While play sets are great, they are expensive and do take up space . . . And you can always take your kids to a playground. You can't take them to a sandbox (well, unless you live near the beach), nor can you take them to a trampoline. My kids had a single swing on a tree branch, and it was heavily used for YEARS. They also had a Little Tikes slide. They didn't use it for years, but they did use it intensely around 1.5-2.5 years. Literally, they'd slide, the run around to slide again . . . Maybe 50 times in a row. Somehow it was a big confidence builder. Lots of playtime for something that cost $2 at a yard sale . . . And then went to younger nieces and nephews. Ditto for the sandbox. My kids used it, used it, used it. You can get one with a lid. When I have grandchildren, I think I'll build a really big, really fine sandbox. My kids did love it so. I don't remember sand in the house being an issue, but we didn't keep the sandbox particularly near the back door, so the sand had space to fall off. When our kids were in elementary school, my husband bought a trampoline, which he said had been his favorite toy growing up. No other toy was used as much for as many years as that trampoline. They jumped on it every single day, they'd lay on it and read. They even slept out on it a couple times. We did make strict rules about shoes and multiple jumpers. And we didn't allow them to bring the dog up (for fear her claws would cut the material and/or the dog would break her legs jumping off). You do need some kind of a step to help the kids access the trampoline, and I'd recommend a safety net.

For inexpensive healthy plants, Santa Rosa Gardens has a good reputation for perennials, and you may get other recommendations on the perennials forum. Ask on the Hosta forum for recommendations for healthy virus-free suppliers of hosta that don't need to be the latest new plant. Regardless, before buying from any mail order nursery, check Garden Watchdog for reviews since often inexperienced gardeners (including me at an earlier point in my gardening hobby) order from nurseries that send poor quality or dying plants. On the left side of the linked page, type in the nursery's name to get their reviews. There is also a space where you can type in your zipcode or the zips of nearby towns to see what nurseries are in your area. In my neck of the woods, which is quite rural, there are a surprising number of nurseries if I want to drive a bit. Local plants will usually be larger due to the cost of mailing large plants, so I mail order unusual plants and ones that I can't find locally, and buy everything else locally. Often a short ornamental fence or a temporary fence can be used to train a dog to not use garden areas for play or toileting areas, though a vigilant eye may be needed when the fence comes down. I tend to use a wider mix of plants where I will be near the garden to enjoy it, but in a garden I only view from a distance, I am more likely to use massed plants for better effect. Both styles have uses.

