Planning the flower bed plantings etc. is definitely the fun part. Most people skip to that step because it is the part of the landscape you see- and the most enjoyable part to think about. It's a classic mistake to do so because you will pay a long term price for all the seemingly little details you skip in the beginning. I take it that the advice of a good engineer feels out of the budget for you? Drainage issues are the boring stuff but it's already obvious you're going to have a significant drainage concern. Trenching and piping are okay but eventually trenches can fill with sediment and no longer work. You really, really need to have an engineering consult to determine if what the builder proposes will be adequate. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred bucks at most. Perhaps some other neighbors will pitch in since you'll all need the same thing? I used to be a City Planner. I've seen developers pull a lot of crap. Sometimes, they are well-intended but the data they based their information on was faulty. Other times- they're just out to make a buck as quickly and cheaply as possible. At an absolute minimum, call your City offices and see if someone from the City engineering Dept. can advise you on appropriate methods to handle the drainage. In theory, they've already required the developer to deal with this but sometimes really different to say it will work on paper and to see it once everything is going in. Building codes are the 'minium acceptable standard', they are intended to set the bottom threshold. Something can be up to 'code' but not necessarily be a great solution. Also, ask them what level of storm they design for. Sometimes they require them to design the drainage to handle the runoff from a 10, 50, or 100 year storm. You'll want to know which they planned for in your case as it will give you a better idea of what it will handle. As for your other issues- a patio will be much lower maintenance over time than a deck and will certainly last longer. I would also make sure to have a 2' high by at least 3' deep berm for flowers and shrubs against the house as sort of a 'back up' in case your drainage system clogs or is overwhelmed.

Thank you for your inputs! It is really useful to get some new points of view. I thougt about pruning lower branches and filling in for privacy. These branches are thick, so I am afraid that it will be too harmful for the tree. My next door neighbour pruned several lower branches of her pine. Pine died over 1 year. I am not sure what was the reason: drastic pruning, infection or something else. On the other hand, these are too low and too long now. They cover the area of at least 20' in diameter each. And I can not use the shade everyone is talking about! This shade is too deep to plant anything under these trees. Probably, it is not clear from the pictures, but this space is completely wasted for me. These two trees consumes about one third of all available area in my backyard. Columnar trees like Hollies would be much more compact. Anyway, if I will go with pruning lower branches and interplanting something evergreen between these two trees, can you please recommend something that will tolerate dappled to full shade? I was thinking about Camellias, will they work? A couple of things: 1. 6' fences are not allowed here. 2. I do need privacy in winter time also. It is not about using the yard. The neighbours' houses are too close, they all are 2 story homes. All our living areas including bedrooms will be exposed. The good thing is that these houses are higher than ours, so we do not need very tall evergreens to screen them. 3. 2 out of 4 surrounded us yards are cluttered, full with dead and overgrown ugly plants. I would love to get this obscured also. 4. Sorry for my English! I try to do my best, but with long posts like this one... :-)

I live in a rural area that has no cat bylaws. I wrote my neighbor a very respectful letter outlining the damage her cats are doing in my yard . This is the second time I have asked her nicely . Her cats have sprayed all over my porch, defecated in my garden and dug up new lawn to use as a litterbox. I have had to reach my garden soil with gravel and pull out plants. The cats are now digging and defecating along the side of my house. I have tried to use humane deterrents to no avail . I agree on the trespassing but where I live you would have no chance of prosecution. I would have to go civilly and that costs a fortune. On top of all this, the person has dogs that are holding the neighborhood hostage . We contemplated selling our dream retirement home. My wife is in tears and she's my sweetie. We have been together 62 years.No one messes with my sweetie. I thought about the 1 plus 1 rule. Where the person violates one rule ...there must be other violations. I used to be in law enforcement ...its been a long time. I felt like that Clint Eastwood in Grand Torino....good movie . I am game for Fluffy's owner doing 15 to 20 in the slammer for 3 strikes, but I think civil liberties might have something to say about that. So am utilizing every bylaw and law to take this neighbor to task . So far , they will have to rip out fence they erected in greenbelt, rip down at least 4 encroaching buildings and redo the fencing.This neighbor is facing penalties for other issues that are going to cost them thousands of dollars. Bylaws is all over the dog situation and other neighbors are now fed up and on board with the whole operation . Oh yes, I should mention there is about to be a stop work order on a bunch of expensive renos this neighbor has done which should amount to thousands too. Do you feel lucky.....damn, I think that was Dirty Harry. I digress. There should be laws that require cat owners to keep them indoors or confined to their yard ( I don't really give a hoot how they accomplish this ...check out Pintrest or something) . I also think they should have mandatory licensing and rabies vaccines for cats...just like dogs. Maybe people also....too far? This neighbor also gets multiple cats of both genders and fails to spay or neuter them. This is reprehensible. Outdoor cats have a short lifepan here because of the wildlife , but this neighbor just gets new cats ( or they are being manufactured....who the heck knows) . It seems they are disposable. Disgusting because its just plain wrong . Did I mention that animal welfare is involved?I have no idea who called them ...my Motorola brick phone was on the fritz last week. I should really get one of those new fangled flip phones . Then I could post on Space Page...or is that Face Page ..or Face book....I am too old for this.. None of this is the animals' fault. This is about a totally irresponsible pet owner. Such people claim to be animal lovers . If they cared a whit about Fluffy, they would not let him out to get eaten by coyotes, pick up parasites or get run over by a car. Nope , these people are animal collectors ....big difference . They own the animal much like they own a Ford pickup or an instant pot or maybe a Grand Torino . So there you have it. For these neighbors, life is about to become very expensive . Fluffy and Fido are going to be very expensive . I can now clean up Fluffy's crap, pee and other bodily fluids with a sense of satisfaction.My sweetie feels a bit better now and she's back to making me those morning glory muffins with my coffee. Recipe is on Pintrest folks ...just reduce the cinnamon a tad. It gives me gas. This whole Fluffy and Fido thing ...this too shall pass. Just like the muffins . My grandson says I should just chill. I told him I just put on a sweater because my circulation bad.

I think Nearly Native Nursery in Fayetteville would have a lot of what you're interested in. They are closed for most of the month but will reopen after February 25th. I'll link their website below. They have azaleas and viburnums. I also found a couple of 3 gallon native azaleas at Home Depot last year (they had sweetshrub too, including the 'Athens' cultivar). Lazy K is near Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, by the way. I would not be surprised to find that Nearly Native gets their azaleas from Lazy K, many places do. Nearly Native also lists a couple of lesser known native evergreen shrubs: Dirca palustris and Osmanthus americanus. Check on wax myrtles too. I really like Illicium floridanum, but it can handle only morning sun. You can get some viburnums this weekend at the GNPS Symposium on Saturday. There will be a few there to tie in with the presentation on native viburnums. Suggestions for other sun perennials: Asclepias tuberosa (or other Asclepias, known as butterfly weed), Penstemon digitalis (beardtongue), Goldenrod (Solidago 'Fireworks' is a good one), Verbena canadensis 'Homestead Purple' (more of a ground cover), Mouse eyed coreopsis ('Nana') is a good performer. Here is a link that might be useful: Nearly Native nursery