It reminds me of a wall on a modern building at the NY Botanical Garden where they have planted river birch trees. The silhouette is striking year round. Uplighting would be dramatic. Your house and landscaping are streamlined and elegant. Choose your addition carefully to preserve the simplicity.

Stick a lovely tree in your yard in between the windows. I'd go for redbud or dogwood. It doesn't need to be right against the building.

No bench unless you plan to sit on it.

An arbor will be not much more than 6 feet high. Plant a redbud 10 feet from the foundation and it will grow to be 12 feet tall, people will see lovely tree, not blank wall.

Small tree at proper distance from house.

I agree about the small tree. Look, you can even see the shadow of one on the wall and get an idea of how nicely it would fill the space!

:)

Dee

I would remove the shutters on the corner windows. (And elsewhere on the house if they are on the facade.). Embrace the modern aesthetic. Rather than plunking a single tree in the middle of the expanse, consider placing it towards the left side of the facade and forward, then building an asymmetrical bed diminishing to the right. Plant it with lower growing shrubs, perennials, and annuals. At the VERY most, I might consider a custom trellis built the height of the front wall (stopping short of the gable material) in a simple grid pattern. Not a spindly one. A good solid cast aluminum one that is thick. And grow something appropriate to your climate. I love the idea of uplighting the tree, too. Landscape lighting can be very effective in highlighting plant material and softening the angles of the home. Good luck!

a nice tree should be planted out in the lawn ... 15 to 20 feet out from the foundation ... it will add the depth the scape needs ... centered on the windows ...

though you have a nice wide bed. its still not deep enough for much of any trees ... and you wont be able to get the height you might need to make it pleasant to the eye ...

i would probably plan on getting rid of the last green blob ... and creating a unified new plan all the way across ... it doesnt have to happen immediately .. but plan on it.. i suspect that when you do the rest ... you will not be happy with it.. so make that part of the design ..

a pic of the whole front of the house would also help us understand how it will all flow together ... again.. call it a 3 or 5 year plan .. but plan it all at once ...

no use dong this piece.. only to find out.. you need to undo it down the road ....

ken

I agree you should avoid planting a single tree between the two windows. Too symmetrical and orderly. Instead, consider a grouping of different small deciduous trees, shrubs and perennials, at some distance from the house, so you still have space left between the house and the plants after they reach their mature size. Also, no benches or gazebos, unless you are planning on using them.

Be inspired by the style of your home and design a complimentary landscape. Keep it simple with groundcover and branching shrubs or a small tree. If they grow well in your climate, a redbud would be stunning, as mentioned by others. Do not overwhelm the architecture or block the windows. Consider the future mature size of the plants and locate them an appropriate distance from the house. You may want to remove the evergreen shrub at the corner, as it looks to be overgrown and may detract from the new landscape design. Good luck with your project!

Eastern Redbud, a large branching deciduous shrub or small tree. See more photos of it in the landscape here.

Thanks for all your responses! We prefer to keep all plantings within the borders of the flower bed. We are in N Illinois if that helps. Appreciate your suggestions!

Red and/or Yellow twig Dogwood shrubs. Cornus alba and Cornus sericea.