Yes you are correct, I was thinking about the whole yard at once, and this is just too much for my little mind to figure out. I have finished the book and the answer is not on the last page! I do think permaculture is more for bigger properties, than suburban lots. I do not have a zone 5, or a zone 3 or 4 for that matter. I guess I have a zone 1 near the house and everything else a zone 2. I figure if I won't want to drag the hose out that far, best to have a plant that can take care of itself. I have the veggie garden next to the house near the back door. I am also concentrating on my rain garden and keeping the trees in wood mulch. They look so much better since I mulched them up last summer. I think it is best for now to keep what I have healthy than to add a lot more plants that I can't keep healthy do to lack of time, water or mulch. I also took jekyll's advice and cut out to scale pieces of paper for future trees and shrubs. I also cut out future sizes of existing trees. This helps a lot in visualizing where trees are actually needed. I don't need as many new trees as I thought. Once the current ones fill out, I am pretty much all set. I do need shrubs though for wildlife perches and to shade off the tree trunks in hot Texas. I am going to in the future, get a few dwarf fruit trees for fun. I have selected apple, persimmon and fig. I may do annual papaya. It is too cold and wet in out falls and springs to bring them though winter. But I am not thinking about that now. I want to shrub up the current trees first and deck out my rain garden. The only thing in there now are some red cannas, and some Texas dandelions that I sowed last fall. The black eyed susan, the texas star hibiscus and the rain lilly seed that I planted last fall, did not come up. I will be receiving some rain lilly bulbs soon on a trade, to put on the not so wet edge of the rain garden. I will be putting basil and borage on the edge too. Come fall I will stick beets, rutabaga, and carrots on the edge of the edge. I have also planted cardinal climber on the hill coming up from the rain garden. They have not come up, so I may have to replant. I read to plant morning glories in winter so the seeds can crack and they will sprout. Maybe the cold weather that we have had lately have told them to not sprout yet. I think 1 or two are up though. I also have some blue eyed grass seed I think might work in there. Maybe I should wait to fall to plant them. I also would love to try some iris in there and then that is about all I have room for. This rain garden is a work in progress. It is mostly a canna garden now. The daffodils did even worse were I moved them too. Maybe texas is not the spot for daffodils.

Hi Bekajoi, I believe the plant in your "smells like a mild onion" picture is garlic chives, and they do reseed some, so it theyÂre here and there, that would make sense. I donÂt know if this will be a disappointment or not, but your lavender plants look like Russian sage to me! Watering effectively on a slope can be very difficult. Since you seem to be ready for some big projects, IÂd highly recommend you put a 2 or 3 high railroad tie "wall" across the yard somewhere and level the soil out above and below it. Level ground will make your gardening SO much easier in the long run. If your Italian plum it whatÂs usually called a prune plum, they should be very soft and sweet when theyÂre ripeÂit the birds and squirrels donÂt get them first! I love prune plums! Your grape is most likely a seeded Concord, but you wonÂt know for sure till it produces grapes. Concord is good for juice, jelly, and wine if youÂre into that kind of wine, but theyÂre not that great for eating fresh. The bush that has small red berries could possibly be a honeysuckle, but I really canÂt tell for sure from the pic. If it is, birds will eat the berries, but youÂre not gonna want to. They donÂt taste goodÂto humans! If the pond liners donÂt have any holes in themÂand you do decide to level the yard with railroad ties, you could make a great little waterfall over the drop in the yard at the ties! With all the weed seeds you have in there, be prepared to be pulling weed seedlings for YEARS! Do as much as you can to pull the weeds that now have seeds on them, before the seeds ripen and fall off! If you have any bindweed (I donÂt see any in the pics), and you till, breaking the roots into little pieces, youÂll have as many new bindweed plants as there are pieces of roots! Do everything you can to get out the bindweed and all the roots BEFORE you till! With the rock mulch that seems to be all over the placeÂrake/clean as much of it off of the surface as you possibly can. If you just till or work it into the soil itÂll cause problems every time you try to dig anywhereÂand keep hitting the rocks! A lot of work, but a yard with great potential! Welcome to RMG, Skybird

Thanks, Daylily! tlbean, I sometimes have an inkling of an idea, but often don't know what the plants in the drawing are or should be. In selecting plants, much depends on what grows and performs well in a given area. Let's speculate on some possibilities for here. The hedge below the window could be low-growing azaleas, dwarf yaupon holly, or any shrub that looks good and could be kept at a 3' height without too much trouble, including boxwood. The groundcover surrounding it could be a Liriope, lily of the valley, heuchera, Pachysandra, etc. The tree could be crape myrtle, Japanese maple, beauty bush, burning bush, etc. The surround below the tree could be daylilies, ferns, hostas, cast iron plant, etc. One could look around their town and see what plants people are keeping at these heights and that has appeal. Or search Google Images for the general type and see what appeals in the photos that are returned. Research the plants that one finds interesting to see if they have possibilities. Vett them with people who have knowledge of the local climate. Each plant has it's own personality which should be taken into account during the selection process. If you were to use my drawing as foundation for selecting plants, you have great latitude in tweaking what it looks like, depending on the plants you choose. For annuals, pick something that can tolerate the conditions (light, moisture, soil, etc.) It will boil down to what will tolerate the conditions and happens to be available and looks good when you go to buy.

Here's what I would do- I would plan the area all at one go. I'd make a scale drawing of it and design some large curvy beds to enclose all of the trees, and allow the areas outside those beds to determine the paths. I'd mark how the light moves through the area. Then I would choose my focal points by standing at the curb where one might enter the area and also by looking out any windows that open to it- you want pleasing views. I'd use some small understory trees like Japanese Maples or smaller Kousas as light dictates, and things like Rhodos or Kalmia as shrubs. Then lots of painted ferns, hostas, and shade perennials like Helleborus or Heuchera to punch it up. A bench here, a birdbath there- a couple of little vignettes are always nice. Make sure and think clearly about access to water and how it will be provided to the area. Those big trees really suck it up and many people now have watering restrictions or expensive municipal water supplies to consider. Wet shade is easy, dry shade not so much. I enjoy watering by hand and see the expense as justified but many will not, and it's better to figure it out before choosing plants. You don't have to plant everything at once, but I would get a general idea of where I was going before I set off. Getting the larger things in and going first makes sense to me, and adding the smaller things as time and budget permit. If you can swing it, have a tree guy come in and trim up any limbs you can do without before you start- it will be far easier now than later after it is planted and the light that provides will serve you well. It's a blank slate and a great project- looks like fun.