Sorry mistake - the area faces NE not SE. I guess you can't edit a post here?

I love the Japanese maples and the stacked stones. Probably having the bed would be a great help. Gardens are always work, and , you are so right, never finished, but such a wonderful way to spend time.

I really like the stacked s;ab steps. Yep, you need a bed there and the stones would be perfect. Then, you could add a little color if you like, or more cool greens.
kay

It's a dry and shaded area. You could do dogwoods in that area or perhaps use yews or boxwoods. or cimifuga, astilbes or lunaria.

I like your maples but your green needs a haircut to reveal it's beautiful trunk.

It looks shadier than it is - this is early spring and by mid summer it is very hot.

ianna I did actually give that green maple a major haircut - my husband was appalled but I took a lot off - you can peek up under the skirt now - probably could take off more. I got that tree as a gift from my coworkers when my mother died - it has a lot of meaning to me and it really is a beautiful plant.

I bought some sedums and the red toned hen and chickens that I plunked in - ordered a few of the low prairie dropseed grasses to edge along the back. We'll see how it does - I know I should stack more stones....if this doesn't work I'll do it next year.

Thank you for the suggestions - we have a huge property and I am desperately trying to figure out how to make it easier to manage. Once it is "under control" I hope to think about that more seriously...

You do seem to have a large property although it's not shown in the photos. I thought perhaps you could take some examples from English landscaping. More than a hundred or so years ago, the English hillside was bare and they decided to create vistas by adding trees by the hundreds.

In your case, I thought perhaps you can take this idea and add lilacs in the far horizon to create a view from afar.

When you've done that, you could connect your garden to the far end by making trails. You can create areas of sweeping flowers (think meadow look)

Closer to your patio, you can do an extension by creating terraced gardens - meandering iris or day lilies.

I didn't mean to be abrupt about trimming your maple tree. I just couldn't see the trunk of the tree and I know from many Japanese garden views that you have a great tree there. I have done bonsai before and sometimes I can't help myself and think of ways to prune trees. I like shaping trees.

I appreciate all the thoughts and advice I really do. I snapped a pic this morning - you can see it's been pruned and I am standing on the upper deck, but when you stand next to it you can see up under it. I love that patch of orange pixie lilies that just pops for a jolt of color alongside.

Ianna we have so much properly and a lot of gardens - actually in that view up the hill past the stone steps there is a large stand of lilacs just beyond that give that impact. We have a natural row of trees that divides the front yard into the the orchard area out front and then the house. Certainly we could do far more than we have and I have seen the terraced gardens in beautiful English homes. It would take some major hardscaping.

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