Thanks for the replies. The house is in central Massachusetts. It faces West/SW and gets a lot of sun. I was hoping to put painted ferns under the birch. Do you think the birch will provide enough shade given how much sun hits the yard? There are some very large pine trees on the right side of the yard that I didn't show. They are on the property line of the neighbor's yard. I hadn't really thought much about larger trees out front as I don't want to hide the house. I just had a 10' tall wall of arborvitae pulled out from the street line against the wall that completely blocked the street view of the house. Do you have some suggestions as to where you think a larger tree or two might go well? Also, do you know if the Japanese holly in front of the house will be a manageable foundation plant? The tag on the nursery says they mature at 4'x4' but I've seen conflicting info online that lists them growing much larger. You are correct about the squares, they are 2'. Also, the wall is just decorative. It is plain concrete at the moment and pretty ugly. It was hidden by the bushes I just pulled out. My plan is to cover it in stone veneer instead of spending the money to have it removed. Also, the software I used is called realtime landscaping plus 5. It was pretty easy to use but cost me $80. I figured I would get more enjoyment out of the $80 buying the software and trying to design myself instead of paying someone to do the design for me. So far the software has been easy to use and I'm happy with the purchase. I was just hoping some folks with more experience could look it over and let me know if I'm doing anything crazy. This is my first gardening experience and I'm having a good time so far but want to make sure I'm on the right track.

Thanks for the input so far! Here's a little insight into how we live and a couple answers: I am planning on a 90 degree turn in the staircase. I didn't know there would need to be special considerations for this. We are doing SIPs walls and are meeting with them tonight. They'll also be doing our stairway so I'm sure they'll tell me all I need to know about it. I'll be sure to mention it. Stairs sure are a pain! If you've been reading here you know what I am going to say! LOL There's no powder room near a family entry to the house and no closets for all the 'stuff' that accumulates in what I call a 'back hall'. Picture your children trekking through the house with muddy feet to get to the toilet. The extra space you see in the laundry room will be where we hang coats and take our shoes off/throw bookbags, etc. We just won't be doing lockers (at least right away). I am planning on doing a drain in the garage with hot and cold spout near for muddy feet/dog/etc. The closet in the hall was my "stuff" closet along with storage in the basement. The one bedroom that has its only small window on the screened in porch is going to be sad. This made me laugh. :) How I picture this room being used: nursery for 2nd baby, then kids can share a room and this will become the play/toy room upstairs. At some point another kid can move back in if they want or move downstairs, etc. Could you build a house with more space on one level and a smaller (or no) basement? With two acres, I'd prefer to 'spread out'. What appeals to you about having a lower level? I like one level living for the majority of my time. Basements are the norm around here - we live in tornado alley. 1. Is there really a need for back to back entry doors? Could you eliminate the interior entry door and just make that a wide cased opening? How about moving your coat closet up to left side of that entry area and changing the door swing on the outermost door to a RH swing? The entry is this way because my DH's two desires when planning this house: That people don't see the kitchen from the front door and that randoms that do come to our front door can't see into the house. I do plan to have coat hooks there inside the entry for when guests come. Our guests are very casual. Your porch is too shallow for a table and chairs; need 12 foot depth. Good to know. Thank you. 2. Your first floor baths both have windows by the shower/baths. I'd keep windows away from baths if possible for privacy purposes and to keep water away from the interior side of windows (and therefore, the inside of the walls). Can things be adjusted so vanities are closer to the windows? I've nixed the one in the secondary bath. I think I might like a glass block one in the master shower though. This may be backwards and sound dumb but we currently have one in our shower and we just hang a clear shower curtain along the back wall. Light in and no water on the window :) I'm open to suggestions on that room though. The closet in the basement for the bedroom....maybe I can jut a closet into my craft room/office. I think that is what I'll do :) I didn't figure I'd get as much room under there as what is drawn. The kitchen is actually decent sized in my mind. There are cupboards along the south wall in there if you didn't see those. They can hold all the sometimes used stuff. There are more in there than at most of my family/friends houses and my current house. Our current dining table is a 4 seater and when we need to get a bigger one I'm actually thinking I'll be a bench along that dining wall so the table can sit closer to it. The living room could be a little bigger but hey, such is life when you are sticking to a budget I guess. My current living room is 12x11. There isn't a pathway through it though so that will make a difference. If we need to spread out we'll go to the basement. I live in 1000 sq ft now. I'm good at organization and stacking things to the ceiling of closets, etc. 3000 is a mansion to me. :) Thanks again! Oh and I'm attaching the plan that I tweaked to make mine if you feel like taking a peek. Here is a link that might be useful: Original house plan

full sun is anything around 8 hours or more.. forget about shade as an issue.. its a very bright area.. and that is often good enough ... i am sorry.. but the codes are all so confusing ... lol ... but it doesnt matter... JUST DO IT... then.. next spring.. you move things around .. or even fall ... dont get all caught up in some retentive world.. and try to plan everything out.. for all time.. no real gardener will tell you thats important ... things die.. others we remove.. and we move things around ... thats part of the fun ... frankly.. all gardening is.. is a reason for adults to go play int he dirt.. so just go for it ... in the mean time... i would put all the pots in bright shade ... its easier to keep them moist ... and the media wont heat up ... no plant likes hot roots ... finally.. just looking at the pots.. they seem too close .. i would put them at least a foot more apart ... but that begs the question of what kind of bed you want ... do you want a formal planting.. where each specimen stands apart .. or do you favor more of a country cottage look where everything is all mixed together on some level.. define your goal.. and the plan will suddenly emerge ... and you dont mention how you are going to prepare the bed.. if tilling.. go double size... so that the other half.. can lay fallow until next year .. no real reason to have to drag that huge machine back again ... i suspect you will want more later.. lol .. just do it.. talk about it.. but dont get all wired up on a perfect PLAN ... in my world.. gardens arent planned.. they evolve ... have fun ... ken ps: nice of you to ask.. but dont give the neighbors the impression they really have any say in what you do.. on YOUR PROPERTY ... ITS GOOD TO BE FRIENDLY... but we dont want them coming back at some point and suggesting they dont approve .. eh??

Don't listen to the guy above about ditching the arches, use them to make a new orleans style courtyard out of them, google "new orleans style courtyard". Put a small water feature on the patio. I would then drill in some eye ancor bolts directly into the brick and use some wire to train 5 bouganvilla "20$ each large", Purple, Red, Purple, Red, Purple going up the brick and espalier them off to the brick. "est 150-200$" Take that windmill palm to the left, remove the ciruclar pavers, take the bed about two feet wider, replace with a tan rock to match your house and use fabric underneath "est 50$". I will also say something, so many people put shrubs and trees right up against the house and its a huge no no more often than not. You can use stratigic stuff like cannas, dwarf promgranite, ginger, etc to get the same look of whatever your going for without blocking your view from the house. In saying that, I think you need to have something that gives your house some mystery. That large tree is a huge focal point. I also don't like the hedge in the front which kind of looks like legustrum. I agree with the bottle brush row between the neighbors house out the right side as I think it would be nice to have the privacy. I would go from the large tree to the black driveway and take the grass out from there to the street. Then would add in daylillies, coleous, sweet potatoe vine, birds of paradise, amongst other things. I would also put a couple of orchids on the iniside wall of the arches so you could see them from your house.