A blank canvas to play with! What fun! And the wonderful thing about gardening is that if you decide you don't like something or it's not doing well in one spot you can remove or move it very easily (except for major trees). So you can't really make a mistake. It's a very forgiving process AND so rewarding. I recently began my own garden too and was very timid at first, but as my confidence grows and I become more familiar with plants, so does my willingness to make bolder and more interesting choices. Looks like a good plan. Kind of a native wildscape to attract some desirable critters. I like all the bird and butterfly-friendly choices. And just another option that I've found is a favorite of birds is a mulberry tree (which gets to be about the size of a possumhaw (10-15 ft.). Also delicious on icecream and cereal! Also think your choices of very easily maintained xeriscaping is just great! I can't tell whether you are going to place things individually or will create an actual bed with some kind of edge to contain them. Some thoughts/ideas: Consider that Possumhaw is very similar to Yaupon Holly and both provide red/orange berries, with the main difference being that Possumhaw will lose its leaves (but maintain it's berries) over winter whereas the Yaupon would be evergreen. You may have already known that and prefer the Possumhaw, but just thought I'd mention the evergreen option as well. Either way, make sure it isn't shaded out by the larger tree, because they enjoy the sun. Have you considered any tall native grasses as a backdrop for flowers? They soften the hard edges of a yard. Also, another thing that not only attracts but keeps critters around is some kind of water feature. Doesn't have to be as fancy as a fountain (although that sound is divine and birds prefer it to stagnant water), but at least a birdbath in a somewhat shady area. The easiest fountain to maintain is a bubble fountain that overflows its container and then disappears below ground (covered usually with a grate on which sits gravel or river stones to act as a leaf/debris filter) into a reservoir and then recycles back up. Would it be possible to introduce a good sized stone/boulder or two? If you create a bed under a tree you might consider adding some turks cap for the hummers, or introduce some pigeonberry or other shade loving groundcover. If the patio is not shaded then you might also consider creating a place to sit beneath the tree that is cool and inviting or eventually a hammock chair or swing to hang from a branch. Speaking of trees, what considerations played into your choice of Ash? Just curious. Did you want a deciduos or evergreen tree? What size, color, type? Anyway, those are just some things that came to me. Our gardens can be our sanctuary (as well as a critter haven). A little piece of heaven on earth. Hope you'll keep us up on your progress and choices as you go along. And maybe some...

Ohhh trux......I'm so excited for you!!!!..I Know reading how worried you were!..It has turned out So Beautiful!!!..Please keep posting pictures!!! I "CANNOT" wait to see the Finale!!! In regards to, IF they would allow the Pool to be done 'before' the Addition, Regal Pools, will NOT even "think" about putting the Pebble Sheen in the pool YET....AND I totally agree with them with all the scraps of wood and shingles and the overall "construction" "Regal" Personally will not allow anything happening to the integrity of the gunite...IM IMPATIENT...and Want it NOW....but I totally Understand!!! They Warrant and Stand by their build enough to "deny" me the Pebble Sheen that I "desire"...and I totally "Respect" their reasoning behind this!!!.. Even at this stage in the ENTIRE project (which is a Huge Build).....Regal Pools has been so "Patient" with me (Again..NOT an easy task!)...and I totally Trust them!...hard to say that about some builds!..But .. seriously...Josh has been a God Send! Keep posting Trux!! I cannot wait to see the finished Design!!!

Do you have a basement? Do you have some particular worry about the drainage around the foundation, i.e. some ongoing issues? Basically I would separate these issues and not think that adding a lot to your yard is going to magically fix the issue. The house probably should have had some kind of drainage (like French drains) around the foundation to deal with regular rain. "Flooding" could be a number of things but if it's the water table coming up too high, a yard that drains somewhat better isn't going to make that big a difference. So if that's your concern and you're really worried about it, consult a professional. You'll also want to look at your drainspouts and that they lead the right way. As far as amending soil for the garden part, if you really want to level things out it's going to mean adding a lot of organic material. This is going to depend what's available in your area, but wood waste, wood chips and wood in bulk are likely to be the cheapest. You may find local utilities (that clear wood trimmings around lines) may give away free. You can bury wood (hegelkultur) and add wood trimmings and chips either in ground or above ground. You'll likely have to repeat several times (the wood - any organic matter - will decompose and shrink over time). You'll hear that wood waste dug into soil may 'lock up' nitrogen for a while and make it harder to grow a garden - but over time the nitrogen returns to availability in the soil. It may take a few years but should eventually create a good garden soil. So partly depends on how big a hurry you are in. You can also do the way you propose it will likely just require a _lot_ of material. There's nothing wrong with doing a combination, either - all of the stuff will help. Sand is probably a bad idea. The more organic material, the more chance the soil biology will do some of the mixing for you. I'm mainly suggesting wood of various kinds as most likely available in very large amounts. As I said - the organic material/better soil won't magically solve drainage issues. It will help buffer rainfall some - less likelihood of pooling of water or standing puddles - but within limits if the soil deep down is all clay and/or the water table rises too high. This is pretty generic info - don't know anything about how bad your clay is (if you search here, you'll see lots of people have thick heavy clay soil problems), very little about how bad your flooding issues are, house construction, etc. There are more serious solutions to drainage and lots of info about ways to help, use Der Google. )

I have not used charcoal grey or brown stains. Blues and greens do not hold up outside. Have used black and red and it was on concrete that had been surface ground with a carborundum stone grinder. The black was dark and harsh like a fresh hair dye job at first, but then faded over a year's time to a nice taupe grey, and I like it just fine. (I applied it twice and let it set overnight the 2nd time.) The red was orange rust colored and I did not care for it at all. The stains, being watery, spatter easily and stain any masonry object nearby if any gets on it. I don't know how it would stain other materials. I applied it with a broom and got fine splatter mist on nearby masonry. (It does not look horrible but I would have preferred it not happen. Slightly worse, I had areas that ran, bled and pooled into seams between pavers ... and those look like crying after an already bad mascara job.) Something that would mop it on with would probably be better. Mask off anything nearby on which you don't want stain.