fool4flowers, I wish you could take them too!!! And yes, Carol, aren't they just the cute-ist things? I do worry about them getting my plants, especially the vegetables. But, I have everything fenced off against my dog anyway. Although, before, I have only used farmer's fencing. It is the one with large square holes. It won't keep a rabbit out but it kept the dog out until today, darnit. I took her out back to sniff around and pee, if she needed too. Wildlife rescue said to keep doing that so the bunnies would smell her and hopefully leave. We were walking past one of the "dog fenced areas" when she stuck her nose straight through and pulled out two bunnies who were dead on the spot, of course. UGH! She moved so fast I couldn't stop her in time. They were right there by the fence, apparently. I felt sick afterwards. I know she's just being a dog. I could tell she felt bad afterwards... only because I did. Thanks everyone, for your support. I think the other two bunnies had moved on before today. If they haven't I'm beginning to think we need to risk the capture and relocate thing. Otherwise, my dog will eventually get them when they come back to visit and aren't expecting a dog. Sometimes I wish I lived in a loft downtown. :(

I think the easiest way to maintain a large area is to create a woodland environment. Separate the 'woodland' from the 'yard' perhaps with the wall in the picture, or by some sort of border like logs or simply the edge of the lawn, and don't worry too much about maintaining the woods. I am sure you've seen yards that border the woods, and some of them look perfectly manicured despite the fact that nothing is done to maintain the woods. So, it is partly attitude ('those are the woods, this is the yard') and partly a good border between the two that makes your life easier. I would start by by mulching and planting large clumps of a few types of shrubs or small trees. Pick out perhaps three to five types of native woodland shrubs. Get perhaps three to five plants of each type. Plant each type of plant in an informal clump. The clumps should be arranged to look nice, frame in your yard and woodland path, and to not interfere with each other too much (give them the room they need). In general, put taller ones toward the back, smaller ones in front. Mulch the whole area. You can buy shredded bark or find a local tree trimmer or the municipality who shreds branches (power company crews, road maintenance crews etc.) and sometimes get the chips for free. i would use the most natural-looking mulch you can find, so that the woods look as woodsy as possible. in the future, simply leave the leaves that fall. You should probably mulch again in future years to help build ip the soil and supress weeds. I would probably remove a lot of the small plants that are there now. I see a yellow-green groundcover that is probably a sedum, some weeds, I think, and some grass. none of these really fit in a natural woodland, so I wouldn't keep them. As the shrubs grow, the spaces in between you can plant with wildflowers, ferns, etc. Once you get the shrubs growing and a good mulch on the soil, you can take your time (years, if you want) planting wildflowers, and I think you'll enjoy it. I would start with several Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) scattered through the woods. I would plant clumps of Cranberry viburnum (tall, put it near the back), American Holly (Also tall), Maybe Gray Dogwood in the sunnier parts of the front, Blueberries (highbush type- most of the blueberries grown for fruit are 'highbush' blueberries that will get four or five feet tall, at least), and perhaps Red chokeberry, or maybe Inkberry holly, which is evergreen. I would make each clump something like 10 ft by ten feet, but an irregular shape. This will fill a lot of space, you'll like the look of the shrubs, and there will be no maintenance - you can simply let them grow once they are planted and watered for the first few months. I think evergreen groundcovers are a pain - weeds often grow through them, it is hard to get leaves out of them, and unless they grow really thick, the look like a poorly maintained planting. Woods, on the other hand, aren't supposed to be maintained and so look fine full of leaves and sticks. Just maintain a path through them and you are fine.

If your wife is freaked at the thought of snakes, look up ALL the snakes in your area and identify the harmless versus possibly harmful, and their characteristics. Search Google for "Snakes species of __your state" and see what comes up. Most snakes, even the venomous ones, are not aggressive. They will move away if you let them or just keep doing their snake things. I don't know how it is back east, but in Arizona that typical snake bite victim was male, young, drunk and doing something stupid with the snake, like kissing it!

What direction is one facing when one looks out over the fence? Is the patio in need of shade? It looks like you might be CA, so I imagine you have to plant with wildfire protection as a consideration? With that in mind, are a fire pit and sparks an issue, or do you want it to be gas fired? How large is the current paved patio? Could you combine the fire pit and the sitting area? What room does the door lead into, and where is the kitchen from here? Is there easy access to the kitchen from somewhere in the patio area? Would more paving, something like decomposed granite, or artificial turf fit into your plans? The current lawn looks fairly bad. Do you need a play area for kids or is this an adult only household that might not need a lawn? Is there irrigation currently, and is that something you would want to/be allowed to continue? Is there a HOA that controls how you can plant or design your yard?