Great house! It's nice that your neighbor cares for your hostas, but that's because she loves them. Her likes or dislikes (of change, I should imagine) should have very little to do with your landscaping decision. What is more important: -how much time do you intend to spend maintaining your landscaping? -how much money do you have to spend installing it? -do you have access to reliable help or this a DIY project? Now, we DONÂT need to know these things - but they are what you need to ask yourself before you embark on anything big. I love ranch style and it has a lot of sculptural, vaguely Japanese influence to it, along with a good dose of Prairie architecture. Think about the visuals on that - the house is set off by landscaping around it, not obscured by oversized green balls, as is far too often the case. Your house is a beautiful architectural statement that is best emphasized by low-lying, long horizontals. You do not want anything to obscure those windows, since it not only loses precious light but also ruins the whole overall look of the house from the street. A ranch is a strong geometric statement - you want to co-exist with it, softening it gently without trying to compete with its rigid lines. What would work well is a fence, set back from the sidewalk. This kind of architecture loves an open-style, low-height fence that mimics the window design. Not a cottage-y picket fence, but a rail fence  remember, the wide-open Prairie influence rules here. The fence, set back about 4Â, would allow a sidewalk-facing bed with low- to mid-level plants and mini-shrubs for color and interest. Be very careful to pick plants that will work in your local region for as much 3- to 4-season interest as possible. Do not pick anything that gets over 3 in height. A small flowering tree with dark leaves would be very pretty in the LH corner, closer to the sidewalk than the house. This way you would have a full lawn running from inside the fence back to the house, keeping those windows unobscured except for roof overhang. I donÂt usually like clipped boxwood hedges but these kinds of houses cry out for that kind of geometric link betweeen the house and the grounds. IÂd put one running parallel to your driveway/walkway, leading visitors up to your front door. Keep the hedge low  never let it get over 3 in height. You have a lovely tree on the right  is that the Japanese maple? Establish a gently curved bed around it, and do some complementary plantings there for a surprise splash of color  and remember, color is not always about flowers! Consider interesting foliage; it has a soothing quality to it that interests the eye without tiring it. And that too adds to the overall architectural experience.

Yeah, I thought about some kind of pressure test, but from what I could tell, it would have taken some extensive repair work just to put the system back to a loop of some kind worthy of being tested. So, it's too late now anyway. The Base Board is gone. It really was a mess, and if I ever want to, I could always add some clean new radiators or base boards to the rooms that need it. That being said, I have a decision to make: Option #1 - Variable Speed Air Handler Model#FE4ANF003Twith a 3-Ton, 16 SEER 2 Stage Heat Pump with Air Conditioneing Unit Model#286BNA036. Option #2 - Variable Speed Air Handler Model#FE4ANF005Twith a 3-Ton,20 SEER Inverter Heat Pump with Air Conditioneing Unit Model#280ANV036 Both Systems Equiped with Evolution Zone Controls for 2-Zone Heating and Cooling System. 15 KW Heat Strip ect. Option to add Humidifier and Media Filter +$1,000. The installer did an operating cost analysis and it showed the Extreme System (20 SEER) being just a bit better in cooling, but $900/year less in heating. Which to I pick?

Argh. Photobucket is giving me fits this morning. Here is photograph of the fireplace in living room.

Could you add a current photo from the perspective of the first and last ones without the equipment and shrubs there so we can see the steps from head on? Also, I would love a photo of what is to each side of this photo, so standing in the same spot as the top photo, swing your body left and take a photo, and swing right and take a photo. Location of parking, the driveway, and trees which create shade are a few things that might influence the placement of plants and the walkway. If it is possible do this when the front of the house isn't in shadow or take the photo on a cloudy day or just use software to lighten the shadows in the photo, that will help. Removing the flat line of shrubs was a good choice, but you will want some shrubs, including some evergreens rather than just flowers in your new beds so there is some winter interest. Where are you (nearest large city) and what growing zone? What direction does the house face?