Oops, sorry hit submit before I can edit, still learning how to submitt pics. I was thinking two tall conifers (maybe juniper) with a climbing rose on each side of a white arbor. It faces South and gets plenty of sun. Also, on each side yould be roses and dahlias mixed in.

Before
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and After
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Am I correct in that the area at the right edge of the picture with slightly different grass and marked by the small white posts towards the back is the neighbor's lawn? How wide is the area between your houses?

I'm wondering if the arbor will look just plonked down in the middle of a lawn. It won't look like an entrance to a side lawn because it's not obvious that it's a small side area being differentiated.

Yes you are correct, that is the neighbor's lawn. I plan on adding a fence to the lot once we instal the koi pond, so there will be a more dramatic demarcation. The place where the arbor is currently drawn in is only maybe 15 feet wide, but the lot is pie-shaped and the lot radiates outward from my house to those pine trees in the background.

My wife suggested we put the arbor back a ways to have the arbor in the neighboor's sight. Unfortunately, I think she might be right - I just wanted to enclose the side yard so more of it is in the backyard as opposed to the frontyard.

aerial shot courtesy of google map

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I'd put the arch even with the front wall of the garage. It's a major decorative feature, and you don't want to hide it; it needs to be out there where people can see it.

I'm confused about exactly what's going to be where. If you'll be adding roses and dahlias on each side of the arch, where will they be in relation to the conical evergreens? As depicted in the mock-up, the cones are multiple feet farther toward the street than the front of the arch, giving my very literal mind the impression the flowers will be behind the cones, or perhaps that the arch will be hidden behind a tunnel of flowers and shrubbery. I assume that's not what you intended, but the real question is whether you have room for both the flowers and the cones, and which will be where.

The arch is probably at least 5' wide; you need a wide one to avoid the thorns on the roses growing through the arch. The roses will take up another foot on each side: so 7' for the arch-and-roses. Add at least half a foot for the future fence (possibly much more depending on your setback law). Subtracted from the 15' width, that leaves only 7 1/2' (and conceivably much less). That means less than 4' on each side of the arch for your roses, dahlias, and conical evergreens. To my mind, that's either a rose on each side or a dahlia on each side or a small shrub on each side. Time to get out the graph paper.

While you're drawing your plans, be sure to add the fence which will (I assume) run from the house to the property line. The presence of the fence -- and its height -- will change how you view the arch and its landscaping. Find out about your setback law, because that may affect where you want to site the arch and plant the roses.

Even if the conical evergreens aren't in front of the arch, I feel they'd be competing with it. I'd be happier with broader shapes as opposed to cones or anything narrow. Anything tall and narrow -- particularly if it grows higher than the arch -- would seem to be competing with the arch. You want the focus to be on the arch and the roses which grow on it -- that is the feature, not the shrubs surrounding it....

missing: thanks for the comments. I am thinking that the arbor and roses will form an entry to the side garden which will be a portager. Instead of having a brick walkway through the arch, there will be lawn in a long rectangle. On each side of the lawn will be rectangular planting beds full of cottage-style gardens full of roses and dahlias, vegetable and herbs. One bed against the wall of the house, the other along the property line, and a long alley of grass in between.

Basically, the junipers would flank the arbor for winter interest and the roses would be set back behind the junipers about 3-5 feet. (The view you are looking at would be street side). I was going for a Mediteranean-themmed garden and the junipers fit so well. What do you think about globular arbrovitea at the base of the arch? Maybe having oppossing features might be better? ....Columnar arch with globe evergreens.

Originally, I wanted a small tree to provide shade since this is the SW conrner of the yard, but it is a small space and the garage is there anyway, there are no rooms there. And I didnt want to ruin the neighbors' view of their front yard/street with a large tree.

Becuase of our HOA - the fence must be 3-4 feet tall, black, and wrought iron-like. It must be picket, with bars every 8 inches or so.