I took some pictures and uploaded them to Photobucket. I will also upload a sketch with what is currently in our yard and some ideas we have for possible changes. I have a sketch with exact measurements and locations of trees, etc., but it's too big to scan in so I'll have to do a basic sketch on some smaller paper as soon as I get a chance. The dimensions of the backyard are almost exactly 80' wide by 80' deep. It appears to be deeper than it is wide, but maybe that's because the veggie garden (which is 15' wide by 47' deep) takes up a good chunk of the east side of the yard. I really like the idea of going to some favorite nurseries and collecting business cards from designers. I was trying Google searches and met with one company whose work looked nice, but it turns out that they don't do design work without being locked into a contract with them to do the bulk of the landscaping work. We'd have to sign a contract (telling them our budget range) and they would draw up plans within that range and do most of the work, subbing out stuff they don't do themselves, with the design being part of the package deal. I think I'd rather work with someone who has more flexibility in allowing us to do parts of the work ourselves without being penalized for it. lazygardens and butterflygardening: Thanks for the helpful links- I am reading through them! alygal- We love the idea of raising chickens (or ducks!), but unfortunately our city doesn't allow them in residential areas. Some of the towns around us havejust recently started allowing them, so maybe it will be a possibility in the future! Here are some of our current ideas for making our yard more attractive and usable in the ways we'd like to use it. - Possibly ditch the sandbox, although I am torn because the kids do use it when it's nice outside. The problem is that it's so close to the house that they always come in still covered with sand, AND it's location really limits the width of the planting bed around the breakfast nook. If we keep the sandbox, I think I'd at least make the flagstone path along it more narrow to allow for a slightly wider bed there. - Widen pretty much all of the beds to allow more layered planting (to increase attractiveness and privacy in the yard). I would also like to have a nice bed along the patio and around where the sandbox is, so basically be left with an area of the grass in the middle of the yard. - Possibly add a slight berm along the garden fence and plant a variety of shrubs and small trees to make the garden less prominent since it's not much too look at most of the year. - Make the patio more usable by extending it a little deeper (it's now 20' wide by 10' deep). - Add something to get more shade on the patio. It gets shade starting in the mid-afternoon and through the evening from our neighbors house to the west, so I don't really want to add a hard cover (my husband's idea) because I think it would detract from the look of the house. I am thinking a well placed tree would eventually have the right effect (and I'm content to use a patio umbrella as needed until then). - Add a screened in gazebo (about 12' x 12') south of the patio area toward the south side of the yard for dinners and entertaining. My husband is a mosquito magnet so he really wants this for enjoying the yard in the evenings. - Add a structure toward the southeast corner of the yard (about 8' x 10') to be used as a playhouse/garden retreat. I picture it looking like a little cottage style potting shed more than a mini playhouse, so that even after the kids outgrow it, I can still enjoy it as a garden retreat. - Revise current pathways through the yard and add pathways as needed to new structures, to the veggie garden/shed, etc. Would like to maybe use some reddish flagstone in addition to the buff ones we currently have and mix them up a bit as the buff looks so bland to me against our house. - Possibly cover the patio with flagstone to make it more attractive and more cohesive with pathways. Thanks for any advice or suggestions you may have. Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Pictures

I am a big fan of mixing materials, to too great an extent in the opinion of others here when I've posted photos. We have a paver patio (two types of paver) bordered with a natural rock wall, and we have a flagstone walk bordering other materials. There are some ground rules for mixing materials. Although I can't always articulate them, I think they are the same as for mixing patterns, colours, and textures indoors. I think it has to do with a balance of harmony and contrast. Certainly the colours have to harmonize on some level, while the materials need to contrast perhaps in terms of piece size or pattern or texture. For example, brick and flagstone could work. The brick is a small uniformly repeating pattern, so I would use larger pieces of flagstone in a complementary colour with it. Recently someone posted here with a brick house fronted by a paver pathway in a swirly pattern. To my eye those two did not work together as the patterns, both using small units, competed with each other. If you do stamped concrete together with brick, I would not use a brick-like pattern but rather something uniform or a large motif. Flagstone can follow curves. Here is a picture of a work-in-progress (most of the planting wasn't done, nor was the clean-up, etc) flagstone walk we did that used the shape of the pieces to make curves. Curving can be done by cutting and breaking the pieces to your specifications as well. Around the fountain, the flagstones actually extend under it though this is risky; it might lever the flagstones up and cause breakage, not really recommended. Incidentally, this photo also shows an example of a failed hardscape combination - actually at both ends of the flagstone (although others might argue there are more mismatches than that). The walkway that intersects with the flagstone one is made of granite bricks. The bricks might be OK with the flagstone, but the walk itself is too rigidly rectangular to work with the flowing shape of the flagstone walk. We'll probably replace that with flagstone someday (after the other 40,000 things on the to-do list are done). At the other end, the pebbled concrete slabs don't harmonize too well, but we wanted to use them as they have sentimental value and having placed them already when we put the flagstone in... well, they're heavy, and they ain't goin' nowhere. So, I'd say materials can definitely be mixed, but with some thoughtfulness. KarinL

I think the gray/copper/charcoal mix would look good in the patio. I would probably keep the steps you have currently and try removing what look to be stains on the walkway and keep it too.

Designing is like investing in the stock market in that doesn't matter what happened yesterday but only matters what happens tomorrow and in the future. An investment mistake doesn't get better by being preserved. The questions is always, "What's the best way forward from here?" Sometimes mistakes can be too costly to fix and one might opt to live with them. But if there is a fix and it is reasonable and it makes life better, then it should be considered. Sometimes there are cheaper ways to fix things than one realizes so they should not shut down options until all are exhausted. I would not worry that seemingly a mistake might have been made with driveway placement. I'd just look at options from here on out and maybe a future brainstorm will result in a palatable solution. What matters is that the site planning and hardscaping are arranged and organized such that they function smoothly and look good and whatever those solutions turn out to be, planting will adapt. Planting is a bit like upholstering. It's going to conform to what underlies and precedes it as fabric will conform to the structure and cushions of a couch. Therefore, I wouldn't be too concerned at this point about the size of the lawn. I think you'll have opportunities to make it as you wish so long as you arrange buildings and drive in a way that is efficient and sensible. "Do you see any problem doing this but bringing it all in closer from the road like shown?" In a word, yes. It looks neither sensible or efficient. If there was going to be a drive paralleling the road and close to it, it's redundant and not efficient. The drive is getting far enough away from the entrance that it's beginning to warrant its own separate entrance and skipping the connecting drive. It would be helpful for you to justify the outbuilding positioning in that last pic so I could understand what's driving the decision. Also, answer about whether the barn/garage can be a single building or must be two ... or if the garage already is part of the house. I'm confused about that. Also, justify the seemingly huge parking lot. Why must there be such a large area for parking near the home?