Thank you Nell. Your feedback lets me know I am on the right track in my thinking. Yes this JM gets 8 to 10 feet. I am thinking of limbing up the dogwood and the larger crepe myrtle. The other two crepe myrtles, the smaller and the one by the stoop I plan to move and hope a friend will take them. I did start out trying to have some of everything and a lot of crepe myrtle, becuase I love them so. Now, rhythm through repetition is what I am seeking to do. The question is "what to repeat and where" ? That short crepe myrtle by the sidewalk is at its full size and it has already been forced from over the walk. I have two more euonymous boxwoods (the small shrub) to add to the four I have. Although I just added two of the three peonies, I have already decided that I want to move all three..probably to the backyard with the other 5 or 6 peonies there. I also plan to move the Camelia although I have read they resent being moved. I wonder if I should get another Euonymous greenspire (in front of window) or get something with a differnt shape and taller for either side. I have finally decided I cannot have some of everything so I will go with my favorites (front, back and side). I have to research the brick thing since I am not getting what you say. But allwork should move faster once I find some assistive labor. I simply do not want to do the really hard labor myself anymore. Thank you for your feedback..I really appreciate it.

Truthfully, it is easier to lay down a thick well-overlapped layer of newspapers or corrugated cardboard over the native soil, then cover this with several inches of new screened topsoil or (if you recently won the lottery) of soil-less mix, such as pro-mix. The newspapers/cardboard will eventually rot away, but before they do, the underlying weeds and vines will be killed. In the meanwhile, whatever you put on top of the new soil (or soil-less mix) whether it is grass seed or sod or annuals and perennials in a flower bed--whatever it is will have gotten a good start with no competition from the overgrown jungle. A couple of things to watch for: MOWING: Mow or string trim the existing vegetation until it's as LOW as it will go, before you start laying. WATER:You have to frequently water ANY new planting into the new soil/soil-less mix. For the first year, the roots of the new planting will not penetrate the underlying newspapers/cardboard, so the roots will be shallow and will require more water than if they were growing in deeper soil. By the middle of the second summer, you can dial down the watering, but until then, you really do have to water more frequently. (I myself would rather water than weed, however, I live in Wisconisin, where water is not rationed). If you are making a flower bed, you can cut down somewhat on the watering by adding a thick-ish mulch on top of the new surface, but for a lawn, you cannot mulch. ENOUGH THICKNESS: For this trick to work, you need a LOT of newspapers or cardboard. You can probably get the amount you need at a recycling center, or by going around and collecting from your neighbors on recycling day. You want at least 6-8 sheets of newspapers over each spot, and at least 2-3 inches of overlap. Corrugated in a single layer is enough, but the overlap will need to be more as the cardboard is stiffer. Watering the newspaper/corrugated helps stop if from blowing away, and helps soften it to assist with conforming to the local bumpyness of the ground. But, lay soil on top asap, anyhow, because even quite wet newspaper will dry faster than you think and take flight at even a small wind. AMOUNT OF SOIL: You want to add at least 1.5 inches, and 2" are better. This is a LOT of soil, so you might want to do this in sections, a little every day. QUALITY OF THE NEW SOIL: If the new soil delivered is of low quality, you are simply trading one bad soil for another. If your local landscaper offers different grades of soil, get the one with most compost already in it. That way, even if weeds do get started, they'll more easily pull out of a loose and fluffy soil than a crusted low-organic- matter soil. Or, if you can afford soil-less mix (easier to afford for a flower bed than a lawn) you will have no weed-seed problem. TIMING: Do all this AFTER tree-seed drop next spring, or you will be pulling out a million baby maples, elms, ash trees, whatever, out of your newly delivered soil. Some weed seeds will blow in on top no matter what you do, but by waiting until after tree-seed drop, you'll cut your weeding chores substantially.

Katie, One of the things you need to start, and it's practically free, is a compost pile and begin to compost your yard as you go along. As you cut your lawn, set your lawnmower on its highest setting and let the grass clipping remain on the lawn. This is the first step to amending your soil, feeding the worms and building up your soil. As your begin weeding your lawn you have a few choices. I chose the more difficult route, weeding by hand, it's time consuming but in the long run easier on the soil and the health of the critters that grow there and work on your behalf. Using chemicals is a fast and easy way to kill a lot of stuff (weeds) quickly, but it's expensive and the drawbacks are sometimes significant. Instead I took each weed and threw it back onto the lawn and let it get 'mulched' by the lawn mower. The same thing for produce, fruits and vegetables from your kitchen. I built a compost pile in my backyard and put most of my kitchen waste into this pile. I avoid any meats, bones and dairy, it gets rancid quickly and stinks - don't put any in your compost pile. I water the pile lightly once or twice a week and I feel the heat, well over 120 degrees, generating from the pile. In a few weeks, sometimes months, I get good rich compost which smells like rich soil, and put it back on the lawn. Another thing I like to do is to feed the worms. 'Them thar critters' are the real saviors of my lawn, so I feed them. A few times a week I get some kitchen produce, say a banana peel and a few leaves of lettuce which aren't edible and I throw it in a blender, fill it halfway with water and throw the contents onto the lawn. Same thing for potatoes and most fruit. I blend it for at least 30 seconds and the worms love it. Now and then I throw on some corn meal, just as a treat. I've managed to tick off my wife and I take about two cups of rabbit food and run it through a coffee grinder a few times a week, making a nice powder which I throw on my lawn. My worms love it. I picked up a 25 lb bag at WalMart for $7 and it's lasted me a few months. During the fall, when my neighbors rake up their leaves, I collect a bunch of those bags and store them over the winter, taking care to pull out any branches. I spray a little water in there and this makes a heckuva leaf mulch to mow a bag or two into my lawn in late fall. By the time spring rolls around the soil is nicely amended and is overseed ready! If you've saved a few bags and made the leaf mulch, you can sprinkle it over the overseeded parts of the lawn and it will help germinate the seeds, giving a richer, thicker lawn. This approach is relatively inexpensive, the greatest cost to me was the black garbage bags I store the leaves in and then the space to store them. I got some old pallets to build the compost pile, free at my supermarket. Just don't forget to turn the pile about once a week to make a uniform compost pile. If you keep at it, this isn't as much work as it sounds. In my lawn I've also used some more exotic stuff, all organic, avoiding the N-P-K approach as too commercialized (promoted by the seed and fertilizer companies). Take your time, let the worms do most of the work...

You may want to try a more appropriate forum like Home Decorating.