Hi All - Yup, I'm still here. I just love looking at the pictures and savoring all the ideas... and I don't want to miss anything, so I keep coming back! :) I'm traveling right now though, so I've had much more limited access to my computer. As for the plant hardiness zone, I am in southern NH and it is generally considered 5-6 around here (NH does have zones down to 3, but those are pretty far north and probably higher in elevation too). Dogwoods should do nicely around here and there should be plenty to pick from at the garden centers. Can't wait 'til I get home so I can see what I can get started on. I'll probably have to start with planning the plantings since the screen porch is currently the workshop for the power tools needed to fix the interior issues. Thanks for the links and for the advice for copying the photos. I think I will get started on that tonight! I'm sure many others on the forum would agree that your work here should be immortalized forever... not deleted after a few months. :) Thanks! -Paula

Are you on well water? Is your water from the Quabbin (Mass. Water Resource Authority) or a Town aquifer or local source ? Does your town or city have water restrictions in place right now? If I were starting a garden in MA (or several other parts of the country) I'd plant taking increased drought as a given. We've had less snow and less rain over the past decade. I'm not saying you need to plant yucca and desert plants; just don't buy really expensive trees that cannot go more than 3 weeks without watering. Here in Lexington MA, even with the MWRA (Quabbin reservoir) as a water source, we've been asked to 'scale back' water use because of severe pressure drop. I have a katsura and belatedly found out it does not like dryness when it dropped its leaves a month and half ago. I have several other trees I'm not willing to let die because of drought. I'm sure our water bill will be in the thousands this year. If nothing else, I hope this post drives home the fact that choosing landscaping materials appropriate to your climate and environment is part of design considerations.

Well this is really crazy! There have been over 30 responses to my post since Saturday and I've provided additional pictures. Now I see just this one response, which wasn't there as part of the other 30+! What's going on? Something happening with Houzz/THS? Judy, thank you for your comments. It's actually a former lake-front cottage that has been changed/added to over the years. I agree that I could be mistaken for a farmhouse, but it's not. And, unfortunately, it's vinyl-sided; the color is what it is. But yes, we're open to changing the color of the porch, railings, and stairs. I sure hope that the rest of the thread reappears. I need it!

While it will shrink your side yard, you might consider planting a couple of rows of cedar trees or other evergreen trees or shrubs )that keep their leaves year round) to create a "green fence" between the railroad track and your home. Not sure it would help with the sound but it certainly wouldn't hurt. After you plant the first row, plant the second row with those trees/shrubs blocking the view of any space between that first row.