Just to be difficult because that is something I am good at, what I have seen in your photo's that is most curious to me is the three faces of your lawn. It goes from lush green to brown to half and half. I am not used to that anymore. I do like your courtyard and the bench I see in it. You can see that it will grow in nicely. I like options for moving around and into and out of spaces. You have given a reason to enjoy and use that entry and a reason not to close the drapes. As for the tree in front I think you should plant one. Kill the Pine. Even a small tree will soften the wall and the second story window above and behind it. I would put the tree 10' to 12' out from the wall and 1/3 of the "courtyard wall" length towards the driveway side. This will leave the sideyard corridor open and give a hint of privacy to come for the second story window from the road. You don't need to incorporate it into the foundation bed. The new owner can decide on that. I think a buyer would get more from a small tree than a blank space. As realtors like to tell me over and over "people have no imagination when it comes to the landscape". And if you choose well and space properly you may be able to drive by in 20 years and look at the gorgeous tree you planted. And that is priceless as credit card companies would have us know. ilima

Hi, I have two figs planted in front of my house, which faces south. One is a Hardy Chicago and the other is a Brown Turkey. For the first two years I tied the branches up like a tower and then wrapped them with fleece and wool blankets finishing with a layer of green felt.At Christmas I would string lights on them which I figured added some heat as well as looked festive. Last year they were just too tall (6-7') to cover so I left them bare. I figured if they died to the ground they would still be alive and we would start again. Well they are greening up now and we had temps in the single digits. They are planted next to the house so they did have some weather protection. I hope this helps, Lynne

Thank you for the praise. It feels good! You know, it's way easier to photoshop than to actually landscape. :) So, yeah, Frenchdressing, send me a photo. Lipton, I'm guessing that when you say formal, you mean you'd like more evergreens, maybe a mixture of defined shapes and natural shapes. Perhaps some border roses in one color? I'll be happy to make another stab in the dark, even if you can just describe colors. When I looked at your house, I thought the garden would look nice if it was all one big gardenia... Dark evergreens, white roses, maybe an evergreen magnolia (not sure what zone you're in). Maybe dark ground cover like vinca or Virginia creeper. I agree that it'd be a good idea, once you know what design you like, to go chat up the garden folks, because I have a black thumb.

Well, with the 80 mile an hour winds we can get off the lake so far I guess I've been lucky even though they are larger than what is shown in the photo now? Thankfully, we will move in the next year or so :) They are beautiful, keep a nice shape and they line the streets all over our community and are fairly large/older trees. Hence, I chose them for the shape and what was recommended for me to plant up the drive. Thank you for your thoughts.