I suggest lots of easily to start yourself annuals from seed. Zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, sunflowers, mexican sunflowers, 4 o'clocks, nasturtiums are all really easy seeds to start. You can start them outside as soon as the weather warms up, you don't need to do it inside under lights. Plus seeds don't cost you that much money. Since they are annuals, they are something that is easy to leave behind if you have too.

I AM SO JEALOUS! Flat ground. Perfectly flat. Oh, my, the trees are spaced so nicely - you are going to have the most GORGEOUS garden! SO LUCKY!
With the tree cover you could have a a gorgeous woodland cottage garden, and then "regular" cottage garden for sun in the rest (which is a LOT!). I agree with the easies to start off with. That way you can learn what you like best. Winter Sowing is a fabulous way to start perennials inexpensively for next year.

I think that is what has been stumping me so much these past three years... the pure size of the property and how much I HATE all that being in grass.. if it was our property it would have at least a few gardens started already. We're actually working on the landlord and hoping that he'll someday soon sell it to us.

What I see for the backyard is a small waterfall way in the back up at the top of the sloping hill (the yard slopes gradually from the back of the property towards the house as you can tell by the first photo) then have a stream meandering about throughout the trees and then have all woodland plants growing amongst the trees and around the stream all ending in a small (10ft X say 15ft) pond near the house in the center of the yard. We have already tilled a patch of ground for a veggie garden out in the side yard. The open part of the yard (the northern or top part of the aerial photo) I was planning on turning into a wildflower meadow.. not sure how feasable this is though as it's almost an acre of land!! That's a lot of tilling!!

As for the front yard, which I have added the photos below, I'm not sure what to do there. I know I want an oblong shaped sun-loving bed out there but don't know if the landlord would go for that or not. I do like having a front lawn as it makes the house a little more "formal" when viewed from the road. But it's an awful lot of grass to mow. It takes DH about 8 hours to mow it all!!

This year my plan is actually focused on the front of the house in a bed that is predetermined because of the sidewalk leading to our front door (which we never use). I am planning on putting that all in lilies, tulips, daffodils and something else that I haven't figured out yet to fill in after the lilies have finished blooming to hide the foliage.

I benefit from having a gardener living right next door and I wander over to her house almost every day when she's outside working in her gardens. She is a maniac when it comes to her beds and always apologizes to me about the weeds... although I have a hard time seeing any weeds with all the beautiful flowers she has.

Anyways, here's the front of the house as well as the future home to my lily garden!

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You can see the spot where I'm going to plant the lilies and other bulbs... that's the only spot I'm going to work on this year. Although buying some shade loving seeds might actually work to fill in all the dirt patches in the backyard that aren't growing with grass.

ttfn
Cheryl.

It sounds to me by reading your post, that you rent this property? If that is the case, I'd only do outdoor containers. Those you can take with you where you move next if the owner won't sell to you. You can also dig up flower bulbs you planted unless it is in the winter when the ground is freezing like it was when we sold our house and moved 5 yrs. ago. I regreted leaving my peonies more than anything.

Where in the world did you get that closeup aerial? What I have seen was only distant shots
Tammy

Wow, what a wonderful piece of property. I would start out by making small beds, then expand. You don't want to over do things right off. I don't know your age, but the older you get, the harder the work is, even though you will get out there and work til you drop. Gardening does take time too, so if you work outside the home you have to consider that also.

Once you begin, you can't quit, it's an addiction. You start with one bed, which becomes more quite quickly. We all love our gardens and work in them as much as we can. This forum has been an inspiration to me for years now.

Don't stress and enjoy the process. I really would love to live in an area like you do, space, peace and quiet and views.

FlowerLady

I would double check whether the current owner minds you changing the landscape. And remember, your sweat equity is building his real equity!! Lasagna gar*dens are an easy way to start. Use hoses to mark out where you want beds, stream, etc. An inexpensive way(compared to building the real thing) to make a stream would be to lay heavy cardboard where you want it, then pile on river stone. If it will be yours someday, get something in writing, if you can, cause the best way to start a project like this is to start with the 'bones': paths, trees, etc. That overhead shot is genius!! You can create a really good plan and show how much space everything with take up.

