I really, really like hrigsby's idea with the deck. Under the deck storage can be for kid stuff--they can keep their outside playthings there, from bikes and scooters to enormous waterguns. Enclose it and make it a closet. >I was thinking of doing climbing roses and clematis on the shed, but I want to develop a clear plan before I start buying plants. You are totally overthinking this. If you want the look of a clematis and rose-draped shed, get a clematis and a big climbing rose. Go to the species forum and ask for advice, and then go and buy your New Dawn rose and whatever clematis everyone's enthralled by now. Plant them. Mulch their roots so they don't get weedy. Done. You are not going to throw off the entire garden plan by choosing the wrong rose and the wrong clematis. The rock work on the shed foundation is awesome, but as far as plants go...could you possibly do worse? >The park-like look really appeals to me with mulched burmed beds, if that makes sense. Manicured, simple, orderly. You mean commercial and/or parks-and-rec sorts of plantings? This seems to be what you're saying--shaped hedges floating in seas of mulch... This takes a lot of weed killer and a BIG budget for mulch. It also will look, at best, like a rather nice office building. I think you might need more exposure to various kinds of gardens. What you're imagining is mass-maintenance, not low-maintenance. And it's unsuited to a home, though many builders of cookie-cutter homes throw in the cookie-cutter shrubs like this. >Photos of Japanese style gardens appeal to me also. Not low maintenance. >I also love the idea of attracting birds more. I have seen blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and morning doves. A water feature would be great but I don't think I want a pond. If you want a wildlife garden area, circle where you want it on your layout. Do you want to see it from the patio? From the windows of which room? I'd advise a prefabbed, plug-in type of water feature for low maintenance. Most are hideous. Some are nice. Eventually, you can find one you like. >We also love the idea of doing raspberry, blueberry, blackberry bushes for the kids and birds, but I hear the roots can be very invasive. Why didn't you go over to the fruit forum and ask? The very nice people there would have explained to you that you need a 2' deep root barrier for the raspberries but none for the blackberries. (The lazy way to do it is a 2' deep raised bed, but that may not be smart in your zone.) You will want to plant this either on the east or west side, parallel to the property line but with a pathway at least as wide as the mower. You want this on the OPPOSITE side of property than the wildlife garden, if you really want it for the kids. If you want it mostly for birds, there are better choices of plant--far more attractive for people. If you want several types of raspberry, each needs a 2' deep root barrier between them, or the more aggressive types will take over. The bed needs to be 2' wide. Mulch it well to prevent weeds. Each plant needs 3' of length along the bed. Put a hedge up along the other side, between you and your other neighbors, to reduce the feeling of exposure. As far as the existing arbs, I'd personally do a mixed shrub border, but I fear you will want an orderly row of evergreens that will do nothing to soften the shape of the yard and will grown unmanageably huge themselves in time. I can't really see the commercial berms and sterile plantings plus wildlife combination. It does not at all work in my mind.

After seeing your neighbor's overview of your yard my first inclination would be to plant some tough, fairly fast-growing trees along your wall. This might also decrease the heat coming off that wall. Most nurseries would be able to advise you if you state your needs. As for the sod area, I've noticed that most people never really use that area, and it will take a lot of water and care. Just my opinion, you know your needs better. Rather than having a gazebo, why not develop the deck area more fully to make it really comfortable and inviting and use the area where the gazebo would be for some pretty but carefree plantings? Again, the nursery can advise you. That way you can enjoy all the different areas of your garden from the deck without any obstruction to your sight lines. I'm sorry if I've repeated what others may have already said. It's great that you have walls instead of some rickety fence around your property. That gives you a good basis. Another thought, would the vegetable garden be better in a more hidden area in a further corner of the property? So often that area doesn't always look terribly attractive. I'd plant some easy-care roses (some of the antique roses are great or modern shrub roses, not hybrid teas) so you can enjoy color and fragrance there. The best of luck with your plans. I'm sure it will be beautiful. Ingrid

The advice you just got is sound, and from the list of shrubs it sounds like a nice combination. The temptation is always to space things too close, and then have to prune. You will have a much better idea how big each of these gets if you drive or walk around your neighborhood and look at these same plants in mature gardens. California is so different from Alabama, but we also grow quite a few of these same plants out here. I would suggest that you allow a 4 to 5 foot diameter for the Daphne odora, and use this as a foreground shrub to the taller ones, since it usually only grows about 2 to 3.5 feet tall. The Florida Anice is one of my new favorite plants, as it is not that common here in California, but the beautiful almost everblooming deep red flowers are gorgeous. This one gets big here, and I have seen it 8 feet tall by 6 feet across. The Sweet Olive,(you are referring to Osmanthus fragrans?), can get 10 to 15 feet tall and act like a small tree, so I would definitely give this one some room at the back, and not crowd it. The Dwarf Leucothoe I am not that familiar with, but imagine that it is in the same size range as the Daphne. Just looking at your photo, I would guess that you could double the spacing between plants and stretch this out along the fence, and closer to your new stone wall. If you want a fuller look immediately, you could always plant either perennials or annuals as filler between the shrubs until they get some size. Some perennials with good evergreen foliage might include things like Bergenia, Hellebores,(Heleborus x argutifolius is a personal favorite), Japanese Anemones, etc. Not sure if these are all good choices for the deep south, (I have no idea what it is like to garden in a sauna in summer). I do know that other evergreen bulbs like Crinums and Hippeastrum would love your conditions. I'd also look to add foliage plants such as native ferns to the mix, and I would also recommend ferny foliaged plants like the Dwarf Heavenly Bamboo, Nandina domestica 'Harbour Dwarf'. Do the dwarf Viburnums, such as Viburnum davidii do well in your area, this is also a nice shade shrub that stays reasonably low. You will probably get better plant specific advice for your local climate if you post this on one of the regional forums that deals with your part of the south.

Fool4flowers, I'm growing 8 different species/varieties of bananas -- most of which are not hardy and have to be dug and brought into the garage. Only the basjoos (and hopefully the lasiocarpas) are hardy here. I have three separate clumps of basjoos around the yard. Non-hardies are Siam Ruby, Dwarf Cavendish, Red Abbysinian, Rojo (Sumatrana), Brazilian Tall, and Veinte Cohol. We've been watering the grass a lot. I really am not anxious to see the water bill. Should come in the mail soon.