"I agree that the tree needs pruning for shape, but I think in this case Yardvaark's drawing shows it pruned far too high for what I find attractive in that type of tree which looks like an ornamental fruit tree of some type. I would get a professional arborist (not a landscaper who may or may not have a clue about pruning) to come help you with the pruning." This position represents a fundamental, philosophical difference in our thinking. In one school of thought, the landscape is a functional artwork. In the other, it is a display for horticultural efforts. In the latter, the bottom of the canopy (how high the tree is pruned) depends on the type of tree it is. And this depends upon a somewhat arbitrary convention promoted by horticulturalists, arborists and the like.) Presumably, the criteria would have to do with plant health, function and that sort of thing. In the landscape school of thought I subscribe to, the landscape is a specialized garden. It is a combination of art and engineering that is no more than additional construction onto a building (in the case where a building is present and is the centerpiece of the work) but with different materials that are durable for the outdoors. To me a building and a yard is at the service of the human body, especially the head. It is the height of the head that regulates the placement of a ceiling. While some people are shorter and some are taller, it has been decided long ago that ceilings are much nicer when they are several feet above one's head. When money is no object, clearly, people's preference is for higher ceilings, not lower. Short people are lucky in that ceilings, for them, are always a little higher. Tall people complain when ceilings are too short. To me, landscape plants are not objects which must conform to some professional's preconceived notion of what they are supposed to be; they are materials with a built-in plastic capability with a given range of potential. If they are used in a common garden, it hardly matters (except to a professional's opinion) how the owner chooses to form and shape them. In most cases, they are left alone to "do their thing" ... which people have a tendency to accept as the "proper" potential for a given plant. But in landscape gardens, trees and plants are first doing jobs, and then looking beautiful. A primary job of a tree is to provide a ceiling. The objective in selecting landscape plants is to match their plastic potential to one's need and desire for a given size, form, shape and structure. Given that I think of trees mostly as small accessory buildings with domed roofs -- the bottom of which is a ceiling -- I find it absurd that a ceiling would be placed at the height of one's thighs (as it is above)! Or waist, chest, eyes ... or even scraping the top of their head! It is much better placed OVER one's head, with plenty of room to spare, since humans jump and wave their arms. We have not even touched on the fact that houses have faces and low ceilings generally tend to obscure them. With my viewing landscapes as essentially FUNCTIONAL spaces, SUBORDINATE to buildings, it does not seem to me that obscuring the building face (as long as it is attractive) is good idea. A little is OK and it goes a long way. The more beautiful a building is, the less it needs obfuscation from foliage. While I'll agree that landscapers sometimes don't have great ideas about pruning (even basic practices) I will argue that when it comes to the landscape garden, sometimes the so-called pros (horticulturalists, arborists) do not take into account the overall, big picture objective of a particular plant's job and how it best fits in.

Ruth, I will tell you a simple way to make a bed. Just get a tape measure and mark off an equal distance from the wall of the house, say five feet. Then cut and remove the grass on that line. Since the bed is already there I would measure it at its deepest and use that distance down the length of the house. Like this:I like the more rounded bed around the tree so I would leave that. I am not a fan of anything over five or six inches growing forward of the path so if it were my garden I would reseed grass in the cut out strip that follows the path to the driveway. On the South side of the house I would straighten out the lawn strip like below. I am a big fawn of lawn so this is what I would do. Another alternative is to remove it from the area and install groundcover. I did not take the time to fill in along the path but it is what I would want. As you can see, I am not a professional. These are just my personal tastes.

I would keep the deck, your window layout may look a bit weird without it there. My eye didn't go to your front door immediately, so I would put plants along your new sidewalk. Since it seems you get a lot of shade (and I don't know where you live), I would ask the local gardening store what may look good and would be green year round. Boxwoods get pretty big but they are a hearty plant. I would also check out Home & Garden online, they have some great ideas for pathway planting for both annuals and perennials. I would edge the walkway with plants, put two tall pots to flank the front door and I would also consider hanging some ferns or other greenery under your deck.

I would take out everything in front of the window (especially the two anchor shrubs that are too big and don’t look healthy) and do a sweeping, curved bed from the corner of the sidewalk to the corner of the house. I’d do a mixture of shrubs, perennials, grasses, and/or annuals ... with a bench, birdbath, our native Tx stones, or something else decorative for interest. There are lots of plants that would love the dappled Texas shade. Local nurseries (not big box stores) should be good resources to get advice and ideas for his exact area. I’d get rid of the low palm, it needs more sun and looks like it got winter damaged. Maybe move it? The front door looks nice, I wouldn’t paint it. For the front door area, he could do plants for color, or grasses if he likes a more monochromatic look. Extend the plantings around to the garage. I really like the atrium-look plants there give. Impatiens, Caladiums, Liriope: Mexican Feather Grass: This is a lame mock-up, not the surface, color, or design I’d use, but wanted to show an idea if he widened the walkway. My app choices are limited. :) Only my opinion, but I like keeping beds there better, to soften up and add interest to all the hard surfaces. Usually I’m all for widening walks, but in this case, I think it’s too much hardscaping for this particular area. He might prefer it to beds, though.