Nancy.

I see wildflower meadows. It is a wonderful yard to work with. Otherwise, I would plant in containers, as others have suggested, until it's yours.
Renee

WOW! Lots of replies! Here's my replies to y'all :-))

pippi21 - yes, we rent the property. Have been here since Nov of 07. That's the main deterrent to puttin a lot of money into the land. I plan on digging up the lilies if/when we ever have to move. From the sounds of it when we talk he don't want us to move... EVER!! LOL I have thought quite a bit about doing container gardening around the house... seems like a good idea to create my own containers too :D

Tammy - I got the aerial photo by going to www.bing.com and clicking on the "maps" link. From there I just entered my address and then selected "Bird's Eye View" from the options on the map that shows up.

FlowerLady - I know what you mean about age. I'm only 38 but due to my previous line of work (construction) I am feeling more than my age most days. I am a human barometer due to the injuries I've suffered from work and from barrel racing when I was younger! I currently don't have a job outside the home but I'm waiting on getting back to work with DH soon! Gardening is definitely an addiction... one which I haven't even started to get into yet... maybe that's why I've been procrastinating?? ;-) This area is gorgeous to live in and yes it is VERY peaceful... I've always been a "country girl" and just love living out here surrounded by farmland!

Nancy - I talk to my landlord about my plans quite often as he's usually out here every day or so... those sheds in the photos are his "hideaway" as he lives in the city and he comes out here to be alone and get some peace and quiet! We actually have a pretty good understanding and we talk a lot more than most tenants and landlords do. I'm still undecided whether I really want a stream out there in the back... I might just put some woodland plants out there for now and see how they do. It looks A LOT more green in the photos than it does when you walk through it... mostly weeds due to the trees blocking almost all the sunlight. I actually used that overhead photo as a base for my plan. I have a larger version of it as well as a topo map that I got from the same site. I used the plan that I have drawn even though it's just a draft, to show my landlord what I would like to do.. he doesn't seem to care as long as we don't damage anything LOL.

Renee - It's quite funny that you mentioned wildflower meadow as I've been thinking about turning the section that my DH doesn't like to mow too often into a meadow... although from what I've read about online it seems like an awful lot of work since the area would be almost an acre!! Don't think I could till that much ground and live to tell the tale LOL... I think that will wait for another time. I really do like the idea of container gardening... it's probably something that I will do this year.. all I gotta do is restrict my want list of plants!! LOL easier said than done.

I want to thank everyone for all your great suggestions... I appreciate all the knowledge and advice that y'all have given and will show photos of anything I decide to do... gotta show off all the hard work right?? ;-))

ttfn
Cheryl.

I would have a ball with this yard!! What I would do is hold off on the whole stream in the back until you know about your ownership. If you are dying to start "Something" I would start with the front. 1st I would till up the grass that is in between the house and the path going to the stairs. I would then till along the other side of the path to frame the path and come out in a circular shape where the corner of the path and driveway meet, extend down the driveway as far as you want to end it in a gradual narrow way down so that it meets at a point like shape (like cutting off a slice) it looks better than a square shape. Some good bases for structure would be boxwoods for shrubs and to mix in with knock out roses (very hardy easy to care for and lots of color). Daylilys are blah to more advanced gardeners but are easy and great for the front. If you have any local friends that have them, they may be willing to split theirs for you. From there you can add whatever sun loving plants you wish. Since you need a lot, check out www.gracefulgardens.com they have great prices for starter plants(not just roots)at great prices! They have a huge variety but specialize in cottage gardens. You could put some delphiniums agaist the house where the brick is or where ever else you may want height. Hope this helps!

Also, where I said to do the circular cut where the driveway and path angle together, I would add a nice dwarf bush in the center like a dwarf lilac bush or tree for height variation! Wish you lived close by to me as I have lots of things I could give you for starters!

dixie - I am thankful you posted what you did as I tried to explain to my hubby almost exactly what you just wrote! LOL.

He is totally in love with roses simply because his mother was an avid gardener and he always loved the climbing roses she had against the house. I was thinking about putting one in the front bed in the space between windows along with a trellis.

