Karin, I prefer not to landscape across slope. Flaw is probably the wrong word and I'll just assume it wasn't the intention. I apologize but I read your paragraph several times and was unable to interpret your comments regarding the second picture reference. I felt as if I was trying to decipher one of Ink's posts. Bahia, Yeah I went back and forth with the posts. I received confirmation on the wood type so we went ahead and put felt around the posts and buried them with 4" of concrete. The post itself is on a footing. The post next to the retaining wall isn't buried. Pls, Not sure if you're just making a general point about improper grade or not. The only thing I would change is that I'd have the area where the retaining wall is now cored out further past the post. I still might do this...probably not though as the wall following the line of the concrete and ending where the deck ends above looks good to me. I currently don't have any erosion issues and actually happy with the grading. At the end of the day I've gotten some great feedback and will take in certain elements to refine the plan. I'm feeling better about what I have and the changes I plan to make. I'll post an update in a few months. I'll leave you with this. This is what a professional landscape designer put together. I took issue with the boring straight line plantings around the lot lines but took some ideas from the perimeter of the home.

Thanks for the comments! Yes, I am in high-learning mode, and I am not the author of the plan, so I am more than happy for the critique. :-) Good questions regarding scale. Let's see...the house section next to the flagstone path is the garage - about 24 x 24. It's drawn a bit small on the not-perfectly-to-scale plan I linked to, but that should be a rough guide. The blank space in front of that is the driveway (someone asked about that). So, the beds are pretty large, and per the designer, this plan leaves a good amount of space for growth and for additional plantings. What is also not shown in that side area is that there are a couple large trees in there as well - one mature maple about 1/3 of the way from the front, and a basswood grouping about 2/3 of the way back as well. The width of the walkway between the garage and the bed is about 9'. Couple other notes - ws is white snowberry. About 5' behind those is a rail fence, and then the neighbors have some fairly sickly (but lots of them!) arbor vitae in mulch marching in a line along their side of the fence. The ferns are kind of down a hill, where the woods start. From the brick walkway, you would not be able to see the full plant. By way of example, currently there are volunteer lilies of the valley there, and a million maple saplings. From the walk, you can't see the lilies at all, and you can only see the maples I've neglectfully let get a foot tall or more. I am going to take a look at cimicifuga and ligularia, and the silver mound artemisia mentioned. I've been wondering about the King of Hearts...he originally had geranium biokova, which I didn't like (opinions?), and then put these in, but the feathery leaves...wondering whether something with a "stronger"/simpler leaf structure might keep it from getting scrappy-looking. As far as annuals - there is currently a small annual bed in front of some existing spirea in the front bed (there are 8 spirea and a very large yew in that spot, as well as three arbor vitae stumps the prior owners had had and then removed). I like the ability to have some annuals, in addition to containers and my windowboxes, and raised it with him, and he sort of thought we would think about where it would be most effective as we get in to the planting process, which is fine with me - I certainly want someone working on this who isn't rigid if conditions for their plan turn out not to be good. I will have an irrigation system - the space is far too big for me to manage by hand and give it what it needs. I know this from experience (and the realities of my weekday life), even with far fewer plantings and pretty hardy stuff. Laughing about the Mexican Fiesta - no, that's not my goal! (Also laughing because my home uses a lot of shades of these colors - greens, browns, warm reds and yellows - and while it is colorful, I think and I'm told that it's a really warm, welcoming feeling that is both formal and embracing...how bright the colors are does vary by room, though.) My thought was that most of the time these things won't be in bloom (or not all at the same time), and the greens would also balance out the big colors. I wonder whether I should mix in some other astilbe colors in those large areas of it. I want to keep the eye interested and pulled down that big bed and while I like the pop of the red up front, I do prefer rust/orange reds vs. pure reds or blue-reds, and that astilbe fanal seems to be a pretty pure red. Absolutely want to think past spring! I was looking at what gold tide looks like post-flowering (I was worried I'd have only sticks for so much forsythia...which is true for winter, but summer looks nice, fall maybe unremarkable). Another thought - he'd originally had more of the Centerglow in the front bed leading to the front door, where there is now forsythia. I was concerned the Centerglow was dull in terms of flower interest and maybe too purple. I am less concerned now, having gone out and looked at these things quite a bit, on the purple-yness, so it's a thought if the forsythia is a bad idea. Or mixing? He's into the repetition, and while I appreciate it, I also love gardens where the plants tumble over one another with underplantings and some individuals or irregular spacing/placement, though I think for this house I see that more as good for side areas or areas further from the house.

If you want to competitive bid the project, you'll be well served to have plans and specs produced that detail the entire scope of work from demolition to final inspection and clean up. Absent those, you'll get numbers all over the place based on different assumptions.

Any time you have signficant earth movement - and removing a retaining wall with that sort of height will definitely require substantial removal or regrading - you are looking at a major expense. You should certainly get a professional involved with this to see a) if it is even feasible; b) how much it will impact grading of the rest of the property and yours and neighboring storm water flow and c) what an approximate cost mght be. But be prepared for a significantly large price tag!!