Make yourself a list of what you want most from your front yard landscape -beauty, ease of care, hardiness, screening your property, etc. Then start choosing designs according to your needs. This will probably take a good week or two of surfing websites, checking out zones, soil requirements, pictures, and a sketchpad and pencil by the mousepad. ;p Then rewview your landscaper's list and see what fits and what doesn't. I suggest getting your hands on a list of 'native' plants to NY state so you'll know they'll survive the seasons, provide food for native wildlife (minus deer, apparently) and blend in with your surroundings. Butterflies are always a joy to attract. Found you a jumping off point: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rdsduse/ny.htm The Finger Lakes Native Plant Society of Ithaca may also have something to offer -www.fingerlakesnativeplantsociety.org/ The idea is to have a front yard that is harmonious looking from the road AND from your front door now and 10 years from now, not a scattering of 'planted this here and that there'. This is usually accomplished by 30% trees (hardwood and evergreen), 30% shrubs, 30% perennials or annuals, and 10% inspiration (a sundial, a fountain, big rocks, etc). I like your rock idea too. The trees are the anchor. Shrubs act as a connection between those tall trunks and the ground, and the plants provide close to the ground interest. Colour can come from all 3, and since we have 4 seasons try to choose plants that provide a show of interest year round (spring flower, autumn colour, winter berries, etc). Your placement of flora should be balanced and enhance the look of your front facade, not hide it or make it difficult to navigate your way from the driveway to your front door. It should also 'curve around teh house' and blend with anything you put backyard. That's a cheerful yellow colour you have on your house, so choose some perennials to match and compliment it. (White, yellow, pink, violets, soft blues) And just because you'll plant trees that will make some shade doesn't mean you can't have some awesome shade plants around them too! I love ferns, lungwort, trillium, bleeding hearts, bugbane, jack-in-the-pulpit and all sorts of other shade lovers. Put your hardscape in first (rocks, walls, brick, paths, fences etc) and then trees. Then shrubs. Watch the shade and sun and water patterns, then add your perennials. Mulch cuts down on water needs, and automatic drip hoses underneath the mulch make watering a snap, no sprinklers required.

Nice you don't have to use that stuff there.me too.And, I always think every plants is ugly as long as it don't match it's master;a plant is beautiful just it match. Before any suggests,I should know where is your landscaping?how long time sun light?or where the landscaping face?any drain or irrigation problem? A panoramic shot is good.how post a photo here?first upload photo to any photo-hosting site.Photobucket and Flickr are examples . While at that photo on the site, look for a link to "share." Then look for a way of obtaining "html code" (don't select the thumbnail version.) Copy that code and paste it directly into your message here.

All of it looks great to me, the little squirrel peeking out on the deck,"She sell seashells" sign & shells around. The blues work so well with the coral & pinks & white. Little guy by pool looks like a sweetie! Grandma doesn't like the attention! She does match beautifully in the pic where she is sitting in the chair, her shirt looks great with the empty blue chair, blues go together well! Love the pond(lived at a lake all my life until I came out here)Is the fishing good in it? TFS Jan

If it doesn't have to be a bush, check out the different kinds of Amsonias. I like the narrow leaf varieties. They bloom bunches of little blue star shaped flowers in the spring, then have seed pods that hang on them. I shear mine back after blooming, though, to keep them from getting too big. They bush back out and look nice, with nicely colored foliage in the fall. They die to the ground in winter. Also, a couple day lilies would work there, along with a tall growing iris. Fireworks goldenrod is a fall blooming plant I love that would fit in that space. I'm not sure what zone it is. Sue D.