Looking for some landscape ideas - Zone 5b (w/ pics)

[Durandal]

Hey everyone. I'm getting started on doing the property up my way this year. My first season on this lot was spent cleaning up the messes the previous owners left behind. Now I am ready to start fresh. I don't have much trouble with how I want it to look, but I'm not familiar with the best options for which plants to use where.

Here is the front. What I have in mind is something symmetrical and simple to match the house. I would prefer evergreens to really cover the house - especially the foundation. The left side of the house is shaded by a maple tree all day. The right side is sunny until the afternoon, when the sun passes over the house. I'm not sure how much room that will give me for symmetry. Note that I will be taking the existing plants out this spring.
[img]https://www.fleshbag.com/haus/front_mar2011.jpg[/img]

Here is the back. I'd really like to add to the privacy at the back. As you can see there is the back of an ugly shed and an ugly telephone pole. There is a large evergereen that shades most of the left side of the yard almost all day. It's not so bad that the cedars in the back can't grow evenly. I'd like to have something in each of the back corners... doesn't have to be identical, just balanced and preferrably something evergreen.
[img]https://www.fleshbag.com/haus/back_mar2011.jpg[/img]

Any suggestions on which plants can be used where would be greatly appreciated. As for budget, I'm looking at this over the course of several years, so it's not extremely cheap.

Thanks in advance...

[tomf]

When you plant in the front yards it is a good idea to keep the shrubs low so that burglars do not have a place to hide. Yes I think ever green bushes in front would work well. If you like lawn that is all you need to do. There are a number of ways you could landscape the front and some of them use nature scape methods.
As for the back laurels grow fast and will grow fine there, they would make a tall hedge in a few years. You will need to trim them when the get big!

[Gingergirl]

Funny, I am considering ditching the evergreen shrubs in the front of my 1910 Chicago bungalow! If I did put any back in though I think I would choose boxwood or something similar. Any ideas for non-evergreen foundation plantings would be helpful!