First off your home is beautiful!! I think you need to be thinking about that in-ground pool you are going to put in, they need to dig it out so you don't want to go planting beds & shrubs & trees just to dig them back out so take a garden hose & map out where it is going to be-use the hose laying on ground in shape of swimming pool, then a 2nd hose a few feet out from where the pool will be as you have to have a space around the pool, you don't want that whole area too close to the back hill which might send a lot of water & dirt, etc into that area. Also are you having the pool fenced in, much safer all around if you do, neighbor kid isn't as likely to drown if he can't see water or get gate open. So pool, edging area & fencing placement all needs to be figured out 1st. Then you will want to be placing trees & shrubs where they aren't dropping leaves, flowers & twigs in the pool. Also you need to figure out how large these things will be if it gets really hot you might want some shade during hot part of day-but off at a distance Along with that you may need to plan the walkway at back of house. If pool will be used constantly that has to be thought out, probably cement walkway to house to change or will there be a pool house, bathroom trips, need to figure out how that will work as kids will drip through the house so I'd be getting some graph paper & figuring out where all the stuff you are having will be, patio in back or on that side? You can plan trees in front yard but even that needs to be where pool can't be seen or so pool can be seen depending on your preferences. Fall is good for planning trees & shrubs at least that is when my son planted back that way. So once you have the pool area mapped out then present it to this forum so they might be able to give you ideas for putting plants but if I were you I would be getting that BIL out to your house for steaks on the BBQ & pinning him down on what you've drawn & see what his opinion is, if you have put in some work planning & laying it out then he will know you are serious & more likely to help you. I have 4 younger brothers. a suggestion often gets bypassed but hand 1 a screwdriver & ask if they can screw something to the wall & might ask what else needs to be done.(things I can't figure out how to do or require more strength like changing outdoor faucet.) Hope it works.

"Any idea on how to make the front garden more presentable?" Just because an object is pretty, in and of itself, it's not necessarily the case that a collection of pretty objects set randomly about will create a pretty scene. In landscaping, one's goal is to bring a complete scene together. Here, I think your yard looks like it it filled with junk ... in spite of the fact that Hosta are pretty plants. The sharply pointed wedge bed (flanking the walk) that points at the viewer is patently unfriendly and hostile looking. I'd get rid of the bed (completely) and place the good plants in better places and in better arrangements. It's not easy now to say where as the photo is very unclear about the spaces at the far right and left side. If you could rake the leaf camouflage away and take a sharp, clear picture in better light, it would help. There need to be some indicators in the photo as to where the lot lines are located. Your yard would look MUCH better if you just had decent grass instead of the bad bed and bad grass. It's likely that there is not enough light to grow good grass (maybe at all) so, first,analyze the light conditions to determine where it's possible to grow decent grass. Where it's not possible, your only other choices are mulch, paving or groundcover. It looks like English Ivy growing at the left of the drive. This could end up being your "friend." Keep it sharply edged (mechanically) at the drive. Keep it edged (mechanically or chemically) at the ground along the base of the house. Don't "edge" it on the house itself. You can let it grow on the base of the tree, but don't let it escape up into the tree. Trim it around the trunk at a uniform height a couple times a year.

I agree ... simple proximity. You'll create more maintenance by dividing the properties with planting and mulch. Plain old mowing will be easier. It's a common problem -- being unhappy with the neighbor's yard upkeep -- but if you can't divide with a solid fence, then the best thing is to take care of your own property and hope the neighbor sells sooner rather than later. Just mow up to the line and ignore beyond. Weed seeds, insects and disease are blowing and walking around everywhere and there's nothing you can do about it. Treat your own space and make it look as good as you can. Sometimes, the neighbor will be motivated by guilt (but this is usually slow and late) when their property looks so bad compared to that next door.

Thank you for all the great ideas and info on how to landscape the way you have it! The retaining wall we just added last fall as the side of the hill was starting to cover a window over there and my dad (a civil engineer) said we needed a retaining wall to keep the side of the hill from becoming structurally unsound. The fence is there because that side of the yard is not dog proof yet and probably won't be until we rent a big dumpster for the yard renovation as the previous owners left a bunch of dangerous (to dogs) junk under those stairs. Because at the time we didn't have the time to clean up the yard, we just put up a fence and have just left it there as we have discovered the rocks and yard in general isn't working out well for the dogs anyways so we would have to redo everything. I don't know what kind of soil we have. I've been planning to stop by the local Extension office to get a soil test kit to find out what the soil is like. There is a bare patch of grass near the deck stairs that has been bare since we purchased the house so I'm wondering if that part of the yard has something wrong with the soil. We have tried seeding that area multiple times with different type seeds and nothing ever worked. You have me very excited about doing the yard now. I can't wait to remove all that rock.