Interesting situation, to pick a spot for a new tree. Clearly there is room, but the question of where is not as easily answered as one might think - as shown by the fact, perhaps, that no one has answered! It took me a couple of days to figure out why this is hard. One reason is not knowing just what you want your relationship to be with passers-by on the road and with your neighbours across the road - how much of the house you want to leave visible, how much you want to be able to see out - for example, do you want to be able to see when the mail is being delivered, or when someone is coming up your driveway? Another is not knowing how you like the task of mowing to go. So we don't really have enough information to fully understand your preferences... you don't need to explain them to us, but you do need to articulate them to yourself to make a decision. What is important to you about the front yard, and about trees in the front yard? Another is that there are already more trees than I realized from your earlier photo and they are quite distinctly linear in arrangement - furthermore, many are already maples. So it is hard to know whether to create a new linear component in the design or start to transition from a linear to a more random arrangement. I would prefer to evolve away from the linear aspect, especially as you move away from the driveway. Planting in groves does have its risks, as BBoy has pointed out above. I went on a tour of a local arboretum a while back (Riverview) where trees were frequently planted in 3s and 5s, and the resulting groves, 100 years later, now consist of rather unevenly developed trees in that the canopies are abutting and sometimes killing each other off on the adjoining side. So the trees are uneven although the groves remain symmetrical. But that's 100 years out, and all your specimens may not be 100-year trees. If they are not, then you can actually plant with a view to tree succession already. For example, I do not like the two maples (green in your first picture, red in your later ones) that are quite symmetrically planted across the middle of the lot - I don't like their shapes, so that's personal, but I also don't like their symmetry, since they somehow don't relate to each other or the property at all. I think I would begin by disturbing their balance a little by planting new trees near them, or in front of them, and then plan to remove one of the two existing trees at a later date. Always with a view to sight lines (and mowing lines if those matter). Also, I can't remember if you said anything on the other thread about big trees in the back yard, if you want or have any growing in there. For looks alone, nothing settles a house into a property better than being backed by some tall trees. But if it is not practical to plant them back there, then I would plant them in the front, albeit a fair distance from the house. As they grow you can prune their canopies up and even if they block your view now, eventually sight-lines will re-emerge beneath them (and in winter of course). All that refers mostly to deciduous trees. Conifers are also beautiful to have in the yard, but they will block sight lines all the time, so place with caution. Karin L

Veronica, the red spots on your sux is normal for us...a type of "freckling", for lack of a better term. The plant will look different through the year. Greg, I believe both you & Veronica have Sedum nussbaumerianum. If it were Sedum adolphii, the tops of the leaves would be flat with a more defined edge (with rounded underside). Here are several pix of my S. nussbaumerianum at different times (some diff plant), some with the freckling, some with California tan. =) Click for larger views:

Give a call to Our City Forest in SJ. We just finished a ridiculous permitting process with the city and it would have been a thousand times easier if we had just gone to Our city forest first. We also have a narrow cutout and no parking on our side of the street, we are on a busy 4 lane urban street. We finally planted some Eastern redbuds there. They have arborists to inspect sites and recommend trees, they are reasonable about negotiating tree varieties and can get special orders. their trees wet very good quality and subsidized so not to $$ and they will even deliver the trees to your site. Also they provide free proper municipal staking materials that you return to them after 3-5 years. The only pain is you have to attend a ten minute long seminar on tree planting that is at 8 am. Otherwise they are great. Warning: the city will make you repair any sidewalk issues. My sidewalk got inspected and we got off easy with 800$ repair. They did our entire block along with us, several neighbors had to remove existing plantings that were out of code! I would not try to plant trees Unpermitted despite the pain in the butt factor. Pea in Willow Glen (San Jose)

You'll either need to submit an improved description or some pictures, if you'd like a good ID. What is the size and shape of the critter? Is it mobile? Where are the 'eggs' located and what is their size and shape?