Thanks for the ideas, all! I hadn't thought about inexpensive ways to obtain plants. I do have plenty of seeds for this year, but only for things like strawflower, cosmos, poppies, and other things that I wouldn't put in full shade. I'll have to look into some other options! Very smart of everyone to point out that I will want to get my landlord's permission. My husband and I are lucky to have an extremely easygoing landlord, who has an exceptionally hands-off policy (although it's not that lucky when we're on the hook for various household repairs. I think of it as training wheels for a house). I did ask for permission to garden, back when we were signing the lease, and he was happy that I wanted to do so. We have carte blanche except for doing things like tearing up the big, lovely lilac in the corner of the yard. I do have a bad track record with pots, especially in the summer since I can't seem to water them every day. I have two self-watering windowboxes, and those do well but still need to be watered about every 2 or 3 days. It's true that I can dig up anything I plant, to take with me later, but I'm already planning to do that with six roses, a rosemary, and a couple odds and ends in the back yard--so I don't want to overextend myself. So I guess, to get more specific, what are people's opinions--would you choose to move the daylilies and find something else to put in the bed, or leave the daylilies and try to make the beds look tidier with mulch and possibly companion plants? I know that neither option is "right" or "wrong," but I'd be interested in the opinions of folks that have much more gardening experience than I do. ;) Thanks again for all the thoughts so far!

Denise, I was going to ask if anyone had any suggestions on what to put in the place of the Magnolia. I don't think there's any way I could talk my husband into taking it out, but I was trying to figure out what would look good there just in case I did. I think the variety of Magnolia is Little Gem so it's not supposed to get big like the regular Magnolia, but I agree that it kind of blocks the view. I'm really not much of a tree person, which is why I was glad to get rid of the trees on the middle tier. I like planting flowers and the trees cause too much shade sometime. I would love to fill that center spot with daylilies and other flowers. I've been trying to get hubby to let me take out the Yaupon by the front door and put something lower growing. I would actually like to take out all of the yaupons, but I can't make up my mind what I would want there instead. We have a shorter stone wall in the backyard, so we had to do a little bit at a time also. Laurie

Doug, wow! Your illustration is so detailed and helps to give me a better idea of how to add some depth and dimension in the front. I'm really keen on the symmetry of your first sketch, with what I believe to be liriope? I honestly never thought about extending the retaining wall to the front elevation or adding steps. Thanks for taking the time to sketch up those concepts. This is likely the direction we will go as the stone from the existing retaining wall is also used for the pathway the leads from the driveway to the back patio and around the entire back of the house. In evaluating ground cover, Pachysandra is one I seemed to have overlooked. We have two huge maple trees at the very bottom of the front yard and don't want to plant anything that will pose a threat to them. Great suggestion there. What is a reasonable range to expect for a project of this scope? I understand every region and professional is different, among many other countless factors. Just wondering if this is $8k-$10k vs. $15k-$20k job.

Thanks... glad you like it! Yes that juniper is in trouble... I cut the smallest little root when I was installing the drip line into that planter and it looks like it is on the way out now. Oh well, a little mound of colorful succulents will go there now.