Hi everyone,

Im taking a shot at posting multiple areas of the yard for our new build that need help. If the photos don't work I'll take new ones. Thanks for the guidance!

background:. We built a new farmhouse style home last year. The interior style is traditional - not rustic. We are on 60 acres of family land, but what we aren't currently using is farmed. There is about 5 acres of woods in between the house and the road, so you can't see the house directly in front from the road. I think it's about 900 ft driveway. But you can see the back of the house diagonal from the road at a distance. We are zone 6b. We are a family with two small, active kiddos.

Future yard plans include building a pole barn southeast of house in the next year. A large garden will be planted in front of barn area south of house, and I hope to do my butterfly garden landscaping in the area around the barn. On the southeast side of the house not pictured below we have a hill area to walkout basement that overlooks the lake. This will be a patio area, terraced or something similar with steps down to walkout. That project is at least five years down the road.

Project goals:. Create a cohesive landscape that matches the house. I would love for it to feel like the house and gardens have been there for 100 years. Must use rock, no mulch close to house. Low maintenance plantings, some moderate is fine. Deer/critter resistant plant materials. I love flowering plants and having evergreen materials. Figure out where to plant some trees given restrictions.

Front entry goals: make this area inviting and interesting. There is a gravel parking area for two cars at the top of drive. It is connected with the curvy sidewalk to front door. I'd love if the landscaping can help hide the wavy sidewalk. I wasn't here when they did the forms and this is what I got, I'm trying to work with it. People do actually use our front door, and I'd like to encourage that as much as possible.

Front entry is western facing. We use the porch almost daily for eating and relaxing.

Left of the above photo. This flat area will have a playset installed next year. The two gray dots in grass in front of parking area are our cistern caps. Due to the cisterns, not much can be planted in this flat part. (Tree roots might interfere with concrete, can't take that risk with our water supply :) Far end of the flat part is our septic area, no plantings there for same reason. I do have an order of about 100 daffodil bulbs coming this fall, and along the woods hope to just have a huge mass planting of daffodils.

Farther left, parking area at top of drive

Here's the plan my current landscape company did if it helps with layout. I'm not tied to anything in it

Taken from top of driveway, what you see as approach house, parking area is immediately at top of drive