I really, really like hrigsby's idea with the deck. Under the deck storage can be for kid stuff--they can keep their outside playthings there, from bikes and scooters to enormous waterguns. Enclose it and make it a closet. >I was thinking of doing climbing roses and clematis on the shed, but I want to develop a clear plan before I start buying plants. You are totally overthinking this. If you want the look of a clematis and rose-draped shed, get a clematis and a big climbing rose. Go to the species forum and ask for advice, and then go and buy your New Dawn rose and whatever clematis everyone's enthralled by now. Plant them. Mulch their roots so they don't get weedy. Done. You are not going to throw off the entire garden plan by choosing the wrong rose and the wrong clematis. The rock work on the shed foundation is awesome, but as far as plants go...could you possibly do worse? >The park-like look really appeals to me with mulched burmed beds, if that makes sense. Manicured, simple, orderly. You mean commercial and/or parks-and-rec sorts of plantings? This seems to be what you're saying--shaped hedges floating in seas of mulch... This takes a lot of weed killer and a BIG budget for mulch. It also will look, at best, like a rather nice office building. I think you might need more exposure to various kinds of gardens. What you're imagining is mass-maintenance, not low-maintenance. And it's unsuited to a home, though many builders of cookie-cutter homes throw in the cookie-cutter shrubs like this. >Photos of Japanese style gardens appeal to me also. Not low maintenance. >I also love the idea of attracting birds more. I have seen blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and morning doves. A water feature would be great but I don't think I want a pond. If you want a wildlife garden area, circle where you want it on your layout. Do you want to see it from the patio? From the windows of which room? I'd advise a prefabbed, plug-in type of water feature for low maintenance. Most are hideous. Some are nice. Eventually, you can find one you like. >We also love the idea of doing raspberry, blueberry, blackberry bushes for the kids and birds, but I hear the roots can be very invasive. Why didn't you go over to the fruit forum and ask? The very nice people there would have explained to you that you need a 2' deep root barrier for the raspberries but none for the blackberries. (The lazy way to do it is a 2' deep raised bed, but that may not be smart in your zone.) You will want to plant this either on the east or west side, parallel to the property line but with a pathway at least as wide as the mower. You want this on the OPPOSITE side of property than the wildlife garden, if you really want it for the kids. If you want it mostly for birds, there are better choices of plant--far more attractive for people. If you want several types of raspberry, each needs a 2' deep root barrier between them, or the more aggressive types will take over. The bed needs to be 2' wide. Mulch it well to prevent weeds. Each plant needs 3' of length along the bed. Put a hedge up along the other side, between you and your other neighbors, to reduce the feeling of exposure. As far as the existing arbs, I'd personally do a mixed shrub border, but I fear you will want an orderly row of evergreens that will do nothing to soften the shape of the yard and will grown unmanageably huge themselves in time. I can't really see the commercial berms and sterile plantings plus wildlife combination. It does not at all work in my mind.

Keystone paving would look cool and "Floridian" as a new pool coping, and if you have your heart set on new concrete, a rock-salt finish with some integral color pigment to tone down the glare can come close to replicating the look of Keystone. Large 2 or 4 foot square travertine tile pavers could also look quite elegant around the pool. The points made about glare off a lighter surface are valid, and something you should consider carefully as there is no shade over the pool deck. I wonder if the straight and rigid rows of single file Podocarpus are really the look you want, or whether you might prefer to loosen it up with a less architectural layout of shrubs or more trees over a wider border to soften the look. They probably are way over-planted, I usually would plant these as minimum 3 to 4 foot on center spacing for a hedge. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the expressed concerns of Podocarpus being a messy choice; they actually hold on to their foliage better than most evergreen shrubs, but will require regular trimming if you intend them as a hedge. I'd be tempted to add some landscape interest by way of some low walls mixed with plantings to back the pool, and give a bit of privacy from golfers, and the street view in the direction of the air conditioner looks like it could use more layers of planting to make the pool less on view from the street. Maybe the open and uncluttered sight lines with the palms and the new border plantings of hedges is exactly what you prefer, but it looks rigid and sterile to me. I might suggest you look into some of the books published on the work of Florida landscape architect Raymond Jungles to see what high end south Florida landscaping around pools can achieve, there are two books on his body of work in my own personal library, and I really enjoy his sense of style and design principles in a Florida setting. Given all that hot sun in Florida, I'd probably also look into incorporating some sort of open shade pergola/arbor at one side or other of the pool, with some flowering vines to soften it. My landscape vision for your setting would continue the palms theme with more tropical foliage and flowers such as Heliconias, some flowering trees such as Tabebuias argentea, Xanthostemon chrysanthus or Delonix regia or similar, and masses of flowering shrubs with lots of flower or foliage color, bromeliads such as Aechmea blanchetiana, Neoregelias, Hohenbergias or Portea petropoliteana planted in mass with contrasting ground covers such as Setcreasea pallida or Euphorbia milli. On the other hand, water use is also a concern in Florida, and you may want to concentrate on converting your existing landscape to one that uses more drought tolerant plantings and Florida native plants, rather than more water loving tropicals.

Hi We live near the water/marshes and have the same problem. I do notice that when we had small trees and bushes around our house that we had more mosquitoes. But that is not what brings them, I think just the humidity in the summer brings them. Not sure really. I do spray every week though. Here is what I do. I take a few garlic cloves and a cheap oil, like veg. oil and put it in a tupperware. Maybe around 1/2 cup of oil. I let it sit for a day and then my husband puts it in a sprayer with water and sprays it all around. We never have problems anymore. Last year a guy was going around with his company card, he sprayed for mosquitoes. His natural way because he had 2 ways, was garlic. It really works. Try it. Its cheap and so easy to do. Can I ask you something? we have a salt inground pool also. We have tons of raccoons!!! we still have our cover on but I can see raccoon prints already, they are here every night. In the summer they sit on the edge of our pool and make a mess. You too???? deezie

Ah, I see you're in Alabama; didn't catch that before. You must be at the southern edge of their range. In November we visited our daughter and son-in-law who had moved to Alabama in July, just south of Birmingham and I think I've seen enough crepe myrtle now to last the rest of my life. Nikko-O - Sherry is right about not trying to do it all at once. It's good to have an overall scheme in mind, and add according to that general scheme, knowing that you may have to make adjustments along the way. There are a couple of books you might look for in your local library: Native Plants of the Northeast by Donald Leopold (assuming you are in the northeast), The Layered Garden by David Culp, and The Living Landscape by Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke. Any of these, or even some photos from them that might show up in an online review, might prove very inspirational for you. One of the things I love about gardening is the opportunity to be creative and resourceful. Enjoy the process!