Sorry Richie, you're not getting your Hakuro Nishiki back, lol! But maybe jant is right. Just plant something, off to the left. If your neighbor never really looks back there, maybe she won't notice. Or maybe she'll like it. Of course, maybe she won't, but as you told me just the other day "you can always move it!" LOL! Another option is to plant something all along your property line with your next-door neighbor, and then turn that planting left into your garage at the boundary with the gold house. The problem there is that it will enclose your yard and may make it seem even smaller. Or wait a minute... maybe that's what you want - to enclose the back yard completely? I went back and re-read your post and I'm not sure now if you want to enclose the whole yard, or are more concerned with blocking out the gold house... :) Dee

We had a difficult time removing ivy (in fact, we're still in the process). We hired people to bring in a Kubota and rip out as much as possible. Then, we had to cut the large pieces with a machete and spray RoundUp into the cuts (don't bother spraying the leaves, the waxiness protects them). If you decide to spray instead of rip it up, you need to damage the leaves with a weedwacker before spraying or it will not penetrate. You might not have to hire someone, a pickaxe/shovel would work well. We had about 1/2 acre of the stuff and we're still removing it from our ancient maples. The elderly gentleman next door says that no one did anything with the ivy for at least 60 years. That being said, it was definitely worth it. We found so much debris in the post-ivy areas that could have hurt our dogs or children (broken glass, asbestos tile, etc.). Now there's so much more room to run around. Good luck and happy ivy hunting!

Thanks for the responses. Yaardvark, thanks for the comments. Did you mean by extend the patio, by creating more concrete block patio? I'm not a fan of the look of this and was thinking of either decking over top or demo'ing it. Good points on the left side of the fence. that's really only the area that gets good sunlight. I've grown stuff there before. Same with the right side of the fence.. basically anywhere where the house isn't creating shade. NHBabs, thanks for the comments. What other goals do you have? We want a functional space where we can enjoy with family, i.e. outside dinners, hanging out with friends, etc. Our boys are outside kids and run around with other kids on the block in the green space behind our house, they rarely enter our backyard. Outdoor cooking? Yes definetly. I was thinking of a bbq area with an overhang pergola for a bbq spot in that "nook" area beside the staircase. Privacy? Not really a concern, the tall cedars give us plenty of space. Of what is there, do you like it? (I am looking at that row of Arborvitae and wondering if they need to be there.) The cedars are nice and give us privacy, which we like. Are there views you want to enhance or block? No, there are no views. behind our backyard is a greenspace and walkway which gets quite a bit of traffic on weekends.. we want to keep people out of sight. What is your budget? (I am not asking for specifics, but you need to consider it.) $5-8K Does it make more sense to have the patio demo'ed or to put on a rail for safety and then do patio of similar blocks a step down? Yes, this was my thinking. I was actually thinking that lower area might make a nice small hot tub area. Would putting in a wood deck on piers over the storm drain and its steep grade give you more workable space? yes, this was another though of mine, the only problem is you would have to put up some sort of shade/blind as you will be quite high now looking over the neighbours yard. What general plant types/shapes, placed where, would give you what you want to soften the space, add ornament, and meet other functions (cutting garden, shade, privacy, etc)? All great points and worth thinking about. I need help with the design. This is where I lack skill and decision making. Floral_uk - my dad and I solarized the lawn last summer/fall, we put tarps over the whole lawn to kill everything off. Moss stayed though and as such it's very squishy and ya drainage appears to be an issue. The builders are garbage in my area and they basically just threw down a small amount of soil and sod over the back yard.. if I was keeping grass I'd consider redoing the drainage.

Either an experienced landscape designer or a landscape architect could work here. Ask around for recommendations, have a budget in mind that is reasonable for the work you want done (this doesn't sound like a job with a budget of a couple thousand dollars) and when you start talking with folks, ask for references and to see work they've done previously. Decide if your budget will let all the work happen at once or if you want to do some parts now such as hardscape and groundcover and will need to do the rest of the work in stages. Realize that timing is such that in many parts of the country, everyone is starting to think about work that they want done this season, so at this time of year you may find that professionals are fairly busy. Consider whether you can live with a season of something like mulch or a green cover crop or hydroseeded grass to hold the soil while plans are made by someone you really want to do the work or if you want construction to start this season.