t need pruning, and have a natural shape that doesn’t look too uniform. They also grow fairly quickly in fill in nicely.

In front of those, I’d intersperse salvia greggiis and other mid-height perennials, such as: gaura, Mealy sage, Mexican Feather Grass, daylilies, and others your nursery might suggest.

In any areas that curve out, lower perennials, such as: lantana, skullcap, Mexican Heather, dwarf Mexican petunia, Oenothera ‘Lemon Drop’, catmint, etc.

These are all excellent starter plants ... easy care, easy to find in nurseries, drought-tolerant, take full-sun and thrive, are very tough in our brutal conditions, and beautiful plants. Most are pollinators, too. I’m not saying use every one I mentioned, as you don’t have enough room, just giving examples of some to consider.

Put in a birdbath, maybe an obelisk (Mandevillas grow well on them here), and enjoy. :)

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/rose-garden-plans/?slide=slide_9aff94f5-a0b1-4b7d-93cb-517d35de2af4#slide_9aff94f5-a0b1-4b7d-93cb-517d35de2af4

Ive found these garden plans helpful to get ideas. You probably won't find the exact thing you are looking for, but something that you can adapt.

I really like this one and looks like your similar bed shape.

Thanks Jinx. I also thought about the rose disease and wasnt 100% sure whether we should keep them. I'm not familiar with plant names, but I will research all these :).. Many Thanks for your time ..

My pleasure!

We had Knock-Outs and some others, they (and my entire neighborhood) got hit ... we’ve all been taking our roses out. Mine were so big and beautiful. It‘s such an awful disease and wow, when a bush gets it, it’s really creepy looking.

I still have one Drift and watch it like a hawk.

One quick question for you again, when you say plant the dwarf yaupon holly on each side, did you mean several of them in a straight line close to to the brick wall?

Yes, if you’re wanting a row of shrubs in the back. Left unpruned, they have a wonderful shape. Zero care.

But if you’re wanting a look with more of a varied height in the back, you could certainly plant a variety of shrubs with the yaupons. Dwarf varieties of Abelias are a great choice, too.

I know it can get overwhelming with brand new empty beds — wanting it all to look right, sizing, etc ... it might be worth consulting with a local landscape pro. We do have unique conditions in Texas!

Here they have salvias, feather grass, lantana, etc:

(Credit: https://landscapebydesign.com/landscape-design/)

Thank you much. I was just wondering since the dwarf yaupon holly is a small one, how having them in the back and then something in front would go with them

Since the two rooms forming the backdrop to the planting area are not identical to one another putting identical (twin) plantings on each side of the walk will produce a conflict of style. So the two plantings should have some differences in composition between them.

Thank you for ur input