Suz-- you're so luck to have such a big space in full sun. Here's my suggestions: 1. Work out some sort of curve that's pleasing to the eye. Use a hose or paint to mark it out. Curves are much nicer than straight lines, and you get varying depths that way. 2. Use a few evergreens throughout to create a structure that will look good in both winter and summer. Put a tall evegreen (eg Spruce) at each corner. Use a couple of smaller evergreens (eg hollies) app 6' high in the middle somewhere. Put at least two sets of three small evergreens (like boxwood) in the middle somewhere. 3. Put a beautiful small tree near each end. 4. Then go to town with whatever bulbs, perennials etc you like. Use larger areas of one color for a really lovely show. 5. Repeat things. eg big clump of shasta daisies-- use two of them. Check out a mail order catalogue like Bluestone Perennials for more different kinds and sizes of plants so that you get highs and low spots. These vendors also offer plans for whole gardens of differet types, worth studying. I have deer and rabbits in my yard, so I favor things that they don't eat. I also try to plant what is vigorous and blooms a long time, and what hummingbirds love. I have had great luck with these: Daffodils are wonderful. They're poisonous, so nothing eats them. Agastache 'Ava'. Tall pink hummingbird mint. Hummers like it. It gets app 5' tall, long spikes of small pink flowers. Three together makes a 5 x 5' show. Plants in spring, you will have flowers this summer. Bees love this, too. In high summer will have 4 or 5 different kinds of bees in it, all sizes from tiny to big. clematis would look beautiful climbing on that fence, and won't pull it down. Needs sun for bloom, but put a stone over the roots to keep roots cool. Later other plants can shade the roots. Shasta daisies. I love these for cutting, for the clean whiteness. Big clumps are great. You can get them from 12' to 5' Monarda. Hummingbirds love. Red or pink balls. Very vigorous. Anywhere from 18" to 5' plants, your pick. Coreopsis. Yellow and gold. Vigorous, self-sow all over, but really pretty. Everywhere from 30" to 12". Daylily Stella D'Oro. This is the gorgeous short gold daylily you see all over. Vigorous, beautiful. Will get a flower or two the first year, a real show from then on. Catmint, nepeta. This is a low spreader, tiny blue flowers. Blooms first year, bees love this. People walking by stop to ask what this is. Saponaria. Spring blooms, bright pink. Very lovely-- makes big droopy clumps. Big spreader. Doesn't bloom all summer, but does bloom more than 6 weeks. Dianthus Bath's Pink. This is a wonderful plant. Spreads beautifully, very vigorous. Blooms long, and lovely scent that wafts. Blooms at least 6 weeks in spring. This beats all the other hardy pinks for showiness and vigor. A lovely pink that shows up a long way. Foliage is blue. Lavender-- does well if you cut it back hard each spring. Rudbeckia Goldsturm. Gold with brown centers. Looks like velvet. Stunning. Blooms about 6 weeks in July. Any of these make a great show, are vigorous and spread out. Only the daylily is susceptible to critters eating it. But with your fence, I don't think you have to worry. Enjoy all the planning.

My husband and I met with him yesterday hoping to get a better timeline. There is another delay so instead of July we are looking at August. It's really not our decision making that is delaying as we're done with the major decisions. When I asked him for a timeline of when things are going to be ordered and completed for better idea we received a vague answer. When I asked him about tiles for kitchen/fireplace and lighting (which I completed selection over 2 months ago) he couldn't really give an answer other than "Don't worry I'll take care of it." That has been the answer to many things. I don't know what else to do other than wait and hope he follows through. I'd be concerned and I'd make sure he has lien releases for you to see. Like JDS said, make sure you have a paper trail to give him. Reading between the lines, it sounds like he's hurting for cash.

What kind of black ants? Big black ants like carpenter ants or little black ants like fire ants? If they're carpenter ants, spray won't touch them, and they'll hollow out your tree until it dies. You have to get to the next to kill carpenter ants, which is very deep underground, and may not even be close to the tree. Use Amdro and see if that gets them. Carpenter ants are nearly impossible to get rid of without professional help.

It looks to me like you could stand to have the driveway widened a little, creating better access to the front entrance and getting rid of the patio pavers in gravel. Whether it's a simple widening or a drive re-do, it your choice. The former would work as an interim solution. It would be good to reconfigure the walk to the stoop to make it more useful and attractive. It could be standalone or part of a drive widening project. The logical place to create seating for impromptu gatherings is under the overhang at the right of the stoop. Because of the overhang, it's not a good area for growing foundation plants. If you park or drive at left of driveway, it looks like you may need to extend the driveway with a permanent driveway material. That would solve the packed mud problem. In general, you need a landscape plan for the front yard that includes both hardscape and planting. The speed with which you implement it, and whether it was in pieces or in total, would be up to you. As far as giving you specific solutions, the pictures are too small, fuzzy, dark & partial.