I see there is a public sidewalk so your guests will be fine. Good question about a walk to the driveway - will you need that? If so, that could anchor/shape your plan on that side. I think the question that is pestering me is whether this house needs foundation planting at all. And if so, if whether roses (if those are the roses photoshopped in there) perform this function well. Only under that arched window is it clear to me that a plant would be a good thing. Other than that, I might consider pulling the beds away from the house. Sometimes it helps to think instead of what lawn shape you want. You sound as if you change houses often. If you plan a resale, then uninspired is fine. If you plan to be here a while, then at least get plants you like... you can always move them around a bit. I agree a visit to a couple of local nurseries would be your best starting point. Finally, that tree is nice but might be a little close to the house. KarinL

Congratulations on the new house, ontheairship. I know nothing about gardening in your climate, so I won't try to suggest plants. However, since it will help other members to know your hardiness zone (there are five in Florida), please tell us (generally) where you live, or look up your zone here: http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php It will also help to know which direction the house faces, how much sun the beds get (on both sides of the front yard), and whether the lawn includes any of the invasive types of grass like Bermuda. The palm is directly in front of your front door. You want people to be able to see your front door (which is already difficult, because it's set at the corner of the house, and in a narrow recess to boot), so remove the palm. Remove it now, because it will only get larger. [The shrub closest to the front door is also trying to hide the door.] Most on this forum dislike that type of edger and consider them out-of-date. The white color makes them stand out from the landscaping, but the narrow white lines aren't to scale with your house. They don't lend themselves to curves, so you're either stuck with right angles (not necessarily a bad thing, but limiting) or awkward shapes (like the attempt to "curve" the front bed). Consider also the two beds in the foreground of the final photo: a rectangle and a tiny circle, just inches apart. If it weren't for those edgers, the beds could be combined. Obviously you already own the current edgers, and replacing them with another type of edger will involve an expense. Along the front walk, the edgers seem too close and too busy. For that and other reasons, I would eliminate the narrow bed alongside the garage. The front walk is already narrow, so replace the bed with cement (of course, the older and newer cement likely won't match). If you can afford it, replace the entire walkway: widen it to at least the outer edge of the doorway recess; round the outer corner where the walkway turns around the corner of the garage. The white rock collects weeds and doesn't stay white. Decide how you feel about that. Consider asking the Florida Gardening forum whether a clean rock bed is possible, and if so, the best way to go about it. If you decide to get rid of the edgers and rock, Craigslist is a possibility.

For an easy overview of the unfamiliar garden plants you're seeing, you might go to the local public library and look for books about garden plants for your region. And if you're looking for a particular book your library doesn't own, their Interlibrary Loan service can obtain it for you (sometimes charging a small fee). === "Plants for a Livable Delaware" talks about invasive plants which should be avoided, and those which might be substituted for particular invasives. http://www.dnlaonline.org/information/plants_for_delaware.php === The University of Delaware Botanic Garden has -- besides the garden itself -- plant info, events, plant sales, etc.: http://ag.udel.edu/udbg/ === NCSU has wonderful lists of garden plants in various categories (bulbs to trees, and everything in between). I've seen this information in the same format for other states, so I assume there's a USDA database which the states adapted for their particular climates. Unfortunately I could not locate such a database for Delaware (though that doesn't mean there isn't one). Anyway, NC's zones include DE's zones, so the NC database would be useful for you: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/index.html First, click on the category you're interested in. Then choose whichever arrangement of data presentation is most useful. Don't ignore the "By Scientific Name" and "By Common Name" at the top of each category.

Here is a close up of the wreath. I dont have one for the garland, but it is a little lighter green and the underside of the leaves is a bit different. This year i used an old leather dominoes box to display tiny christmas ornaments the kids used to put on our breakfast table tree (when we had one). I thought they would enjoy the tactile memories of those long ago christmases. The box is sitting on the library cocktail table. Our Byers figures came back upstairs this year, as i have another magnolia garland on the mantel down there. Christmas houses and covered bridges out down there but tree not quite finished. Library tree with all the unbreakable ornaments from the past 30 odd years looks the same year after year despite the fact that this is a brand new tree with LED lights. Better shot of deer / context (Allison, we live on 12 acres. Only about three of those are landscaped and the rest....woods, streams, pond, meadow. And LOTS of deer!)