I'm starting with a suggestion of location for beds and small trees. Beds could include some shrubs, perennials, groundcover below trees. Along the garage, a hedge of only Limelight seems lacking and a little overwhelming at the same time... especially in front of the window. Some could work fine. There seems to be something running at the bottom of the fence but the pictures don't indicate what it is. Pictures also don't indicate what's happening at the front of the lawn area so I made something up.

{{gwi:46671}}

Yardvaark, thank you for your response. As you indicated, there is in fact some groundcover (vinca) running along the bottom of the fence. It is easiest to see in the second picture and was existing when I bought the house. It is only about a 7' long section that comes out maybe 3-4' from the fence. Like your suggestion of using groundcover in the design - I have given that some thought. Not sure if I should continue with the vinca (I do like its flowers in the spring and glossy evergreen foliage) or use something else - maybe sweet woodruff or euonymous? Also like your suggestion of rounding out the corner of the garage bed and planting a tree.

As far as the front part of the lawn area - if you look at the third picture, I am facing South. There would be a sunroom to the east (to the left) of where I was standing when I took the photo. There is also a patio off of the sunroom to the south that is not pictured in the photo (basically where the trees are in the "made-up" portion of your design). The patio isn't large enough for my needs so I am considering expanding it out into the yard more (about where the tree is in the third photo) and maybe edging it with boxwoods that would grow into a low hedge.

I like mixed shrub hedges with perennials. I do have five hydrangeas on one side of a patio, but there are also trees, camellias, azaleas, Hostas, ferns, hellebores, astilbe, carex, and a few annuals thrown in here and there (love, love, love plumbago so I always plant some). Your space will be beautiful in a few years! I would not keep the vinca. I have been yanking it out of shrubs. I hate it and find it quite invasive here. In fact, once you have the beds planted, you won't need ground cover. Just add mulch to any bare spots.

"...rounding out the corner of the garage bed and planting a tree." I envision such a tree to be small... as one might make out of a lilac or beauty bush or something commonly thought of as a shrub. It's the form--limbing it up--that makes it a tree.

"As far as the front part of the lawn area..." Well, I am too lazy and impatient to try to imagine what's where and how it's laid out based on words alone--and probably not get it right--when you only need show it in a picture. I guessed that the street was behind the camera location and the house was to the right of the garage and apparently that's wrong. Just show it.