Moon, I've also read literally dozens of landscaping books, and still couldn't landscape my way out of a paperbag until I started studying design in a classroom setting. Some will say I still can't, but there it is. So it's not you. The way design principles are presented in gardening and design books makes sense only when you understand the principles by actually practicing using them. At least that's how it was for me. A scale drawing of your property showing the location of the house is a good place to start. Once you have that, you can use tracing paper to play with ideas. Start by listing what you do want and prioritizing the list. I can't tell from the photos if that's a little patio in the fenced off area behind the house or not. If you need a small patio for yourself and a couple of friends, you may want to start there. You can start by sketching in possible plantings around the patio to give it a little privacy. You don't have to block out the neighbors completely if you don't want or need to, but even a low planting will give you a feeling of comfort, and visually reduce the size of that space to a more human scale. You can then think about what you want to look at when you are on the patio, and sketch in ideas for beds that will not only give you a view, but a place to putter as well. Maybe a patio is not your first priority. It may be that you want to landscape the front to make the house seem more like it's "in" the landscape than sitting "on" it, all alone, as it is now. Think about adding some ornamental trees that frame the view of the front of the house. Pencil them in and go outside with your drawing, and imagine how they will look when they mature a bit. Do the same from inside the house, in the rooms where you will spend enough time that the view might be important. You may find that your placement blocks a view you want to keep, or will block the sun too much. Adjust if necessary. If you already know you want a fence, sketch it in, and play with plantings that conceal parts of it to make it less conspicuous. If you need shade, that's also a good place to start. Research trees that will flourish in your conditions, see what the local nurseries have available, and plan where to put them for the most benefit. The afternoon sun in the west tends to be hot, so trees placed to throw some shade on the windows or sitting area can be selected. They don't have to be huge trees to give shade as the sun gets lower in the afternoon, and the southwest and west sides might need it the most, but experiment with where shadows fall and pencil in some trees. Do you need a veggie plot? Compost pile? Shed? If so, figure out where they will be convenient to use. Veggie gardens need water, compost pile may need screening. I wouldn't worry about microclimates yet. As you plant things and put in fence, etc. they will change anyway, as sun and shade patterns and wind will be affected by anything you add. For the moment, select plants that are at least hardy in your zone, or go one zone colder to be safe in an unusually severe winter. You can experiment later with fussier plants. Hardscape is expensive. Fortunately, if there isn't a good reason to have a walk or other feature included, you can skip it. If you know you'll need a walk to make access from front to backyard more convenient in wet or winter weather, include one, just don't put it so close to the house that you end up with the dreaded 3' bed. Leave 5 or 6 feet for shrubs or groundcover, or a flowerbed if the location calls for one. I wouldn't put in a walk and focal point just for the heck of it. If you find that once you get started a walk seems like it makes sense from point A to point B, add it then. You can always wait to see where you wear a path in the lawn. All of this can take a lot of time and thought. If you're patient, you can start small with whatever ends up at the top of your priority list. If you're impatient, you can always hire a designer to do a full plan or give you some direction.

Frankie, that is exactly what I was rying to say, although it was disjointed and strung out through the thread (pun?). "I think it might be nice to have something that makes you look into it instead of at it or around it. A small patio puts the mass in the middle and give your plants something to belong to. It is one way, but not the only way or necessarily the right way for you." .... "You don't have to have a patio to do it." The same thing applies to breaking the fence. There are other plants or objects that can do it, but breaking it has a real affect. I used the term "framing" earlier, too. I don't think it is the right term. I may be better to call it "bumping". If you are trying to put gravity into an area, it re-inforces it when you put things in the composition that "bump" you back in to that space rather than creating a barrier that has a front side and a back side. A solid row or hedge tends to make your subconscience interested in what's on the other side much like a fence does. It is more subtle than fence, but does not stop the tendency. The "bump" is something we experience in both planned and unplanned situations, but is so subtle that we don't notice it. If you look around comfortable places that you frequent, you might be surprised how much unsightly stuff there actually is in open view, but somehow you never really noticed it. Look for the little not so noticable things that are keeping you from paying attention to that stuff. Something is telling your brain that the background starts before that "stuff". What makes a hedge or fence act as a background instead of a middleground when in both cases you can see objects past it? This goes on around all of us every day. When we try too hard, we often miss the simple. Here is a very simple example of "bumping". Now that this is not a hotly over-analyzed landscape, glance at the image. Where did you land? Where didn't you go?

Your garden is just as lovely as your beautiful home. Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures. So beautiful. Every garden has its drawbacks, but your garden seems to have overcome and its beauty by far outweighs any pestulence or little critters. You have really painted a beautiful still life onto your gorgeous canvas which you have brought to life in the desert. I could import you some blackspot, cercapsora, anthracnose, rose mosaic or rose rosette disease, flooding, drought, snow and freezes around Easter, termites, thrips or aphids, voles, moles, squirrels, Japanese beetles, rabbits, chipmunks, humidity, tornadoes, diamond back rattlesnakes, cottonmouth moccasins, copperhead moccasins, brown recluse or black widow spiders, hurricanes, coyotes, alligators, hail and drunken Alabama football fans, just so you know what it is like to garden in the south? Every region has its drawbacks. I am just kidding. I would certainly not do that to your beautiful garden. You have some great roses and a beautifully done garden.

Selected by Norm Evers of South Dakota State University. Excellent dark red fall color. Extremely dense growth habit producing a wide crown at a very young age. Few seeds produced. Exposure : Full sun to Partial shade Height : 20' Zone : 4 Flower Color : Yellow-green Foliage Color : Dark green Fall Color : Dark red Shape Form : Rounded Spread : 20' Genus : Aesculus Cultivar : Homestead Here is the one I had at my old place. Its three years older now, not sure how it looks as of today. I damaged a branch in that hollow spot, sure it filled in. Another source...just google Aesculus Homestead Aesculus x 'Homestead' Homestead Buckeye Growth Habit - Rounded to broad Height: 35' Spread: 25' Foliage - Medium green Fall Foliage - Yellow, orange, red Flower - Yellowish-red, sterile Hardiness Zone - 4 Cultural Requirements - Prefers a more moist, well drained soil and performs poorly in a dry site. Grows in sun or partial shade. Comments - Obtained in 2006 from Carlton Nursery. This is a hybrid of A. flava x A. glabra bred at South Dakota State University. This post was edited by whaas on Sat, May 18, 13 at 21:24