Thanks for your opinions regarding the pines. I guess I would like to get back to my original bed area in front of house (my fault for taking it another direction) I have decided to put a magnolia in the left "triangle" bed in front of the big rock. We are going to leave the bed dimensions as they are (put in lawn irrigation system in fall) moving beds would require sprinker heads to be moved. I never liked the tree on the right side of house so going to move on there. There is a wind break/ and for some privacy on lot line of austrian pines (love em) we will be installing this spring on the right side of home (50' off side of house) including other trees and shrubs all the way back. I also am putting a fall fiesta or oct. glory maple way way in the back by current wood line. SC77, looked up that birch have not heard of it here. At last house had 2 different types of river birch and then bought 3 white himalayan birches. The japanese beetles are very bad here for about a month. They killed the himalayan birches and were in the tops of the river ones but didnt really make a dent. I dont use too many chemicals and shy away from imidaclopred (sp?) to treat them and have decided at this house to try to stay away from japanese beetle favorites. Do you happen to know if they love that white birch. I havent seen that birch at garden centers here so also would be hard to track down, but will keep my eyes out for it. So back to the front bed SC77 interested in what conifers you would recommend as the "yellow" shrubs flanking the enterance demonstrated in Yardvaarks plan above? Not into overly sculpted ones. I have decided on some green velvet boxwoods (not a hedge) with space inbetween and coral bells and little lime hydrangea on right side and magnolia on left. I have always had a hard time incorporating smaller evergreens into landscape. Last house we had golden globe arb which for me is as sculptural as I like to get, but I liked that one. How could you see it used on this plan. Thanks for everyones help.

The soil forum might be the best place for your question. How much excavated soil do you have? I would guess that you would be fine with a mix of 80% native soil and 20% compost (depends on what you are growing and your soil), but you probably do not have that much native soil. - Brent

I have a similar problem with my front & side areas. My side area is almost identical to yours but my immediate problem area is the front. I havenÂt a clue what to plant in such a narrow space. The dimensions of my front beds are about 4ft x 12ft and IÂve heard that 4ft isnÂt much to work with, but IÂm not going for anything grandÂ.just something that will look nice from the street. The side bed is much longer, probably about 50ft, but its even more narrow than the front ones at a whopping 3ft 9 inches. Here are some pics to give everyone a better idea of what IÂm working withÂÂ.(***keeping my fingers crossed that erict will do the same with my pics as was done for yours***). LEFT OF STAIRS: this area faces south. I just finished amending the soil about a week ago RIGHT OF STAIRS: this area faces south as well. I started amending this side first and finished about a month ago. This pic was taken around twelve noon so the "corner" bush is still providing shade to a portion of the area. Its doesnt get full sun until about 3pm. LEFT SIDE OF HOUSE: this area faces west and is right next to my driveway. As you can see, I havent gotten around to amending the soil on this side. The area is shaded by the roof most of the day but it does get sun for about 2-3 hours (as the sun is on its way down). Even still, it gets very HOT over here, probably because of the pavement. Should I take that into consideration for plant selection? FULL FRONTAL: View of the house from the street

Yes, sounds like poor planning by the builder. Do all the other homes in your neighborhood have gutters and downspouts? Sounds very strange that the builder wouldn't install them on this home. It makes this new home stand out from all the others, in that it is *missing* a desired feature. It should conform to all the other houses, but I don't know of any way to make the builder do it unless it is code or there is a HOA that requires gutters and proper drainage. Is this a custome home? Did she buy it from the builder's inventory (a "spec" home)? Did she select from the builder's plans and have it built? Ask her to look back at the builder's specifications/features sheets and see if gutters and downspouts are mentioned. Seems to me if they were mentioned as features on their homes, then you can ask that they be installed even after closing. Am I reading that you want to find a solution that doesn't involve a fued with your niece? Is this her first home? Direct her to this forum! She'll learn that new homeownership doesn't involve just showing up at the closing and getting the keys. Home ownership involves maintenance and improvements where needed (yes, even on a brand-new home!), including installing gutters on a house that's missing them. Also landscaping. Maybe you two could do yardwork together (I've had some neighbors that are much better at it than I am to help me). Point out some landscaping tips that will help with the drainage and help her make them a reality. In my earlier story about my drainage problem, I didn't take the time to mention that I also had to take steps to solve it. Even after my neighbor redirected his downspout, I had to move some plants and regrade the front yard a bit to improve the drainage. That involved a tiller (from the rental place) and some very very hard red-clay dirt. But it worked. Also, my warranty documents with my new home stated that the builder would correct any drainage problems that caused standing water on my property. But it went on to define "standing water" as any water remaining on the surface 24 hours after a rainstorm. I had a lot of water during and immediately after a storm, but it would run off or percolate within 24 hours, so the warranty was of no use. Ask your neice to check her documents. I hope I'm not sounding too trite or naive. The time to integrate her into the neighborhood is now, not later after any tension builds up. Sometimes solving problems without starting a fued can be difficult. You have to go the extra mile and find a way to point out that there is a problem (and a solution) without assigning blame to anyone. Yes, the builder should have taken more steps, but most builders make themselves scarce after closing.