who does'nt like 4 year olds? I mean for real, they are adorable, funny, and inventive! I think i would have marched myself over there and explained if there was a problem with one of my children my door was always open but it was absolutely unacceptable and intolerable to yell at my child...period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is that enough exclamation points to get the point across lol. Why do people have to be so rude, and especially to new neighbors, they will need their grass mowed someday or the drive shoveled when yours are old enough to help and my guess is it aint gonna happen :). My solution is get the yappiest dog you can find and when you go out into your yard place it right on your property line of the ugly neighbor and i am talking within inches of being on their property :). Or a rooster right by their bedroom window? The possibilities are endless hehe. Ducks trained to only poop in their yard...okay enough. I cant seem to let it go, so i am just gonna stop typing all together lol. One last comment though, i think once the lean to is gone a nice gazebo with a opening to the creek area and to the front would be nice with some sort of a walk to down to the creek. You could put bench seating on one side of the gazebo and a swing on the other...geez it gets more relaxing as we go. Plant nice flower beds around the gazebo and you could even have like a stone path from the house to the gazebo and tie it all in and the same stone path on down to the creek from the gazebo. You could use creek rock which would be very economical if you could find some place to collect it, just alot of work but sounds like your not afraid of that since you have spoke of the work you are undertaking already :). Come to think of it since your neighbors are so ugly would you consider selling lol. I know how to take care of people like that :).

Basu: I currently only hand irrigate, not a lot: only when things are getting to the point where they HAVE to have water. Eventually I plant to have a better set up, but probably drip irrigation and swale irrigation (a more natural alternative) along with other alternative forms of irrigation. I will say that if your land slopes away from your home, I wouldn't worry about leveling the land too much. Be thankful. My entire property, the water goes TOWARDS all buildings (especially since neighbor removed her gutters). It's been a huge problem and a very $$$: we get more frequent torrential rains now than when I moved here 15 years ago: meaning it doesn't rain as often, but when it does: boy, lookout!! it's hard to deal with. I have purchased some plants from Johnson's but I have found their current catalog lacks any of the wonderful cultural information their previous catalogs has, but their website still seems the same. Their orchard supply has many organic or low toxicity sprays for conventional fruit, but you'd still have to do it unless you find the "magic tree" (yes, sometimes they exist!!). You also have to hope that the climate works in your favor and flowering for fruit happens when the bees are able to do their work. It's becoming more variable with climate change. New and alternative fruits (for this climate) often flower during warmer periods, and provide a new source of fruit during challenging times.

While play sets are great, they are expensive and do take up space . . . And you can always take your kids to a playground. You can't take them to a sandbox (well, unless you live near the beach), nor can you take them to a trampoline. My kids had a single swing on a tree branch, and it was heavily used for YEARS. They also had a Little Tikes slide. They didn't use it for years, but they did use it intensely around 1.5-2.5 years. Literally, they'd slide, the run around to slide again . . . Maybe 50 times in a row. Somehow it was a big confidence builder. Lots of playtime for something that cost $2 at a yard sale . . . And then went to younger nieces and nephews. Ditto for the sandbox. My kids used it, used it, used it. You can get one with a lid. When I have grandchildren, I think I'll build a really big, really fine sandbox. My kids did love it so. I don't remember sand in the house being an issue, but we didn't keep the sandbox particularly near the back door, so the sand had space to fall off. When our kids were in elementary school, my husband bought a trampoline, which he said had been his favorite toy growing up. No other toy was used as much for as many years as that trampoline. They jumped on it every single day, they'd lay on it and read. They even slept out on it a couple times. We did make strict rules about shoes and multiple jumpers. And we didn't allow them to bring the dog up (for fear her claws would cut the material and/or the dog would break her legs jumping off). You do need some kind of a step to help the kids access the trampoline, and I'd recommend a safety net.

Thanks for the responses. Yaardvark, thanks for the comments. Did you mean by extend the patio, by creating more concrete block patio? I'm not a fan of the look of this and was thinking of either decking over top or demo'ing it. Good points on the left side of the fence. that's really only the area that gets good sunlight. I've grown stuff there before. Same with the right side of the fence.. basically anywhere where the house isn't creating shade. NHBabs, thanks for the comments. What other goals do you have? We want a functional space where we can enjoy with family, i.e. outside dinners, hanging out with friends, etc. Our boys are outside kids and run around with other kids on the block in the green space behind our house, they rarely enter our backyard. Outdoor cooking? Yes definetly. I was thinking of a bbq area with an overhang pergola for a bbq spot in that "nook" area beside the staircase. Privacy? Not really a concern, the tall cedars give us plenty of space. Of what is there, do you like it? (I am looking at that row of Arborvitae and wondering if they need to be there.) The cedars are nice and give us privacy, which we like. Are there views you want to enhance or block? No, there are no views. behind our backyard is a greenspace and walkway which gets quite a bit of traffic on weekends.. we want to keep people out of sight. What is your budget? (I am not asking for specifics, but you need to consider it.) $5-8K Does it make more sense to have the patio demo'ed or to put on a rail for safety and then do patio of similar blocks a step down? Yes, this was my thinking. I was actually thinking that lower area might make a nice small hot tub area. Would putting in a wood deck on piers over the storm drain and its steep grade give you more workable space? yes, this was another though of mine, the only problem is you would have to put up some sort of shade/blind as you will be quite high now looking over the neighbours yard. What general plant types/shapes, placed where, would give you what you want to soften the space, add ornament, and meet other functions (cutting garden, shade, privacy, etc)? All great points and worth thinking about. I need help with the design. This is where I lack skill and decision making. Floral_uk - my dad and I solarized the lawn last summer/fall, we put tarps over the whole lawn to kill everything off. Moss stayed though and as such it's very squishy and ya drainage appears to be an issue. The builders are garbage in my area and they basically just threw down a small amount of soil and sod over the back yard.. if I was keeping grass I'd consider redoing the drainage.