Crape myrtles come in various sizes. Acoma grows to be ten feet tall. With the lower branches limbed up to expose the beautiful bark it wouldn't block much light and blooms for three months each summer. That's probably what your designer had in mind.

Many homeowners like to hang holiday decorations. Having a couple of conical boxwoods included in the foundation plantings gives you something to hang lights on. Dwarf Alberta spruce are also commonly used for this (but they are disease prone on the east coast). It would be desirable to have evergreens in the foundation planting and boxwood is eminently prunable but if you hate box, choose another evergreen.

As is common, the suggested plan has twice as many plants needed. More plants = more money for the landscaper.

I’d rule out the crape too. Why plant something that you KNOW you’re going to have to keep your eye on it/trim it back forever?

Osmanthus is not a conifer…

Agree osmanthus not a conifer but who said it was? I have one now & have had more in other gardens..A tough evergreen that has recovered from both heat domes in PNW as well as unusual severe cold in PNW. Mine bloomed too! Inconsequential flowers as you can barely see them but oh man, the fragrance!

Jordan has apparently edited his comment, and replaced the word conifer with evergreen, which would be more appropriate. Glad it’s been corrected now.

I'm not sure what climate zone you are in, but it appears that the design lacks many evergreen plants. If you have heavy snow cover in winter, then no big deal. However, there is nothing wrong with your plan. There are many good dwarf crape myrtles available.

Below are some alternate suggestions.

Duplicate post garden plan feedback (gardenweb.com)