Hi there, Thank you both for your comments. Tibs - I was thinking of the vine idea too. I can come up with a few ideas to hide the fence, short and long term. But my DH really has a hate-on for chain link. :-) As to the steps, we plan to paint them, but haven't determined colours yet. The house is glass stucco, which reads a drab grayish colour from a distance. But close up, you can see all kinds of colours in the glass - cobalt blue, white, black, green, etc. I'm trying to come up with a colour scheme that will highlight more of the desirable colours in the glass, which for me is the blue/green tones. Once I figure that out, we'll repaint the window trim, stairs, railings, eaves, and drain pipes, etc. Any suggestions? Karin -- I don't mind some yard maintenance, as I like gardening. But with a toddler, I don't want to get too ambitious right now. I'm thinking the patio will run along the fence with the neighbour, which you can see on the left side of the first photo. You can also see our back door porch and garage in this photo. Right now, there are a just a few stepping stones leading from the back porch to the garage/back gate. You can just see them in the second photo on the bottom left.

http://www.spray-onvinyl.com/ We have an old farm house that was built in 1897 that we considered using a spray on vinyl for. Our elements are not as harsh as a beach enviromant, with wind, sand and salt. We ended up having to replace all the siding with hardie plank and painted it, rather than pre-finished color. There are other companies besides this one, but it is something to look into to protect all that siding. Good Luck

emmarene - Thank you- I loved the suggestion for Iberis; have never grown (or noticed it). It sounds wonderful and I will be looking for some. You're right about the size - my hydrangeas to the left of the front door are 6' wide and they're brushing the side of the house. Yes, I think I could be happy with only perennials. However, I have learned to listen to the expertise on this forum. Most of my favorite features in our kitchen came from suggestions and input here. mad_gallica - I went outside and measured the add'l 5 feet and yes, the difference is not significant. Thank you for the clear direction. I like your suggestions but will need help on shrubs. I'm starting to get quite embarrassed about asking DH to start so close to the house. (Nothing worse than wasted time and effort, especially when the specs change-just not fair to him). Goal is to improve upon what we have. Today, driving around, I saw so many planting combinations which I disliked. What we have currently - single row - works. Here's a fall shot. What we put in should be much better (and yes, visible from the circle/street). You can see that I'm trying to fill in empty spaces here (below the windows). Dug up so far is around 7 yards; we can buy a combination of screened loam and compost for $30/yard. My thinking now is to fill the existing hole; leave a strip (of rocky soil), and then start digging again. I still want to plant bulbs and perennials easily, so we'll continue the process of removal and fill. I still stand by my definition of rocky! Soil samples from the yard are barely a few inches deep, when I collect them. Digging a new hole can take 30 minutes for a new gallon perennial (used to use my mantis at times, too). But yes, if we're planting shrubs, with the backhoe, the process should be quite easy going forward (happy thought). Some of the rocks which were removed when we extended our foundation a few years ago are as large as 4' x 3' x 3'+, not negligible :) (Our contractor wanted to take them away 'for us' but I thanked him and said we would like to keep them). I have Chief Architect and also Sketchup; will make a scale drawing with a 10+ foot bed. (Excellent suggestion). Then will solicit input for shrubs.

I don't think you are looking at the big picture. Many or most things in landscaping are some sort of balancing act, weighing trade-offs ... benefits in one place vs. benefits in another. Having a tree outside a window, several feet away, does not mean blocking a view. It means seeing a tree trunk. While I drew a multi-trunk tree in the other picture, it would not preclude you from specifying a single-trunk tree, once you weigh all the factors. If you choose no tree, I think you will help ensure that the barren, industrial look prevails, instead of things looking a little homier, with a sense of shelter and protection that a tree canopy affords. A tree helps a home look nestled in instead of being cold, hard and just stuck on top of the ground. From the complete left to complete right of the house face, it's a long way to go unbroken by any foliage. I dare say there are quite a few forum participants who would want the view of your house nearly obliterated by many trees with low hanging foliage! I am not one of them and strive to avoid covering or obstructing architectural features. But to leave the upper portion of the architecture entirely naked seems a move in the opposite extreme, as though one's criteria were of that of a shut-in who never saw the outside, and thought it to be unimportant. It's better to strive for balance.