This also brings back a flashback of my own situation. I had been landscaping my backyard over the years, but in pieces and not as a whole landscape. This resulted in several disparate forms, a gazebo on a berm (circular), lawn (rectangle), and playset on bermed area (another rectangle). It wasn't until I saw a little side-bar snippet and drawing in Fine Gardening (don't remember the issue) that referenced "recieving forms". I posted here awhile back my excitement about this (see link to thread below). A recieving form is basically relating shapes to one another, be they bed shaped, lawn shapes or berm shapes so that the peices look that they "go" together, which unifies an area over a stretch of negative space. For example looking from space at the earth, it's easy to see how S. America (brazilian coast) can fit into the west coast of Africa. This type of re-structuring your lawn shape and bed shapes will help to bring together all of the areas of your backyard into pleasant spot. Also consider adding some berms for changes in elevation (assuming drainage won't be adversely impacted)to add some interest and aid in the recieving form effect. Here is a link that might be useful: Recieving forms

Yes, I agree not moonseed, looks like wild grapes. But since we are talking about eating wild plants, I just wanted to mention the look alike so the OP and anyone reading this post (and we both know there are plenty of those!) would know that not everything that looks like a wild grape might be a wild grape. I personally have never seen moonseed. Grapes, on the other hand... I live in a part of the US known for grapes and wine. Wild grapes grow every place. They are a common "weed" for me to deal with in gardens. Old vines in forests here get as thick as young tree trunks - you could swing on the vines like Tarzan! I would think nothing of using anything that looked like wild grapes. But I'm sure not everyone has the same situation, hence the word of caution. :) FataMorgana

Ok, I'm not sure I am reading your diagrams correctly so bear with me if I'm way off base. But it appears to me you are wasting a lot of space with so many paths, and overly narrow paths at that, just to have so many different beds. So my first question would be why so many beds? More beds is not necessarily more productive or more useful than fewer but bigger beds would be. Is the E-W directional placement of the beds what is limiting you? If so, then that isn't any sort of absolute "law". Lots of gardeners use N-S beds quite successfully and they can be easy to compensate for the direction by arranging plantings and crop rotation. And it would appear that in your case using a N-S orientation would allow for a much more effective use of space. 3' or 4' wide beds that could be 12, 14, or even 18 feet long. For example using Version 7 diagram, one 3x14 foot long bed could abutt up to the patio edge on one side and you'd have a 3' path between it and the green tree band on the east. Follow m? 1' wide paths are basically useless for any practical purposes and 2' paths aren't much better. You'll live to regret those narrow spaces. So on the south side, if you feel you MUST run E-w then combine some of those many tiny beds into fewer larger ones OR make 2 N-S beds that are 4'x-24' long with 3 foot wide paths all around. Much less wasted space, more growing space, essentially the same amount of fill required, and I would argue more attractive than having a bunch of tiny little beds crammed together. Make sense? Dave

Hi Nancy, I got a kick out of your fake owl and it reminded me of an incident here about 6 months ago. Looking thru a magazine one day I spotted an ad for a solar powered plastic owl that lit up at night, supposed to be good for keeping critters away. So I ordered it, - a very real looking, white plastic owl with a small solar panel sticking out it's butt. I mounted it on the plastic spike it came with in the rear of my backyard and let it do it's thing for almost a month,..every night the 10 inch tall owl lit up bright as can be ! Then it happened ! My next door neighbor had a huge 50 ft tall pine tree on his front lawn and it was constantly inhabited by two big, and very real, dark brown owls. One night as I slept I was shocked awake by loud shouting in my backyard, coming from my owls area. It was a rapid squawking sound,.." HOOT, HOOT, HOOT, ETC, ETC " It initially had me confused, but then I realized what must be happening. The two neighboring, real life owls got sick and tired of this new guy next door who was arrogantly flaunting himself at night and also very unfriendly,..never flying over to introduce himself, etc. That loud squawking went on for almost 10 minutes, - then silence and I could get back to sleep. The two real owls obviously flew away, satisfied that they had put my guy in his place. Next morning I went out back and saw my guy was tilted off center a bit & slightly scratched, but otherwise OK. Not wanting anymore night time fights ( my neighbor & his wife heard it too ), I pulled my plastic solar owl out of the ground and stashed him in a shed for good. A time or two after that I'd go outside and see one or both of the live owls sitting high up in that pine tree, looking down at me. I could swear one gave me " the feather " one time ! A true story, honestly ! ( smile )