Rough Landscape Plan

Here's what I've come up with so far. Of course, all this will be relative to the lot and house dimensions, which may be slightly different than depicted here. I know that some of the writing may be hard to read, so I'll try to clear things up with a list of the major plants that are going in. The pavers are only representative right now, still haven't decided between brick and pre-cast stone. One is more aesthetically pleasing, the other easier for kid traffic. And the drive will eventually be repaved with concrete, pigmented and scored to mimic slate tile. Also, we are considering switching out the teepee in the Kid's Garden for a wooden play/potting structure at Costco. The thing is ready to assemble and only costs $300, plus G is begging pretty heavily. I am so happy to have another plant lover that I will probably cave!

Front yard view

Rear yard view

-Rose Garden (inspired by Prairie Rose House!)

2 "Austrian Copper", rambling species; 1 "Eden", climbing tea; 1 "Sombreuil", climbing tea; 1 "Abraham Darby", English shrub; 1 "Queen Nefertiti", English shrub; 1 "Graham Stuart Thomas", English shrub; 1 "Golden Celebration", English shrub; 1 "Gertrude Jeckyll", English shrub; 1 "La Reine Victoria", Rambling bourbon; 1 "Mary Rose", English shrub; 1 "Angel Face", hybrid tea; 1 "Apothecary Rose", Gallic; 1 "Reine des Violettes", bourbon; 1 "William Shakespeare 2000", English shrub; 1 "Wise Portia", English shrub; 1 "Mme Alfred Carriere", noisette; 1 "Mme Hardy", damask; 1 "Darlow's Enigma", musk; 1 "Desiree Parmentier", gallic.

-Fruit trees in front

1 "Green Gage", European plum; 1 "Wilson Delicious", apricot.

-Fruit trees in rear

1 "Wolf River", apple; 1 "Lodi", apple; 1 "WhiteGold", cherry; 1 "Royalton", cherry; 1 "FlavorCrest", peach; 1 "O'Henry", peach.

-Ornamental trees/shrubs in Kid's Garden

1 "Autumn Gold", gingko biloba; 1 "Nicholsonii", Japanese maple; 1 "Blue Atlas", weeping cedar (not shown); 1 "Primrose", lilac; 1 common lilac.

-"Possible" hedge along drive ( I feel a little mean about planting something that will definitely spread to the other side of the fence, but I also want some privacy)

2 "Adelaide Dunbar", lilacs; 2 "Mme Lemoine", lilacs; 2 "Charles Joly", lilacs; 2 "President Grevy", lilacs.

For The Doubters

Ok, I know that all our family and friends are having a really hard time wrapping their heads around the idea of us as a restoration team for any major fixer-upper. This post is for all of you. If you are an innocent houseblogger or casual reader, feel free not to read this vent.
WE ARE NOT CONFUSED, WE ARE NOT CRAZY, SO STOP FEELING SORRY FOR US!
(Deep breath)
See, it's okay to tell us we may not know what we're doing, because we don't. That's right, we don't. In order to know, we'd already had to have done this at least once. Hence the "first time" homebuyers. We're not embarrassed that we cannot afford a fully finished house, or even one that costs upward of $120k. You shouldn't be either. R is a hard worker and I am proud of him for the accomplishments he has. And if we make a mistake along the way, it's not going to end our universe. Every person out there at one time or another has been a first-time homebuyer. The thing is, we have learned to see this not as an overwhelming project, but more as a hands-on tutorial in Self-Reliance 101. Because when that next deployment rolls around, God forbid, I will be on my own no matter what kind of house we have. Now would you rather I know the workings of that house and what to do when something breaks, (which it always will, Murphy's law of deployment), or do you want to be on the other end of that phone conversation where I'm calling to scream and cry about the hundreds or thousands we had to spend b/c R isn't around enough to work on the problem and I haven't learned the skills. Hmm, I'll take what's behind Door No. 1 thank you. When we share our progress with you, it is frustrating to hit this wall of discouragement or ignorance. We really want to make everyone a part of the exciting task we're embarking on, but without co-operation that's impossible. That doesn't mean falling in line and glibly repeating' "how nice" when talking to us. It just means we'd prefer you keep any non-useful comments to yourselves. No doomsday stuff, please. R and I and the boys love all of you to distraction, and are really hopefull that someday when we have enough finished living quarters you'll get the opportunity to experience what we poured our hearts into firsthand. With great affection,
The Black Sheep