I had both Monsieur Tillier and Mrs BR Cant. They both get large. I think Mrs BR Cant has a better form and will stay more compact (although still large) while MT will be more of a rambling shape. Same as Susan, I lost most of the above ground growth during the polar vortex, but they grew back fine. Unfortunately I had to dig them up when they tore up my yard. They didn't survive in the pots (probably my fault). I do have 2 new Mrs BR Cants now. Before the polar vortes, my Mrs. BR Cant was about 8 feet wide and 5 feet tall.

TFitz, when you say "gas meter," that's what I think you're talking about. The higher meter is electric. Sky Pencil Holly is a possibility. Regardless of what you plant, it would be good to paint the conduits, box and wires white in the meanwhile so it doesn't stand out as much. Be careful of planting something that will grow too large or fast or you'll end up regretting it.

The 6 shaded circles on the side of the areaway are Emerald Green Arborvitae (Sorry for shading them). There are no other trees/plantings in the yard. The “x” marks on the patio are a sitting wall. The swingset and climber look huge on the sketch but really don’t feel that imposing in the space. They are able to be moved. Ideally I would like to have two gardens; one for my children to experiment with and one for vegetables. I would also like to add fence plantings, a planting area with a tree in the patio nook behind the sitting wall, and plantings along the screened porch for privacy.

1. Testing No, there's nowhere local that does it :-( There used to be a county agency that did it, but by time I got around to using them they had lost funding. Now I have no clue how to do it. 2. Quality Seed Meh... I've bought Scotts and Pennington from Lowes (the only local option) and Amazon. I guess they're good brands in general, but there's a good chance that they lay around in warehouses for years. But again, I'm not sure what my alternative would be? 3. Watering The front yard doesn't have any type of alternate watering other than rain, but ironically, it's the better lawn!! LOL The back yard is enclosed and I have several flower gardens set up there. I have 2 sprinklers (hooked up to water hoses laying on the ground) that I run every other day unless there's been a fair amount of rain. The back yard is FULL of weeds, though. I don't know the types, but a lot of it looks like grass, has very thick (green but woody) leaves, and grows very fast. But it dies away every Fall. There's also a ton of crabgrass, dandelions, clover, and some sort of broadleaf weed that looks kinda like dandelion, but it gets really big and has pricks that are sharp enough to cut you. I try to dig them up manually, but I guess they spread seed before they get big enough to see :-( 4. Aeration I have not, but probably should. Most of the front yard is nice and soft, but the back is very hard! I tried to run landscape wire earlier in the year and could hardly get a shovel in... and when I did, it often broke up in chunks or just red dust instead of staying in clumps. The full shade area near the garage (that actually floods) is pretty soft, but the other shade area (farthest from the house) is dry and hard. I was originally thinking about Round-Up'ing (Rounding-Up?) the whole yard, then in 2 or 3 weeks running a tiller or something to till up all of the dead roots and mix in fertilizer or garden soil, then either laying sod or spreading new seed. Is there a better (eg, "faster" or "cheaper") option? I can borrow a tractor, so if you think it's better to buy or rent an aerator and spread new seed again then it's an option.