We had scotts lawn service come out and they've treated the lawn for weeds twice, fertilized twice and aerated the lawn. However prior to doing any of that, the lawn still looked exactly as it does in my pictures. We've also had 10+ inches of rainfall and it continues to rain all this week. They mentioned no sign of chinch bugs or disease. Perhaps I should check the pH and apply Lime if necessary? This post was edited by VinceFLA904 on Wed, May 22, 13 at 17:12

While an early advocate of "shutters that fit", I'm coming around to a new opinion that, if the shutters aren't placed or even hinged so that they could possibly close and cover the window, they are a decorative feature enhancing the windows that should just be scaled and colored pleasingly. Bev's shutters above look way too big, like each ONE could cover the window. I didn't measure, that's just how they look. The other issue with shutter is, is they are the louvered-look, technically the louvers should be open at the top. Why? So that if they were closed, the rain would run down the louvers. The problem is that (almost) no one (in North America) closes their shutters, so if you have the louvers open at the top the water runs down behind them and rot the wood. That's why most shutters that are decorative are hung "upside down". So, if they are going to be "upside down" anyway, and hinge-free, which is technically incorrect, then go for whatever looks good. In the back yard, can your DD start a new neighborhood trend and bury the power lines? It would look much nicer.

You probably would want to post in the Lawn Care (or whatever they call it) forum. And possibly in the regional forum that applies to NC, as both those would be more specifically related to your questions than would Landscape Design. You said you put down pre-emergent, but didn't mention applying any fertilizer. Lawns need it for greenup & growth, especially when irrigation systems are washing nitrogen out of the soil on an ongoing basis. Likely, you'll need pre-emerge 2x per year; there are winter weeds as well as summer ones. A post-emergent herbicide for centipede lawns (you'll need to check labels) will probably help you out with any broadleaved weeds. For grassy weeds you may need to dig them out (use a spading fork, not a shovel) and be sure to prevent their reoccurence in the future.

Before doing any landscaping, examine if there are drainage issues, and be sure to fix those first. consider raising the grade to meet the stoop level so there is neither a step or the appearance of an unfinished grade. Bringing up the grade would make things looks better. If you can't expand the width of the walk to match the porch opening, at least widen it with an 8" brick or paver strip down each side. And create an expanded apron connecting it to the porch. I wouldn't confine the porch with plantings, but some strategically located to coordinate with the posts would be fine. Trees off of the corners would help the house seem integrated with the surroundings.