For those who are interested in Landscape architectural history the sentence that was written above , 'One mans restriction's is another mans protections', came from a conversation at a Sea Ranch design meeting that included members of the design review board including Lawrence Halprin . For 6 years I worked up on The Sea Ranch (www.tclf.org/sea-ranch) doing horticultural work. For those who are not familiar with The Sea Ranch it is often studied in Architecture + Landscape Architectural programs for its progressive commitment to integrated ecological design. Over the years since its inception in the 1960's new residents have come into TSR and often want to change the paradigm that TSR was developed on. TSR stands steadfast in their commitment to its original ideals thus annoying new comers that the rules and regulations are 'restrictive'. Other residents find the Codes, Compliances and Regulations 'protections'. I'm not going to get into a argument about mans inalienable rights - this is a landscape design forum. You can carry on that argument with your self. In my original post I mentioned code compliance in regards to what is and what is not allowed by law as a something that could potentially affect the building of a fire pit. As homeowners and landscape professionals it is our responsibility to design and build within the law - whether we like the law or not. In my area of the country it is unlawful to build or install a wood burning device in or outside of your home, - It has to be powered by another energy source. Some may find this restrictive, other may find it protective.

You guys are really helpful, thanks. While we're in our yard here, what do you recommend to create some privacy? I'm thinking of some climbers or something on the fenceline, but would rather avoid a hostile kudzoo-style takeover of our neighbors' properties. If I had my way I'd save up for an 8' privacy fence all the way around but, being new to homebuying, don't want to miff the neighbors with such a drastic addition. That said, the existing trees will probably fill out here soon and create a reasonable visual block. How about something in the fence? Arborvitae are a bit formal and expensive for such extensive application (dozens of trees around perimeter, etc.).

We have 12' x 28' yard space between our back/outdoor living porch and our detached garage. It gets limited sun. This is what we look out at from the porch while eating/relaxing. We are leaning toward a flagstone type patio with grass, moss or similar in between the stones, (we had this in our former home). We plan to have a planted area along the garage. The second door at the back of the garage will be the access for lawn mower etc. We're considering a small step down with a larger landing area to accommodate that unless there was some type of natural looking ramp (ha!) we could incorporate. Not sure what to do at the end by fence as it slopes down. Plantings? Water feature? (we like more natural looking water features, not a fountain). Thanks in advance for suggestions/ideas.

You have provided a lot of good and useful information to get some ideas flowing. What is missing is how this space relates to the house, the alley and all the urban going on around it. Step back and take some more pictures that show that.