Our Yard: Before

We have a half acre of land, mostly shaded, and on a corner. The house sits on the crest of th property, so the yard slopes downward from the front and back of the house. The front has a slight slope toward the street, then about eight feet from the street, drops dramatically into a concrete drainage culvert (50¢ word for ditch). Currently, the steep part of the slope has grass on it. It is difficult, if not dangerous, to cut with a push mower. The trees in the front are big—all over 50'.

The back yard is fairly flat for about 30-35' out from the house, then gradually slopes down to the neighbor's house. The back yard is bordered by large trees, quite a few azaleas, and periwinkle as a groundcover, with grass in the middle. There is one, big, magnificent magnolia in the back.

I like trees, even very large ones, but sometimes a tree is in the wrong spot. I don't like the idea of having big trees too close to the house, as I wouldn't want one crashing through the house during a storm or due to unseen decay or shallow roots. We have quite a few large trees within damage distance of the house, so over time, those will be culled out. There are more pines than I feel comfortable with (I'd like none), including one 80-85' monster 50' from the house, and it leans toward the house. On either side of the driveway are 65-footers—one a maple, the other a tulip poplar. They have to go because they're pushing up concrete slabs, and I want them gone before they do serious (and expensive) damage to the driveway. All of the trees that need to come down are healthy, just in the wrong place. I don't like having trees over 35' anywhere near the house, so, unfortunately, they'll be cut down.

Over time, the trees we have cut down will be replaced with trees of a more appropriate size. I also intend to reduce the amount of grass in the yard, especially the front. Grass takes a lot of time, money, and resources to keep up, and doesn't work well in shade, anyway. We like having the front of the house shaded in the afternoon, so the big trees in front near the street will stay, as they aren't really within striking distance of the house. And that dangerous slope in front is going to be terraced. Right now, I think I'd like a Japanese garden in the front, which would be beautiful with the terraces.