karinl- Regarding your suggestion to "Move the focus outward"...I wonder if we are thinking the same area? The dirt? While that sewer line collapse was an annoyance and financial burden at the time, it may prove beneficial as it is forcing us to do something with that area. I think this could make a huge difference. What do you see in that area that would "enhance the way the property and plantings frames and embraces the house"? What do you think about building it up some in an effort to gain some privacy? Can you picture doing something with 3 small trees...redbuds maybe, with something under them...not sure what, yet. Patty- I, also, have driven around in search of a ranch owner who has figured out how to enhance his ranch home. So far, it doesn't exist. I imagine there would be many others interested in a discussion focused on landscaping the ranch home! There are many other "very specific" forums on this site...why not one devoted to landscaping a particular style of house? But maybe it's only us ranch owners that have this problem...Some houses do seem to lend themselves more easily to a great looking yard. stevied- I read your second post this morning. Your thoughts must have stayed with me while driving to work. I noticed a house that had just what you are describing...it looked GREAT! Nice idea...thanks. annebert- Do you think that "meatball" would survive if moved? Have had differing opinions on that. Regardless, it's gotta go. Like your idea of a "sheltered walk"...this yard needs some shelter! I need some shelter...feel like I have to change my clothes with the lights off for privacy...our bedroom and bathroom are on the front of the house. lynne_melb- Yes, the house is brick and we have talked about painting that siding. What color can you see with the stark white paint, though? What do you think about a light grayish sage green? I have no problem decorating the inside...some brave colors others might shy away from, but something about the outside scares me! Maybe because I haven't had an oportunity to choose exterior colors before...certainly didn't choose this white! My last house was all brick too, but not painted. Any opinions on color choices welcome!!! Here's some more pic's of the bushes on right side of house. Recognize any of them? This is the so called "meatball" on the end :) To the left of the meatball, are three of these Same...closer up All the way to the left...(on the right side) Same... Thanks to all...you have no idea how much I appreciate you taking the time to offer your thougts!

I agree with you assessment. Front is salvageable, back needs the work. I disgaree with the FLA 2,4D recommendation though. 2,4D is great for those salad greens but you need stronger for the barnyard grass/crabgrass (can't tell from far away pictures) Spraying herbicides in high heat like we have is detrimental to the existing grass. Thing is, I don't see much grass in the back yard to worry about. So here's what *I* would do for now. Buy Weed B Gone w/Crabgrass Killer concentrate or the Spectricide equivalent, the key ingredient is Quinclorac. Apply a blanket application on the back using an Ortho 'Dial A Sprayer'. Few days later, start irrigating the whole lawn, watering well. Front and back. This wakes those weeds up. 2 weeks later, spot spray any weeds that spring up or were missed the first app. in the back. Labor Day, seed the back yard. Labor Day, fertilize both the front and back yard. The fertilizer will get any weeds growing in the front, spot spray as needed. October, repeat fertilizing on both lawns and weed control on the front only. (if you have mowed the new grass 3 times by now, you can gently spritz the back yard with he weed killer too) November, repeat above on both areas. Back lawn is now mature enough for weed killer. Fall is the best time to kill weeds since most are winter annuals. Killing them in fall means little to none the next spring. Then next spring, in the St. Joe, GR, Kazoo SE MI area, late March/April 1st, apply a pre-emergent WITHOUT fertilizer. You can buy Scotts Halts alone, without fertilizer at Ace Hardware. (there are other vendors that sell better/cheaper products geared for pros, that a private home owner can also buy, but for now, we;ll keep it simple and use Ace) Then in early May, once you are cutting actual grass regularly and frequently .... you apply your first fertilizer of the year - and repeat the above! Keep up with any weeds, spot spraying as needed and wait until Labor Day to fertilize again. No need for marketing BS, applying steps 1 through 86. Once in Spring and a couple/few in fall, and you'll be the envy of the block with green grass and all weed free.

Hi, Lisa, First year, just buy plants, and enjoy them. Now, until next spring- each time you cut the grass, dump the clippings in one place. When you prepare vegetables and fruit, dump them in the same place. Cover this pile-very simply and cheaply- with a black plastic "yard" garbage bag. Pile on your autumn leaves, and get your neighbor's leaves, too- the key is to cover with the plastic. This composts your discards so fast that you won't believe it! If you have clay soil, go to your local home improvement store and buy a 10 pound bag of "contractors", or even "play" sand. Mix it in well with your clay soil, and especially your composted veg discards. Possibly, your community gives away composted leaves that they pick up each autumn. It's important to cover this with plastic and let it sit for a year- covering is EXTREMELY important, to kill the weed seeds. The manure thing is great- if you have access to straw to mix with it, (well "rotted") even better. The important thing is to mix organic material- and the sand if you have clay soil. Best thing is that the organic stuff is free- save all of the "vegetable refuse" you would normally throw away-potato peelings, vegetable "trimmings", the unattractive outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage- soft tomatoes, bad radishes, eggshells. Pretty much any vegetable discards will do. Just make sure that it hasn't been cooked, or contain salt or vinegar. And after many years, I learned that covering the "pile" is the key. If you have REALLY heavy clay soil, I have friends who did this- their soil wasn't only heavy clay, but marshy and wet- they collected old matresses- not with springs- tilled up, dug down about 3 feet, laid the matresses down and covered them back up with soil. This gave them incredibly good drainage, and they had one of the best vegetable gardens I've ever seen. I wish you luck, hope I've been of help. I live in Delaware, 3 miles from the beach, and have spent 8 years amending the soil here, making it so good! ( I be proud) Don't hesitate to contact me directly (shellywilley@juno.com)- I'd love to hear how you make out, and I have lots of agriculturally adept friends who will be more than happy to share with you. Hope to hear from you, Lisa- we'll all be happy to be made to feel knowledgeable and important by having the opportunity to share with you! Shelly ps- I meant to spell it all correctly....and did you get that covering it all with plastic is important?

No red line! Some dufus forgot to upload the picture. I will upload it into the previous post ... and speak to the help. You did fine without it, but still could use less overlap. There was enough overlap in the two end pictures that I didn't need the center one. If you want to use plants to create a filtered view, as opposed to completely obscuring it, you could do this with some small, multi-trunk trees with lots of trunks. These would be some type of large shrub. Like a crape. (Speaking of which you should not be pruning them off at thigh height every year. They'll never gain stature. They're supposed to be trees so trimming them off at 9' height would make more sense.) It would probably take a couple of rows. It would be good to cover the ground with a solid groundcover ... NOT mulch and "edging" plants stretched out and placed every 3' along the border. This doesn't look good. Whatever other plants you use, they should be in some kind of blocks or groups that makes sense relative to the overall scheme. Tulips would only work here if you are reserving a spot for them at the nose of the bed where they will get sun for the majority of the day. They're not really considered permanent plants as they diminish over time and need to be replenished.