Hey Everyone, Thanks, again. I have more comments/questions throughout at ***** and at the end based on your latest round of discussion. lpinkmountain Thanks for the article. I hate for that tree to go, but think that it would look betterand I could replace it w/ something else like a cute red bud tree Ive heard about that newspaper planting. It sounds too good to be true! But, heck, maybe Ill try it. The ground in Tn is so hardso much clay! BarefootinCT. I love, love, love your house/garden. ***Do you have other photos I could look at? (Yellow is sort of my "dream" color. They always look happy to me and if I had my druthersor money, more correctlyI would redo this house.) Is there a path between the foundation plantings and this welcome garden? You said it spilled out of the foundation, but I cant quite imagine it. Ive attempted my first Paint drawing of what Im thinkingbutis the bed by the stone path a bedor just plantings? I dont want it to look like an island in the middle of the yard. *****Can you (or anyone) think of another thing we could do to simulate sidelights or add interest/width? Im just thinking that a new door/cutting the house wider is a bigger task than I want to take on(Im having a hard time getting hand people/builders here!!!) Some people have door frames hereand I have about 10 inches on each sidebut I guess it would look weird to only frame part of it. I mean, the purpose of the sidelight is to add more width and give the door more presence and visually shift it closer to center, right? Can you keep the door and just buy a sidelight thing? Saypoint Thanks for those links. I have spent a lot of time looking for plants. Its the deciding that kills me. Or deciding and then not finding it. I plan to go to the nursery today and just see whats thereand see what they might get in (Its hard for me, too, to be patient because Im a teacher and once school hits my life is pretty much over. I am trying to work less, however, but you knowyouth of the nation and all thatpretty important and hard to say "no" to!) *****You said.."A common mistake when putting in paths or walks is to put them so close to the house that you can't plant anything more than a couple feet wide in the pocket that remains, so keep that in mind." Sorry Could you clarify? The pocket that remains? Does the drawing I attempted work in this regard? *******For nowuntil I see plant availI am thinking of 5 or 6 shrubs that are evergreen and have structure (e.g., yew, laurel), a large holly for the corner of the house (or something else green and tall, but that doesnt need loads of light) and some little annuals. Not sure what would go between the yew/Laurel and annuals maybe something like Nandina which does well here, but Im not sure those colors of yellow/red would do well with the house and other colors. On the tiny welcome plot by the walkway, Im thinking just things like daisies and some little grasses, maybe bulbs in the winter/spring and pansies in the winter. Would it be better to have something more substantial but compact like heather or compact laurel? I prefer not to use annuals if I cantoo much work, reallybut I do like the punch of color they bring! Chelone Thanks for the encouragement. If you look at my photobucket links, you can get a sense of things inside the house. The house is smalland if we move the door to the side, people would walk in and have to take a sharp left as theyd "hit" the dining room table. Currently, you walk in the front and have an open path by the table. (I would add that I just knocked down a kitchen wall to open the sight line when you walk in the current door. We closed off the side door to create a galley kitchen insideor we willif any construction person ever calls me back.) See the photos at: http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/ As far as using a front porch, I doubt we wouldand I dont feel the need for privacy really as we pretty much live in the large, fenced back yard. The street is nothing to look at, you see. Make sense? Karinl- Keeping me on task, are you? LOL. Thanks. I appreciate being reminded to slow down. Ive been thinking about all this for so long that it makes me nutsand I want to have it now. YesI dream of some kind of flagstone pathcottagey. (When I knock down the sealed up chimney that just into the kitchen the space will be used to house the fridge which opens up space for a row of cabinets opposite.)Its likely that I could use the chimney brick for a "grilling station" in the back.) ****What color stone would be best with my house/plant colors? I tend to like the sandy colorslight brownsmaybe with some gray, but all gray feels a bit cold to me. Yet, maybe thats better? Lazygardens Well, it looks weird on my house, but is common in my neighborhood. For some houses it looks ok, cute even. I just cant figure out why mine doesnt seem so cute. Hopefully the landscaping will help. And we may build a mud room or something onto the left side of the houseone daybut its low priority, mostly due to money and because we need a bath on the *other* side of the house first. (In fact, its possible well move!) OK would you all indulge me in a few more thoughts: 1. We are now feeling like the tree will goand perhaps, in its place, well plant a red bud tree. 2. I am thinking of the best path to the front door. Many people park in front of the house, some park in the driveway. I had put this little bed by the side fence because the concrete/blacktop there was so patchyand its not a dream, obviously. Maybe next year I can add lots of flowers (e.g., daisies, purple cone flowersomething that can stand being next to the blacktop but its tricky because then it will grow into the driveway In fact, I wish the fence line were set in a bit more!). Now Im thinking that it might make sense to take off one the far left section of the fence to widen that space so you dont have to zig zag around it to get to the steps. Maybe Id hang a bucket of flowers right thereor something to designate the entrance. 3. Can folks recommend colors for house trim and why certain colors would "work" or not. The blue is sort of happy to me, reallybut is bright, I admit. I thought about something that would match the siding, but I hate the house color, soo Out by the fence in frontIm not sure how I would mulch on the slight slopemaybe try those plastic edging things that hammer into the ground to keep the mulch in its place? 5. Final votes on porch shape? A small gable or a flat but wider porchand why? Gonna try to add a link, but here's the photobucket page in case http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/andi956/ Thanks, everyone!

