I'm using your plan view drawing to make some suggestion. I don't there is as much space in the back yard as it shows so I'm reducing it some. For starters, it looks to me like you are making the patio too small to be genuinely useful. By the time you place a table and chairs, a grill, spillover seating and what not, it would be extremely crowded. Consider expanding it to what average users might desire, even if you don't think you need that much space. I've never heard anyone complain about having too much space on the patio, but plenty complaining of too little. Some small (15' height) trees surrounding the back yard would help give a sense of privacy without becoming overwhelming. To my thinking, multi-trunk trees would be better than single trunks ... more substance, more screening and more options of what could be used. At the front yard, a small multi-trunk tree between you and neighbor's would help your house from theirs and help screen the view between the houses. A medium flowering tree could give the house a sense of being somewhat sheltered, protected and give the street some personality. Like others, I agree that not having shrubs between drive and walk is better. Low (less than 12") groundcover would work better. Carrying it around the sloped portion of the yard and L. side of house would lessen maintenance and give a fuller look. Some seasonal color near the steps would be a cheerful greeting when entering the house.

If you now truly have a blank slate, you will need to be thinking beyond just perennials. Shrubs and even small trees form the bones of a garden and will offer that screening you desire in front of the open crawl space, as well as a year round presence. And as far as low maintenance is concerned, shrubs and trees, especially evergreen ones, tend to be on the low end of the maintenance scale while perennials are working their way up the scale. Most will need to be cut back or cleaned up at least annually as well as often needing staking or periodic dividing. Much fewer of those concerns with shrubs and trees. I'd suggest you try reposting this in either the Landscape Design forum or the Georgia Gardening forum ( for very local input) or both. And try to include a photo of the area in question as well as its aspect (facing north or on west side, etc.) and how much sun the area receives. Your request is just a little vague - the more specific or detailed your request, the more likely you are to generate some appropriate suggestions.

Congratulations on building your new home. Based on our experience here are a few things you should look into: 1) Whether your shed (accessory building) is allowed in your zoning code. 2) The maximum sq ft of the accessory building that is allowed. 3) How far does it need to be setback from your property line. This varies between municipalities. 4) Make sure your Crabapple tree (Malus spp). is going to do well in your plant hardiness zone. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ 5) Regarding the shrubs, in our planting designs we try to only specify plants that are native to the state and region, because of reduced irrigation and maintenance needs. In looking at your pictures, we think that the swale should be usable space for recreation and repose. The trees can be located near the deck for privacy purposes; we recommend planting mature trees (large gallon size) because of higher survivability rates. If you are using the Crabapple tree for privacy, take into account that their canopy range is between 10'-25' diameter depending on the species. Also keep in mind that Crabapple is deciduous, which means you may want to consider a mix of deciduous and coniferous (evergreen). Lastly, we think you should cluster your plantings along the edges of the sides of the property (not in front of the swale); this would make your back yard look bigger. Good luck with the improvements and please post pictures when your done! -DR, Landscape Designer

I'll hold off on the detailed analysis until I work up one with a cooktop & wall oven - not until tomorrow, though. Quick Look: Perimeter counters, base cabinets, and upper cabinets are all 3" deeper than standard. 28.5"D counters, 27"D base cabs, and 15"D uppers. If you cannot get 27"D base cabinets, then pull the cabinets 3" out from the wall when they're installed. -- Sink run...gives you more space for the sink, faucet, and other fixtures and allows the upper cabinet to be 15"D and down to the counter without the loss of landing space in front of the Dish Hutch. Note that a Dish Hutch can be more of a traditional look, so if you don't like it, then the upper does not have to go down to the counter. (I'd still keep the deeper cabs & counter.) -- Range wall...helps make the Refrigerator look counter-depth. The refrigerator is also made to appear "built-in" by flanking it with finished end panels on the sides that are deep enough to cover the sides of the refrigerator and a full-depth cabinet above the refrigerator that's pulled out to line up with the front of the refrigerator carcass. The doors will still have to stick out past the counters & cabinets so they can be fully opened. Trash pullout in main Prep Zone in island but close to Cooking Zone and Cleanup Zone as well as the Prep Zone b/w the range and main sink. Pantry houses a large appliance garage along one wall with base cabinets below. The counter is 30" deep to allow for an 18"D appliance garage. If it doesn't need to be that deep, then you can reduce it. The base cabinets are also deeper, if possible - 28.5" or 27". Dish storage is in a 36" Dish Hutch (I think it's become my "signature" along with a plate rack when the sink is against the wall!) It's close to the DW for ease of unloading as well as very close to the seating island for ease of setting the table! The refrigerator is offset from the island so it's not blocking the island aisle and it's located so it's easily accessed from the Prep Zones, Cooking Zone, MW/Snack Center in the Pantry, the island seating, and the Great Room -- all without outsiders using the refrigerator getting underfoot of those prepping & cooking! Since it's only the 2 of you 90% of the time, I put in a 42-inch aisle b/w the range counters and the island. The aisle will be a couple of inches narrower in front of the range. If two of you are working, there are two Prep Zones, so you won't be in conflict with each other. Layout #1 -- Range and Table-style Island with seating for 6: . Layout #1 Zone Map: