After researching gardenweb, we've decided on three Magnolia Janes on the the right side. We're still stuck on the left side though. I'm leaning toward viburnums or dogwoods but there are so many choices. We've narrowed the criteria to the following: 1. Must have both spring and fall interest. We like "snowball shaped" flowers or something that has larger flowers. Since we already have redbuds and the magnolias on the right side, we would prefer yellow or white flowers (yellow would probably look best against the siding). For fall, orange foilage would be prefered but something that really stands out would be great (the only trees/shrubs we have in front that show fall color are oaks planted along the street). Winter interest would be an added bonus. 2. Must thrive in shade. This side of the house faces mostly north so really only receives late afternoon sun. 3. Ideally it would be around 6' to 12' tall and 3' to 7' wide. Staggering the shrubs is an option where a path would go between two planted closer to the house and one to the outside. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I have a two story house with a narrow north yard that is one of my favorite areas to garden in. I've attached a picture below. I second the suggestions for caladiums and begonias. Also firespike will bloom in shade and can take the few hours of sun in the summer. I've been very successful with gingers, ferns, philodendrens. For color the tri-color stomanthe is pretty. And certainly ti plants and bromeliads. I also grow my fruit trees over there, strangely enough. I have avocado, mango and lychee that are all doing well and fruiting prolifically. I have brugmansia and brazilian plume also. For vines I have petrea (Queen's wreath) and rangoon creeper, but I think the rangoon creeper would like more sun - it hardly ever blooms. The star of the garden is a large tree fern, but I'm not sure if it would be too cold for that in Orlando. I have bananas that make nice filler, but haven't fruited, probably not enough sun. There are many shade loving palms - I have licuala and metallica palms. Oh, don't forget calatheas. And last but not least, tons of house plant-type things that I can't remember any of the names of, like cast iron plant, pepperomia, etc. Oh, and cannas and alocasias (elephant ears, etc). Hope this gives you lots of ideas to get started. I love the north side because it's always the coolest to work in, needs the least watering and everything grows like mad. These pictures were taken early this spring and now everything has grown so much I can barely get down the path.

We had a first floor master in the last house and I really miss it terribly. It was so convenient, even on my worst days I could easily get from the bedroom to the kitchen and living room, and the laundry was also on the first floor. The garage was a tuck-under so bringing in groceries and such was DH's job; we had planned to install a dumbwaiter. The fenced dog run was below the rear deck off the kitchen (on the walkout basement side), and it took the dog about one day to figure out that he had to scamper down the outside stairs to do his thing and back up when we called him. Our current house has all the bedrooms and the only full bath upstairs. I really wanted a single-story house and we looked hard for one but there was pretty much nothing in our (very low) price range that weren't either in a very bad location or in atrocious condition. We put an offer in on one ranch house on two acres in a nice neighborhood, we didn't get it although had DH not been in such a hurry we could have taken another swing at it because it came back on the market several weeks later at a lower price. :-( I don't know if we're going to stay here as long as DH thinks we will, although there's room for a small addition in the back to put in a downstairs bedroom (or an elevator) we'd probably be better off just moving at that point. Had there not been a half bath and laundry on the first floor we would never have even considered this house, since I don't much like going down to the dirt-floored cellar, and going upstairs every time I had to pee would just not be manageable. A second vacuum cleaner does solve the problem of hauling heavy vacuum cleaners up and down the stairs. If the cost of getting another vacuum is an issue, I discovered that vacuum cleaner repair shops often have a nice selection of perfectly good vacuums that people never picked up after a repair, which are usually sold for the cost of the repair bill.

I agree with Mattypies! I LOVE our 2 story great room, despite having a "small" house (1350 sq. ft.). Ours faces due south with 7' tall (4' wide) windows going up 2 floors and a vaulted ceiling to boot, but with a good supply of mature trees that leaf out beautifully in the early spring, protecting us from the UV and heat. We actually don't even have A/C and even with summer temps in the 104 degree temps in the summer, it's been super cosy. The key for us is that all of our windows open and we have TONS of great cross ventilation. The deciduous trees are leaf-less in the winter, and that means that we don't have to start heating the house until late in the year and get to turn the heat off in the early spring. We of course, went with high efficiency windows that are designed to improve heat penetration during the winter, and reduce it in the summer (sun angles). We don't have children yet, but the noisy even when all the nieces and nephews are over isn't very noticeable. We did Roxul Safe 'n Sound in all of our walls and floors, which I think made a huge difference, along with solid doors with a minimal gap under them. Plus rugs and plush couches. We *love* the way it feels like we're outside even when we're inside. The sun shines in during the winter, the birds sit on our window sills, and the breezes flows through in the summer. It's like being a part of the outdoors, instead of being in this little box of wood and drywall. Ick. Our heating costs have been LESS than our friends who have bungalows of the same size, and I'm certain it is because of the passive solar heating. A big fan in the middle of the vault, and using high quality insulation and proper attic ventilation, we haven't had any issue in the summertime either. We keep the 2nd floor doors closed during the hot days, and that helps keep the heat from entering. Not that it matters because one bedroom is on the north side and is quite cool year round, and the east-side master bedroom has 3 windows and a balcony door, so the evening breezes and a ceiling fan cool it down right quick. I think you REALLY need to think about the placement of all the rooms, and if you can capture the heat/cooling in the house. Go with what you love, not with what "everyone else likes". That's my biggest pet peeve; we build a house for someone else, not us. Why bother?? Just buy a used house and live with what everyone else liked.