I am with Dottie that you would do well to plant next fall (mid-September to late October in your zone) to allow root growth but have less stress on the plants due to shorter, cooler days. Regardless of what you plant, it will need regular water until the ground freezes. This season you can evaluate the site and plan so that you are ready come fall. I also agree with Dottie about voles - you could ask on the perennial forum or on the shrub forum (whatever type of plant you end up with) for suggestions that seem less attractive to voles. Most types of deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) are hardy to zone 7, so not an option for you, though there are some types rated for colder temperatures such as 'Kashmir', 'Shalimar' and 'Polar Winter'. I'd check around at local garden centers, botanical gardens, and arboretums to see if anyone has local information as to how they do before planting them. It's tough having a borderline hardy tree that does well for several years and then is half-killed during a particularly cold winter. My inclination would be to plant native plants or ones that you are sure don't have escapist tendencies since you are on the edge woodlands, and plants such as ivy or vinca can grow into the woods, disrupting the native plants. You may find that you have already existing woodland spring wildflowers when you go into the woods in the spring. (Be aware that spring is the worst time for ticks, though they around all of the warm season, so get in the habit of doing a careful check of clothes whenever you have been out in the yard, and of your entire body at least once a day if you have been outside at all. It takes a few minutes, but I include it in my bedtime routine and haven't had an embedded tick yet, though I find them on my skin and clothes often.) Light levels: If you plant the slope with typical meadow wildflowers, you may have mixed results, depending on the amount of sun you have. Something like Rudbeckia is really a sun flower, and so may not do particularly well there. I would start taking photos at 8:00, 10, noon, 2, and 4:00. Do this at the spring solstice (mid-March, 1st day of spring), and about once a month up until the summer solstice (mid-June, 1st day of summer.) This will give you a good idea of how much sun you actually get there. If you want to try Rudbeckia, I'd go ahead and do that this spring since it will establish better with less established grass. By planting time, you may have a pretty good idea of how much sun the area gets. Water and nutrients: You might want to ID the trees along the top of the slope; depending on what you have, they may send out more or fewer shallow roots into the slope area to compete with whatever you plant. I say this because they look to me like red maples, which have fast-growing shallow roots and will compete for water and nutrients with whatever you plant. So the sooner you plant, the sooner what you plant gets established enough to be able to compete with the red maples. If you have oaks, they won't be an issue since their roots are deeper. Watch the slope and see how water levels fluctuate over the year. If it is a recently cut bank, the soil may actually be subsoil and benefit from adding organic matter to the surface, or there may be springs that will cause problems if not addressed. I'd also get a soil test done (Cornell U does them among other places) to see what will grow well in your soil. For instance, that might be a lovely place for some rhododendrons, but only if you have acid soil. Mowing: If you end up deciding to keep this meadow, it will need mowing 2-4 times a year with a brush mower to keep out woody plants. In my area those woodies include sweet fern, red maple, staghorn, sumac, white pine, black cherry, all of which like open areas for their seedlings. Seeds will blow in or be brought in by animals, and some of them will start growing, often including non-native invasives such as buckthorn, bittersweet, barberry, burning bush, and Japanese honeysuckle. In the northeast and Great Lakes area, unmowed areas will always turn into forest eventually, so you want to mow to prevent the process from getting started. In our field we time mowings to allow the ground-nesting birds' chicks to hatch undisturbed (turkeys are our most frequent ground nesters), and to allow certain plants to bloom, but for a chunk of time it is just mowed field. You can time one of your mowings for early fall just before the leaves change color, which will allow flower seeds to ripen but prevent baby trees from storing nutrients. Your landscaper may have access to a brush mower to do this for you. Regardless, the part you keep for sledding will need either regular mowed grass or the periodic Consider a mixed shrub border for the less steep part of the slope. I have one that is heavily mulched or groundcovers between plants and edged to keep out grass, and I only spend a few hours a year (perhaps an hour a month) weeding it, and it's probably about 15'x70'. It provides blooms, varied summer foliage, winter evergreens and berries, and colorful fall foliage for very little maintenance work. In the late fall or early spring I use hedge clippers to whack off the perennials and clematis to ground level. This one is full sun, but I have others in less than half day sun with a mix of shrubs and a few perennials, also edged and heavily mulched. This one is about 5 years old. Fall Spring early Winter So you have lots of options, but specific plant recommendations depend on your goals, your soil, and your sun levels.

John - first, congratulations on selecting this excellent property. second - I would follow the wise advice from kentc, to live in the house for a while before making any major changes. I like the advice from NHB, and would like to see the hedge or continuous growth along the drive remain, just transplant some of those rounded mounds behind it in order to spoil the formality of the repetition. For anyone to help you with the backyard, they would need to know who will be living in the house, how you plan to entertain visitors, if you will be conducting business within these walls. What activities each member of the family hopes to perform in this new setting, with ample room for sport courts, swimming, exercise equipment, dining areas, cookouts, vegetable & herb gardens, small greenhouse, dog yard, horse barn. Take your time. Analyze first then plan. The master plan that you prepare will be implemented in stages over the years, based on the available budget and the children's age. For instance, a preschooler will need a sandbox and swing-set within view of the kitchen and the office or study. In a few years this will be replaced by a lawn area for lawn sports like badminton, volleyball, croquet, corn-hole and the like. You are ambitions and will do an excellent job, all in good time. You might add a finer gravel to solidify the existing stone drive, and add asphalt as budget permits. Keeping the slopes to 10 percent or less will allow comfortable walking and bicycling up the hillside. A couple stone columns down at the drive entrance would be appropriate, along with a post lamp and the house number and maybe you will add a nickname in the future. I refer to my home as Hill House as it is in the town of Round Hill, which I enjoy when my GPS says "you are arriving at Hill House". Happy New Year, John, you have a lot to be thankful for.