Analysis first, then plan, as Tookoo recommends. Use native plants, as neotoma recommends. Get specific plant recommendations locally, as Terri & sgelade recommend. Here is my two cents worth, for the shortterm. a. Remove and stockpile the lawn edging and most of the mulch back against the fences. b. Take a can of spray paint, or a bundle of surveyor's flag, and mark the largest circular or curved form that will fit within the fenced areas, no matter where the trees stand (inside or outside of the line) to form the temporary edge of your lawn area. See if the entire family agrees on the alignment or just do what looks best to you as the Senior Gardener. c. Add the wood edging to the new edge, or, it will look a lot better if the edge is not visible, using a steel edge whose top edge is down just above the grass roots and no longer visible, and not an impediment to the lawn mower. (when you form the plant beds, you will dig down a couple inches at the edge, where it meets the steel, and then slope the bed up from there, and the mulch will be contained at the level of the lawn, beyond) My recommendation, after you call in your landscape advisor, is to fill the beds totally with ground cover, beneath the shrubs, so no mulch will be seen after the two years of plant growth, using only a finer textured mulch which will become part of the soil bed. (Maybe the bark mulch will smell good in your new fire pit, along with the wood edging.) d. Plant the entire area with grass seed or sod and enjoy the beauty. The curved edge will make the space appear and feel larger and will decrease the maintenance of the smaller bed areas. On the subject of tree placement: analyse first, then plan. Look at all the views beyond your fenceline from all windows of the house, the living/ dining areas, all the bedrooms, to enhance the good views and to block the big, the bad, and the ugly. The large trees on your list will block views from the upper windows, The small horizontally branched trees will be a piece of sculpture in your downstairs view throughout the year, while their flowering and fragrance yet another reason to be alive. For instance, if you have an attractive small tree that has attractive flowers and foliage, PLUS has attractive bark color and has a sculptural quality in the off-season, you won't have to visit the museum quite as often, with a sculpture garden right out your window.

A lot of the great garden designers borrow from the surrounding view to make it seem like part of the garden. Can you frame a vista with an arbour and a vine or a low hedge? Do you love gardening or prefer low maintenance and what style do you favour? Native plants from the local area will do best since they have survived the same conditions as your place. Some ideas for you...

Depends how you live. The question is very city-centric, if I can say that. Our last house was in a large block in a small town. We spent a lot of time working on both, but most of the money on the back. Front, we cleared out what had been essentially bush, kept the trees, put in some native ground cover, westringia, greviliias, correas, kangaroo paws and hoped for the best. Back, we had a guy with a bobcat and a lot of nice rocks put in two levels of terracing/rock gardens, brought in soil, planted a lawn, and brought in a whole lot of plants and small trees. Never got it quite right, but the birds and echidnas seemed to like it.

Definitely prefer the minimal! Though that pop of blue looks good.