first ... do NOT widen the sidewalk... it will look like another driveway ... second ... i am not sure this has been asked ... and i guide you to the opposite season you are talking about ... where will you pile snow in winter ... if you put in a bunch of foo foo plants ... that cant cope with being buried under 5 feet of shoveled snow ... it does snow in MA... doesnt it??? with the sidewalks ... front and doorway .... and the driveways... where exactly will you pile 5 feet of snow .. any chance you have a winter pic of the same area??? that would really answer.. what your options are.. with this space... beyond grass ... i am slightly amused by these peeps .. from z8 and 9 .... when i think of a cold white winter .. and what is an option under 5 feet of dirty.. salt encrusted snow ... [and dont get me wrong.. i think they have some great ideas ... ] its just the i lived in MI my whole life.. and i dont plant anything but grass.. for at least 4 feet on every side of pavement ... we have to do something with the snow.. if we plan on getting in and out of the house and driveway .... in jan/feb/march .. [and last winter.. late oct/nov/dec/jan/feb/march/april. crikey last winter just wouldnt go away ...] think year around to conceptualize the space you have .... and good luck ken ps: for 600 bucks.. i might drive to MA and do the job ...

Hello Bob, Seems like you have a fun project on your hands. I can't speak much to the plant selection, as I am from all the way up in Canada, but I would recommend considering a rock garden for under the trees with some native shade tolerant plants and a focal element. The rockery would play nicely off of the existing concrete walkway, would be low maintenance for you and would fill in the space where it is hard for things to grown anyways. You could then utilized the pre-existing lawn for the children to play. If you are selling after that 5 years, this would add some curb appeal, would be nice for potential buyers and is easily altered if it is undesirable for them. However, this recommendation does not consider where the house is in relation to the yard and your desired 'flow' or usage for the space. Just food for thought. Cheers, Kyle

The outdoor structure is attached to the house as part of the roof. Removing it will change the roof structure and incur a large expense. U can update the posts but those type are very common here in Southern California. U can paint white and add cone lights to the bottom to give more light. For your yard I believe in using space for whatever u need it. Seating areas are great u can always buy a bar if u don’t want to build one in. Matching your pavement is going to be a challenge because that pavement is from the 60s. I do see play equipment. You could do synthetic if u don’t have a dog and u can always put chairs and a bar on synthetic. Also it is unsafe to put a charcoal grill under a structure. We have to put in vent hoods if we put a grill in and our grills are gas not charcoal.

Frankly your home is gorgeous and fits into the landscape nicely already, so no need to "guild the lily" and right now what you have is relatively low maintenance. The low fence is a little primitive, but could be replaced by something similar only nicer. I imagine that is to guide cars into the driveway? Otherwise not really needed. And I will add my voice to "no" on the white stones. Why call attention to gravel with such a high contrast color? If you want white, a gorgeous white flowering dogwood that you put a deer fence around until it is grown up enough to take it, or spray religiously with "Deer Off" as Marymd suggested.