very small photo, but looks to be a split level.

There's nothing I hate like being the bearer of bad news. But let's get this over with. That's a pretty decent looking tree you have at the forefront, center of the house. If it's a live oak, in spite of that being an awesome tree, I'd consider having it removed ASAP, as delaying only costs more. I love that tree, but it is a serious big boy and 20' from the foundation is what I would call maximum nearity. (I must make up a word, quarterly.) These things, 30 years from birth, are wall and floor breakers if they are closer than 20'. If one has an expensive, palatial home that will last centuries, he should place this tree even farther away ... 50' probably. In its life, the tree can grow to 200' canopy width. How much street appeal are you after? If it's a lot, then you should consider architectural improvements such as shelter over the entrance area, and expanding the "floor" portion of same. And you must do something about the flat-roofed, mobile home looking portion of the house. The driveway seems to need help, too. Depending on what you're looking for, you may need to supply additional pictures. Some from slightly closer, but that show a wider spread (overlapping photos all taken from the same point of view) and farther away that show how your house fits into the neighborhood (again, overlapping photos from the same point of view if it will not fit into a single photo.)

The fact of space being so tight necessitates the use of plants that comply with the plan. Left of the garage is fairly large shrub. Start turning this into a small tree form so that its bulky part, the canopy, will eventually be over your head where it can serve like a protective umbrella. Near the walk would only be a few upright trunks that do not occupy much ground space. To train it into a tree, make its overall shape similar to a sugar cone, where its tip has been embedded into the earth at the exact place the shrub grows. Trunks and foliage come up through/within the main part of the cone but nothing sticks outside of that shape. After it has reached 8' or more feet tall, you can let branches and foliage spill outside of the shape as if they were a giant blob of ice cream overflowing the the cone. Over time, starting at the bottom of the plant, remove branches, twigs and foliage so that only the bare trunks remain. You can do this to 50% of the plant's total height. (At any time of year, but early spring is the optimum time. Near the end of the growing season is the least optimum time. Plant some low growing annuals, perennials, or groundcover below the tree. (Pick one, not use all three.) See if you could do the same thing at the right side of garage door.' See if you could replace the uppermost garage door panel with one that has a bank of windows in it. Along the narrow path to the front door, I'd ditch the hedge and replace it with low growing annuals, perennials, or groundcover. Since it is long, you wouldn't necessarily need to keep it all one thing for the whole length, though you could if desired. It could be a strip of multicolored impatiens, or a strip of variegated liriope, It it could have color at the beginning and end while the middle run is groundcover. For the blank wall, consider some flat, outdoor art decor. A flag stretched in a frame would work. But there's not room for plants or anything else to stick out into the path.