Curb appeal?

The front side landscaping is nearly complete. The dirt in the foreground will be seeded with grass this fall, and the mulch areas you see will be planted with Vinca ground cover. In 3 years, the mulch will be entirely gone. Instead, you'll see a short, broad leaf plant that produces blue flowers. The grass area is much larger than I had anticipated based on our conversations with the landscaper, but drainage and cost became a factor, so grass it is. We plan to do much of the back ourselves. We are meeting with another landscaper this weekend though, out of deference to an acquaintance of ours, but I don't know if that'll result in any business for him. I'm back to being budget conscious after splurging a bit on the front side hardscapes and maturity of the plants. I'm sure he'll regret not having an opportunity to bid on the front, but we really, really liked the design from the local nursery and so, made our decision without considering other ideas. We also aren't the type of people who take the ideas of one person and then pass them around, hoping someone can do the same thing cheaper. Given how well the designer captured what we had hoped to accomplish, it was easy to quickly sign the contract.