Earlier we saw foundation plantings with a "clean" look. Such a look can be achieved by using few plants, while unifying them through repetition....
David Beaulieu
Photo of symmetrically placed shrubs near home.
But another way to achieve a clean look in foundation plantings is by using symmetry. More often used specifically in front entry plantings, the symmetrical approach can be problematic.
The problem with striving for symmetry is that it's difficult to predict exactly the heights that plants will achieve. In the photo above, the spruce tree on the left is getting too high to be an effective "bookend" for its counterpart on the right. To be sure, this foundation planting is still gorgeous: I don't hold this one fault against it. Nonetheless, the symmetrical approach, by its very nature, invites such criticism: since its goal is precision, it calls attention to its own shortcomings, wherever such exist.