There is a slight difference to what I'm planning on doing as the soil in that part of the yard is not very good quality. We tilled all the grass and weeds out of it last year and I was going to put some perennials in there but it got planted with marigolds and petunias simply due to DH losing his job and running out of money. I'm going to make that space between the house and walkway a raised bed and get some better soil to put in the spot. Still have to make sure all the grass and weeds are taken care of but the higher quality soil will be much better for the lilies that I plan on putting there. I hope that area gets enough sunlight for lilies though.. I know they prefer full sun but based on what I've been reading they can stand half a day of sunlight... that place gets morning sun up until around 10 or 11am then full shade from the house as that part of the yard is facing SE. I was also planning on putting a raised bed in the curved area of the drive and walkway but wasn't planning on extending it that far down the drive. I also wasn't planning on putting anything on the other side of the walkway but I do think that would look REALLY nice the way you described it! We were thinking of putting a Japanese maple in the center of that bed by the drive along with roses and daylilies around the outer edge. Probably will put something else around the roses as well.

Thanks for your advice and offer for help! :-) My neighbor has offered some of her plants that she's thinning out of her beds and I will definitely take her up on the offer. I'm hoping to get started this weekend but I'm waiting to find out how much I can spend after all the bills are paid. I keep telling the mail lady that if they're "Bill's" then give them to Bill... not me! :-D LOLOL

ttfn
Cheryl.

You do have a lovely place to start a garden, Cheryl! My advice would be to plan on wintersowing (there is a forum for that here). I garden on a very restricted budget, too, and that has been the greatest help.

I was thinking about the problem of improving rental property rather than your own...some gardeners set aside space in their gardens to raise plants that either have no room in their beds or that they haven't decided how to use. I call that a holding bed. How about if you think of your whole place as a holding bed? If you start perennials now they may well be ready to divide if/when you move. That could give you a real head start. In the meantime you would have the joy and learning experience of gardening where you are.

Also, with that much space you could have a fairly large vegetable garden (less to mow). Maybe your landlord would trade part of your rent for fresh produce. We sell veggies every summer. It's not enough to live on, of course, but it can easily bring in enough to pay for the seeds for both vegetable and flower gardens.

linda - thanks! I absolutely love this place... that why we would love to buy it. Now if we could just get our landlord to give us a definitive answer on how much he would sell it for... he keeps beating around the bush whenever we bring it up.

I never thought of my place as a "holding garden".. that's a really good way to look at it! :-)) I'll have to look more into that wintersowing that I keep reading so much about... especially if it's a good way to save money.

We have a good place already tilled up for our little veggie garden.. it's about 30ft X 60ft. Not big in comparison to the whole property size but it's big enough for our own use... I've thought about growing veggies to sell but just down the road there is a farm that sells veggies, plus pretty much everyone around here grows their own stuff... comes from being surrounded by farmland I spose!

ttfn
Cheryl.

I love the blank canvas you have. You can do anything with it. I hope the landlord will sell it to you.

Rita is right. Seeds are a cheap ways to add color. I just buy a lot of them at Walmart for a buck a pack and have really good luck with the common seeds.

kay

I would start small, and start in the front. Build your way up to your vision, and that way it will all work better, financially and beauty-wise. Start small and build each year.

If it were me, I'd till that space between the house and the sidewalk, and sow annuals that will bloom this year: Zinnias, Tithonia, Cosmos. Maybe a bush by the front door this year, too. Or a climbing rose by the front door.

Then, start seeds of perennials that you eventually want to be in that same front bed. Grow them all summer in pots, and plant them when they are big enough to plant. Next year they'll be big and bloom. If it were me, I'd start a bunch of delphinium, black-eyed susan, coneflower, and penstemon.

I'd also overseed your bulb bed with annuals, and start some perennial seeds for that bed, too.

If you want to do something in the back this year, I'd start by making a big curving bed along the back of the house and fill it with Rhododendrons. Make plans for annuals and perennials in that bed, too: ferns, bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, native geraniums, other shade-loving things.

The stream sounds lovely, but it will look best in context of beds and plantings, and those will take a while to establish. I say start on the beds first, and start with one in the front and one in the back. Yahoo! Have fun!! What a lot of space and varied conditions you have.