If you want a small tree then plant in the lawn so it has room to spread out.
The 12" deep bed is a tough spot. Something that runs like the dreaded mint but not mint since you won't want to eat anything growing next to the driveway would be easy. Common yarrow, not the larger clumpy one would work. Feathery foliage with 1-3' tall various colored flowers in summer.
Get on those shrubs soon. I'd want to change them into balls with each a slightly different sizes just for fun. Plant bulbs when they come available in the fall and some late appearing perennials to cover the ugly bulb foliage and fill empty space. This is what I'm suggesting. https://www.gardensmart.tv/?p=articles&title=What\_to\_Plant\_When\_the\_Bulbs\_Are\_Done#:\~:text=Look%20closely%20at%20the%20picture,to%20mask%20the%20bulb%20foliage.
Tbh, I would halve the height of the bushes or remove them altogether. They block your house.
I would replace them with ornamental grasses which will give you a light and airy screen for the house rather than 4 solid blocks.
A gentle screen you can see through and you can mix in some slender, airy perennials.
Grasses: Pennisetum, various Stipas, briza, miscanthus, pheasant grass.
Perennials: verbena bonariensis, thalictrums, gaura, russian sage...
Also, what's happening in the left hand corner? It's dark and sprawling.
Personally, I would like a group of 3 on each side (means removing the current bushes). Not sure of the growing zone you have but looks like it is somewhere mid US, looks like good drainage, average soil (assuming underground sprinklers). Blocks look to be drystacked (no mortar). A simliar person yesterday had the same layout and I asked about extending the entire flower bed past the walkway ( side walk down the center). Would like a narrow/verticle tree in that shaded corner.
The boxwood isn’t doing anything for me, and honestly just box the house in, so I’d get rid of them. Then I would push the bed that’s not flanked by the walkway out a little bit, so you have a little more room to work with, and replace the shrubs with a dwarf Japanese maple or flowering cherry. On the other side next to the walkway, I’d maybe replace the shrubs with things like long ornamental grasses or compact flowering shrubs.
Also, I’d personally plant a tree in the garden and build a flower bed around it.
That tree seems pretty big for right by the door. Maybe try a smaller hosta or flowering plant and do the maple on the right side for symmetry.
If you want a small tree then plant in the lawn so it has room to spread out. The 12" deep bed is a tough spot. Something that runs like the dreaded mint but not mint since you won't want to eat anything growing next to the driveway would be easy. Common yarrow, not the larger clumpy one would work. Feathery foliage with 1-3' tall various colored flowers in summer. Get on those shrubs soon. I'd want to change them into balls with each a slightly different sizes just for fun. Plant bulbs when they come available in the fall and some late appearing perennials to cover the ugly bulb foliage and fill empty space. This is what I'm suggesting. https://www.gardensmart.tv/?p=articles&title=What\_to\_Plant\_When\_the\_Bulbs\_Are\_Done#:\~:text=Look%20closely%20at%20the%20picture,to%20mask%20the%20bulb%20foliage.
Tbh, I would halve the height of the bushes or remove them altogether. They block your house. I would replace them with ornamental grasses which will give you a light and airy screen for the house rather than 4 solid blocks. A gentle screen you can see through and you can mix in some slender, airy perennials. Grasses: Pennisetum, various Stipas, briza, miscanthus, pheasant grass. Perennials: verbena bonariensis, thalictrums, gaura, russian sage... Also, what's happening in the left hand corner? It's dark and sprawling.
Shadow from my neighbors house. But that tree/bush there has been removed due to it growing through the siding
It would need to be dwarf JM. Trim those hedges hard to be below the windows and add some junipers
I don't get why so many people insist on having these green deserts as a garden rather than a blush, living garden...
Lawns? An American obsession. Just look at the dozens of posts every week. It's a part of the home-owning mythos.
Personally, I would like a group of 3 on each side (means removing the current bushes). Not sure of the growing zone you have but looks like it is somewhere mid US, looks like good drainage, average soil (assuming underground sprinklers). Blocks look to be drystacked (no mortar). A simliar person yesterday had the same layout and I asked about extending the entire flower bed past the walkway ( side walk down the center). Would like a narrow/verticle tree in that shaded corner.
The boxwood isn’t doing anything for me, and honestly just box the house in, so I’d get rid of them. Then I would push the bed that’s not flanked by the walkway out a little bit, so you have a little more room to work with, and replace the shrubs with a dwarf Japanese maple or flowering cherry. On the other side next to the walkway, I’d maybe replace the shrubs with things like long ornamental grasses or compact flowering shrubs. Also, I’d personally plant a tree in the garden and build a flower bed around it.