You people are great! So much input and so fast. So here's a little more info on what I'm thinking: - Privacy: We would like to have privacy in the yard. The windows are not an issue. We are in the yard a lot as soon as it's nice enough outside and practically have every meal outside. The neighbors use their yard not as much but often enough, the lady runs a day care out of her house, and they mainly use their back entrance for coming and going. Right now it's so open you bascially cannot not say Hi. And while they are nice, I'd like to have the option of ignoring them once in a while without seeming rude. :) So I guess, we don't need a castle just more view protection from their yard/walkway into our yard, especially our sitting area and my hammock. A picture of the other side of the yard from early summer so you can imagine the whole thing. On the patch of concrete in front of the hammock is now a table with 6 chairs. As you can see there's not so much sheltering us from the other neighbor either, but it's not so bad. The impression is different because of the oak tree "ceiling" and the rose bush (hard to see, it's hidden behind the tree from this perspective). And I've had some annual climbers grown on 5 ft supports. They came with the house and are not pretty but for now they'll do. Also, the neighbor is never in the yard and we rarely see him coming or going... Walkway: The first thing I wanted to get rid off was this ugly concrete path, especially since it cuts the yard in half like that. But after I figured out how much it would cost to remove the concrete and then to put down a more appealing alternative, and into how many plants/other yard structures that would convert, my plan for now is to try to develop a plan around the existing walkway, maybe add arches for depth, a focal point in the middle of the pathway, have the "rooms" go off to the side of the path, and stain the concrete a dark color. No lawn yard: I'm really in a total starting phase. I went outside and measured everything yesterday. When I get it on graphing paper and some ideas down I will run it by you guys. So far the following ideas are floating in my head: Since it would be better if the pathway could stay, my thought was to go with the geometry of the space (square) and have square four rooms that go off from the path. The patio will stay where it is. It's convenient too because of the shade from the oak tree. I would like to make the hammock area into a retreat corner. Surrounding vegetation for that should be at least chest high. For the back right side there are a few things in my head but nothing concrete yet. It has the most sun. A sitting spot with a rockgarden. Or with perennials centering around peonies. Or... On the left side the front may be kept open for a child play area maybe with sandbox. I may actually keep the lawn there or replace it with a no mow stepable groundcover. But I would want to widen the flowerbed or planting area next to the fence at least a few feet. Then something to divide the "childplay room" from the back left. I was thinking of a veggie garden there since it gets decent sun, but I'm not yet sure how much we'll be here enough during the crictical months of the summer. It may have to be a yard to be enjoyed in early and late summer. If not veggies, then I don't know yet. All this hasn't been scatched out so I have no idea if I'm trying to cram much too much into our small yard and should depart from the four room idea. Fence: It's stained from what I can tell. And it's worn off in quite a few places. I'm from Germany and I don't know what people do with the fences here in this climate. I'll find out. Re: the privacy issue so far I like the idea of supports that maybe mimmick the shape of the pickets maybe just part of the whole length. I worry that posts and wires will not look good. I will also look into tall, narrow pergolas, but I find the structures usually too "heavy" for our little yard. Or just plain ugly looking. ;) But maybe there are some out there that could fit the bill. Karin, what would you do if the pathway was to stay? I liked your thinking, I just don't think it's in the budget... Hmh... lots to think about... Thanks so much already. And keep it coming.

The groundcover you choose will depend on where you are and your requirements. If you have a mulched path through the side yard, then your options open a little to include a groundcover not especially tolerant of being walked on. If you have no mulched path, you'd need a more durable groundcover. It should be low whatever it is. The Hostas at the house are fine. Make the bed for them deeper and plant/increase them such that they are less spotty. Instead of with a fence, you could screen with a tallish hedge or an extended trellis of vine. Either will require light in order to grow well, and space (especially the hedge.) The trees then present a problem because they've been allowed to grow with those low limbs, which will be in the way and will add shade. No doubt, the tree would have had vastly better form had these been removed when young. We can't see the tree's head so no opinion on the form if these were removed now. But since it's the side yard, it's probably not too critical. Too, your neighbor's tree has low branches/limbs hanging over the property line and these will add more shade. You have the right to remove these back to the property line, whether your neighbor agrees with it or not, as he cannot control your property by placing things in it. Most people would be polite and inform him of their desire to remove the limbs and give him the opportunity to do it himself, if he wished. You'll need the light in order to succeed with your project. If you don't have it, new plantings will likely just eke by, looking weak and thin.

