juliann i am truly sorry to hear about your bad experience with building your home...that is a stressful enough time without adding something like what you have described to it. On a up note you have a beautiful home and a huge area that you have all the time in the world to make the way you want. I kind of get that the reason you have not checked with a landscape designer may be financial reasons...i mean after all you have sounds like you have alot of money tied up in your home and now seem to be on your own trying to amend things that your builder obviously done horribly. I think this is awful, people work hard for their money and they expect to get quality work when paying the kind of money it takes to build a house. Now on a brighter note you get to add your own touches to this already beautiful home in the way of landscaping. I think grass is a great starter...at least you will feel like your accomplishing something. I would like to see a picture from the edge of the yard up to your house...front pic, to each side and maybe your backyard. I suggest you ask on the tree forum what may be the best tree's for your area unless you have some in mind... you might ask about wide growing shade tree's, ornamentals and maybe ask for pics. You can also go on the arbor day foundation and put in your zone for ideas for tree's for your area...although i would use this only for idea's as i have read that alot of people do not have success with their tree's. But at least it gives you a good idea of what you might like. http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm by the way bradford pear tree's are beautiful but don't last long and stink very badly in spring when blooming...it smells like cat pee! here is a site for the fastest growing tree's for new york...although i would ask questions on the tree forum about each tree i like...for instance how far do they root, as a tree for you close to your septic system may pose a very big problem. http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/NewYorkT.htm tree placement site: http://www.garden-services.com/tree_placement.htm I personally think that staggering some tree's up your long drive may be very inviting...although some may not agree i like the look- to me it says come on in! I hope in someway this helps a little for now :).

Sedums! There are dozens of varieties that would even thrive in the conditions you described. I would look for s. reflexum, s. oreganum, or similar low-growing varieties that spread by runners. Over a couple of years, these will form a nice dense mat that will hold itself in place. Many sedums grow happily on sheer rock cliffs where you'd think nothing could hold on... but they do. Google around for "sedum" and find a few varieties that tickle your fancy. If you are the frugal sort, don't get a lot of plants... you can divide even a 4" pot into several plants and they will just take a little longer to fill in. I prefer to spend my money on variety rather than volume, so I get several different kinds, but only one pot of each. Do double-check the hardiness, however anything you buy from a reputable nursery in your area should grow in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: Sedum photos

Another way to help trap that nitrogen is to add a little clay. The ammonia smell, I understand, is the nitrogen escaping. The microbes in the soil need a target to fix that nitrogen to and compost doesn't normally provide that unless there is soil mixed in it. A little clay will help your compost save that nitrogen more efficiently and increase the nutrient impact of your end product. This is based on classes I've taken through Growing Power in Milwaukee with an amazing guy named Joel. Hope it helps!

Hmmmm... looks like I'll be using a jackhammer a bit this weekend. I checked the location other two I planted on the weekend (the fourth is still in its bag) by driving a long starpicket into the ground - and there is at least a metre of topsoil available to them. Yes, we are reasonably close to the top of a ridge in hilly Lugarno in suburban Sydney, so the ground is naturally rocky in most places - having said that, there are some extremely large eucalypts around that seem to have no problem at all. Sigh - its hard to know when putting in the trees how big they will ultimately grow in their partly shaded position. It would be too bad if they never got to the minimum 3.5 metres that I need them to - but it would be a pain if they got much over 7 metres. I figured A.Smithii seemed to be the best choice - short of having a crystal ball. Is there anything I could do to try and predict their mature size - under the assumption that I can give them a good metre or so of topsoil? The size range on the web seems to be between 6 metres and 20 metres. I figure (and hope) that in a garden in Sydney, the norm is closer to 6.