Our lot is marked for general use and doesn't have any restrictions other than minor easements which we have already met (value of the house and setbacks). Therefore the current plan is to have pavement all the way to the north side of the lot. (The neighbor has a 12 foot patch of grass behind it.) We live in Fairbanks, AK where in the winter we can have as little as 3 hours and 45 minutes of light during the day and thus southern exposure is highly desirable. In addition we are building a really well insulated house (walls will be R-41 or R-37 after considering thermal bridging) with the idea to capture as much heat gain from the sun as much as possible. As far as RV (or a boat), if I ever buy one, I would park it at the back of the lot, right along the north side of the lot. We haven�t done much planning on the layout of the backyard as all of our free time and effort was spent on choosing a house plan and finding an affordable lot in town. (Our budget will also be fully exhausted after building the house, paving the driveway, and small patio in the back.) The entire process started in the middle of May this year so this process is extremely rushed. I appreciate everyone�s honesty and agree with trying to "pound a square peg into a round hole" �. but I�m sure something like this is do able. For example have the square small enough to fit into the hole or the other way around. ;) What I am looking for is a way to use this orientation to our "advantage", if possible. In other words is it possible to turn this weakness into strength? If it�s not possible, then we will rotate the house slightly to the north. PS � We are rushing with the construction of our house b/c right now we are paying $2,000 for renting a 1,300 sq. ft. duplex built in 1980s. With the current rates, for the same amount of money I can afford to own a 2,300 sq. ft. house if I build it myself. Thus, for the same monthly payment I can own my own place. With 14,000 heating degree days in my area whenever the fuel cost go up my rent follows. Owners of 1980�s construction often pay 5-6K (sometimes more) for heating their homes. While, really well insulated homes are around $2,000 to heat for the entire year.

If you have dogs, I think turf grass is the best option instead of a groundcover like ivy or mondo grass. I would note how many hours of sun or shade you have and check with your local university extension service re best lawn grasses. Centipede, St Aug, Bermuda, Buffalograss? You may just need to overseed (which will involve some irrigation (use a sprinkler) until the shoots are established a bit. Or aerate, as perhaps your lawn looks a bit compacted? It might need some organic fertilizer like maybe just buy a few bags of compost and sprinkle around even?

So far, the Tall Fescue has appeared to do very well. It could obviously be better, but I honestly just did not do anything with it the first summer I was here. I am going to add some seed to it this year as well as add some fertilizer. The Tall Fescue is under two pretty large trees so I never had an issue during the hottest days of the year. I really like the grass as well as it stays green all year long. Even after we had 3 inches of snow fall, when the snow melted, the grass was still green. As I mentioned, I am going to be actually working on taking care of the lawn this year, so I expect to see great results!

There's a lot I don't get about this post, beginning with orientation. The convention (and it ought to be a universal rule) is that calling out "left" and "right" is from the viewpoint of the street at the front of the property. What you are calling the "right side of the house" looks to me like the left side ... unless your house is the one at left that barely shows. You go on to say all the things you are going to do. But where are the overall objectives that will control what you are trying to create? It seems to me more like you are gardening and don't have much interest in employing landscape design (using plants and other materials to solve problems as opposed to having this or that nice thing somewhere.)