This is a quick drawing of what we're thinking about for the yard. We'd like to build a deck off the back which would be level with the floor of the house (only about 6" above grade). The main part of the deck is off the living room. We reall want to change out the windows in teh living room for some french doors (shown in red) which would open onto the upper level of the deck. The second part of the deck (further away from the house) is about 3" lower. It follows the back of the house towards the garage and tapers off to a stone walkway. I like the two-tier design because it breaks up the space and creates some interest. I've seen it done at a neighbor's house. The difference in heights need not be large to accomplish the goal.There's a spot off in the corner ot the yard where Zoe will have a sandbox. And I need to rebuild 2 of 3 sides of the fence. (They are falling over.)
We think the plants will be along a medeterranian theme, with mostly flowering grasses or something like that. I'm looking for some help here, Oh expert landscapers!!! We want reasonably low maintenance, since we'll be trying to figure out how to manage a 6-month old. Send us your suggestions. I'm djs(at)yertle.com, Kath is kkuhn(at)us.oracle.com