Thanks so much for everyone's time in posting. I think my response is going to be longer than my initial post! The lemon treemaybe I should take a picture from the sidewalk. The picture I posted was taken from my neighbors deck as the "before" of our roof. I think the tree looks taller from the sidewalk. And we like it covering the window. We can see out, but people on the sidewalk cant see in. All the yellow lemons are really very pretty from the inside, almost like Christmas ornaments! We dont spend much time out front because we have a large, gorgeous backyard. We get shade from several other trees. Matter of fact, I am always concerned about having too much shade to grow some of the plants I want. I really do feel very strongly about the natives. I volunteer on an annual native plant tour. I raise butterflies in the backyard. The front garden needs to be drought tolerant, deer resistant and butterfly friendly. I could probably accomplish that with Mediterranean, but the natives are important to me. Mediterranean plants are in very heavy use in our microclimate. Maybe Im having a Mediterranean backlash like I had a purple backlash several years ago. I guess part of wanting a "strong design element" in front is based on the fact that with natives, the front yard isnt going to be in bloom all year. I want it to be interesting to look at. Also, I spend a lot of time maintaining our backyard and really cant come up with a whole lot more time to spend on the front every week. I have driven around looking at front yards and I like the ones that look like the owners spent some time on the design rather than just an accidental collection of plants. But I dont want a highly formal design. I tend to be a plant collector in the backyard, so I want to have something a little more restrained in the front. I have seen dry streambeds done well and not so well. So I understand your concerns. I'll put that in the "don't do that" file. I should probably explore berms, but I dont know if they look any more natural than dry streambeds. One of the main plants I know I want is the vine maple and I want it to be well planted and integrated into the design. With our backyard, we could divide it into sections and work on it a little at the time. The front yard seems to need a cohesive plan. I will have to have some dirt hauled in, so if I am going to add any dirt, I probably want to do that before putting down the new flagstones. I'm not really seeing this as increasing the hardscape unless you are talking about the streambed as hardscape. We are basically going to redo the existing front walk and then where it going from the front walk to the driveway. Yes, the fence would go all the way to the drive. I was almost embarrassed to post that picture. The fence has been taken down in sections as weve had the work done on the driveway and the roof. Weve got to get rid of a ton of red rock and black plastic. Im under no illusions that this is going to be easy, but I want to make sure I dont get to a step and realize that Ive done something out of order or something that created another problem. Later, I am going to bust up the concrete between the sidewalk and street to get rid of those diamond shaped planters that have been so hard to deal with, but that is further down the road and I can easily separate that from the main project. Ill give more consideration to a post and rail fence painted white rather than a split rail left natural. My partner found a round stone patio with a bench in one of the library books I brought home. If I could find a bench that really spoke to me, I may go in that direction. Oh no! Now I'm feeling unfocused again and that makes me afraid that this project is going to keep stretching out... Yes, the chimney is quite the focal point! There are several like it in our neighborhood.

well ... back to the growth rates .... plant some trees the will grow fast for the screen .. and start a collection of slower growing stuff that in 50 years... will still be under your height demands ... and then just hire some punk with a chainsaw to take out the bigger ones ... no garden is planted today ... perfect today ... and neither will it be in 50 years ... lets be realistic about your age [i wont ask] ,... what you want to accomplish .. and how pretty you want to make it.. before we worry about what you are going to do about it all when your teeth fall out ... lol ... DO WHAT PLEASES YOU NOW .... wonder about what it will be like in 10 or 20 years .. but really now... are you really going to be that fixated on it all in 50 years ... i mean really .. even if you are only 20 ... are you going to go cut down trees at 70 .. just becasue they got too big.. i bet not ... you cant worry about EVERYTHING in life ... so clarify what you want to do now... here is 3 pictures of beds to hide the neighbors houses ... i dont really care what it will look like in 50 years ... nor 10 .. if somethink irks me .. i will cut it down .. hopefully while i can still do it with my chainsaw.. and dont have to hire out the job ... maybe you shouldnt be thinking of a straight line either ...... each of the below beds hides one house ... good luck ken

Actually, the only invasives in my neighbors' yards are some shrubs they inherited. In fact, they have been pretty cooperative about my removing invasives from the hedges between our yards. As a result, I've been able to get rid of some buckthorn, shrub honeysuckles, and young siberian elms. I live in an older suburb of smaller houses on 1/4 acre lots. My yard really stands out and the neighbors' reactions have ranged from tolerant to enthusiastic. When I dig a new bed or plant native shrubs I try to talk to my immediate neighbors about it to let them know what I am doing. To maintain goodwill, I'm reluctant to plant things in the front yard that will make them concerned about seeding into their yards. This approach has worked fairly well for me.

I used rocks for a border once and they were a pain. I liked the look but weeds were a problem - and you couldn't mow real close to them. I really think mulch can make a nice border. If you make a edging trench... just a shovel, step and pry to one side .... fill the trench with mulch- the trench holds the line. You can run your lawn mower right over the mulch edge to get the grass that grows there. The biggest draw back with mulch is that it has to be re-applied as it decays. But for a "natural" look, I'd have to say mulch is probably the easiest to deal with. The next best alternative to mulch edge is those plastic edging borders. They need to be re-stepped in every year because of frost heave, where I live. My neighbor uses them and they aren't bad and barely visible... gives an easy edge to mow right up against. They make black which is probably the most inobtrusive color, but I believe there are other colors and patterns one can get now also.