Hey Farmer!
For starters- do you know what grows in your region? We moved to AZ from CA two years ago and we were told by nurseries and landscapers that a lot of what we wanted wouldn't grow in our zone (AZ being the desert and CA being subtropical). If the nurseries in your area have websites, whatever they sell is what will grow/thrive in your region... that way, you can see what you like and you can go from there. -At least that's what we had to do when we were trying to figure out trees, shrubs, and plants for our front and backyards.
Do you like plants/shrubs with waxy leaves or with variegated leaves? Or is there a specific "look" that you would like to achieve? These are the questions that nurseries asked me to help put together a yard that I wanted.
Also, just food for thought, when we lived in CA, we had a flowering tree that would shed into our pool and it wasn't very fun to pick up or look at. And now our neighbor (who I have no problems with) has a tree whose leaves blow onto our yard - and my husband and I were scratching our heads, wondering where all the leaves were coming from. You might want to consider how much maintenance you want to do when leaves start falling. But I do like boxwood beauties, birds of paradise (the smaller ones), plumeria trees, and Indian Laurel Ficus. And I love palms!
