WANTED: Ideas for Re-Design

No use whining about the weather, 

I've got some gardening to do!   

This Grandmother's Garden has a small space that needs a new design. It's the long narrow strip of garden just below the patio that's surrounded by lawn and separates two levels of our landscape. The picture shows this area from last summer.  

The current residents of this space include two seedling blue spruce trees that my youngest daughter brought home from school from an Arbor Day Celebration five years ago. They have grown from a single stem or branch to nearly two feet.  Their potential growth is 100 feet, so they can't stay.  The area is also covered with a New Zealand groundcover with sweet little blue flowers in the Spring and beautiful heart shaped leaves throughout the summer.  This also needs to go as it is quite invasive.  The picture also shows annual pink and white vinca's that have died from the winter freeze. 

I've actually been thinking about this spot all winter long.  I'd like to further define the adjacent  patio area by planting this strip with some type of shrub or bushes that would lend an air of privacy to our very large and open landscape.  We love the open feeling but feel that a little more height in this spot would further enhance the area. Today I am going to spend some time with my gardening books to come up with a plan.  I would like a mixture of  evergreen shrubs and flowering deciduous bushes to give year long appeal. The ideal height will be three to four feet.  So, what to do?  I would love your ideas!