Even narrow evergreens will take up quite a bit of what little space there is, arborvitae might be ok if there are smaller types. I'd consider a nice fence along which to plant some perennials. Edit the messy looking stuff in front of the house, maybe put a hydrangea or japanese maple on the right side. It looks like a lot of shade, so it may be worth getting a garden design person to consult for an hour. I would not do shutters, the windows are too close together, IMO.

I'll try to find out more about the fence...at minimum it needs a 3' setback and no higher than 3'. Even a fence that is inside of the trees would create a small private space, I guess I need to consider whether or not that would be worth the cost. I need to find out if there is any possibility of a 5' fence. If I cannot install anything that would create real privacy, then I don't want to bother with a fence at all and would rather just get rid of the lawn and underplant the trees with shrubs/perennials/groundcovers to make the front and this side cohesive (but making this be clearly a side), widen the driveway, and put up a sign that tells people to go the front door around the corner I guess. Now that the plants have gotten overgrown, the door isn't visible to the street except at night when the light is on. Here are some photos of the front. Yes things have gotten overgrown, the style of this landscape when we moved in was that everything was a tight rectangle or ball. In the process of letting things get a more natural shape, it became very clear they are too close to the house so most or all of the foundation shrubs probably need to be taken out or hedged (dislike the hedging option). Also the lawn makes our water bill high and it's mainly there for the neighborhood dogs :-P So I want to take it all out. The house is a 60s suburban ranch style. The front of the house faces south, so again the shade is needed. BUT I dislike that the house is hidden AND at the same time it doesn't feel at all private. Some of the things I'm thinking of taking out: Both purple leaf plums are at the end of their lifespan according to the arborist, and the one I've "x"ed out has Ganoderma fungus at the base. She said the "x" tree could probably live a few more years so we've had it treated and will be cleaned up soon along with the other...buying some time while I dither over the landscape re-do. One idea I had was to flank the front entrance yard on either side of the house with 'Natchez' crape myrtles. We love them and they do very well here, and the arborist said we have enough space. I'd like to keep their canopy open and high so that we get shade without blocking the front of house! The "?" is a planting of two Feijoa sellowiana; they are too close to the front door walkway, and the walk needs redoing and to be less curved to the left. Right now they are dropping fruit daily. Currently undecided whether to remove the Feijoa, or cut them down and allow to regrow in a prettier vase form, or leave them alone and just raise the canopy and accept all the strange branching. Behind the Feijoa are four meyer lemons that have been hedged for years. The bases are 2.5' at most from the house. I'm thinking about taking out 3 and allowing one of the bushes on the left to grow into a small ornamental tree...but again it might just be too close to the house and needs to go. I am in the process of trying to hire a designer, but I want to be sure my expectations are realistic and I want to be able to be more clear/reasonable when I tell them what I'm looking for in a design. Barriers to a productive design, on my end, are that I'm indecisive and I cannot find an online example of a front corner like ours that is landscaped in a way I like, and I'm struggling with trusting someone to create something I'd like. Examples they've shown are either huge yards with more normal layouts, or corners that the front side connected to the back. One last goal I had for a re-design: all around the footprint of the house, about 4' from the foundation, are approximately 20 "moss rocks" that are about 2-3' in diameter. I'd really like to incorporate them as more a feature somehow. I wanted a designer to figure that out though, once they are moved we really don't want to move them again. Here's one example of a yard I quite like: