stevega - the top of the hill is over 5ft from the flat area - I am 5 ft and it is taller than me when I stand on the flat areas. I guess the retaining wall would be more so if we decided to excavate the hill. Frankie - I will try an take that picture tomorrow - I do think that the railing is holding us in - but we don;t want to redo the deck until we have a better idea if we are clearning the hill or not. I want to be able to walk out the sliding glass door and right onto the deck and I was thinking more about something that was more of a platform with some wide step areas or steps spanning the entire platform. Maybe curving around when we first go out the door and opening more to grass and have the deck more to the left. (does that make sense?) I agree that I am not sure what will make it more open -but I just want to feel like I am utilizing more areas of the yard. My husband was thinking about one of the boulder walls - if we did something like that. I wonder if clearing the top area and taking out the stumps will lower it a lot and then we can have a slight grassy hill up to cleared area. Have it be much more slight. Thanks for all your ideas and comments. Ruth

Just because a website says a plant should do well in a given area doesn't mean that is necessarily will. All information must be taken with a grain of salt and then verified before one invests too much. I'm sure the original design intent is that the junipers grow together and be the "groundcover." Using mass shrubs as groundcover has the disadvantage that it's difficult to limit their height without mucho maintenance. What inevitably ends up happening is that they become too large and unwieldy, make somebody unhappy and then get ripped out and replaced. Adding another groundcover in between them would look weedy. Though I would do this if you intended to replace them with that other groundcover, and remove the juniper as the other groundcover took hold. Another disadvantage to the sea of junipers is that you really can't add trees (though it looks like some might be useful for screening) because of the shade they produce. Plants that demand full sun It would help on the weeds if you used Preen, a pre-emergent herbicide that attacks germinating seeds, and mulch heavily. Many people give up on Preen because it usually doesn't do a great job until after its second application. And also, because they don't adhere to the schedule, putting the second app. on way too late so that it becomes just another "first" application. I have found it to be effective and basically a life-saver. It can cost a fair amount to cover a large area, but in my opinion it still beats the total cost of hand weeding once the time and PITA factor is added up.

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

Ideas/considerations for when you talk with a real landscape architect: - how much gardening and of what kind are you/your wife wanting to do? Flowers, veggies, easy-care shrubbery? - how much lawn do you want to manicure and mow every week (personally I'd minimize the lawn, maximize your lovely woodland and natural meadow space). - if you can get electric to the hangar, do it. - cohesive yard: maybe a three-rail wood fence (backed with wire to contain pets) around the whole perimeter. If you do a fence, remember to include gates at strategic places wide enough for mowers, carts, etc. - any DIY skills or inclination? - dogs: You look like you're out in the country a bit, and big barky dogs are not a bad thing to have near the house. I like having a doggie door to give dogs access any time they want to their own dog run (an area maybe 6' wide by 15' long, fenced with 5 or 6' tall chain link). That way they can go in and out by themselves, and be contained in an area that you know is safe and escape-proof (deer, rabbits, and squirrels are such fun to chase). A normal fence can surround any other area you want them to play in while you're able to keep a closer eye on them. Not sure any of this was of help, but good luck anyhow.