Garden Mockup

I doubt there is a place in our home that hasn't been touched by us somehow. Perhaps the creepy basement, but otherwise, everything has gotten a little piece of our action. Some more than others though - like the kitchen or bathrooms. But one of our slightly overlooked areas has been our side yard. We have a really nice side yard - and it is probably bigger than a lot of people's back yards if they live in the city. But we've always focused on our front and back yards, not knowing what to do with the mostly shaded space.

So we've got a plan that I've put together via photoshop. But first - some before photos:

Taken from the front corner of our house

Taken head on, standing next to the white dogwood at the front of our house

A view of the side of our house

Standing in the same spot, rotated to show more of the back

A view from the back yard looking into the street

And here's the start of the "plan" - which is just a mockup in photoshop. There are a few things I knew that I wanted to do:

1. Fill it up - I want this to be a relaxing private nook garden; a little get-away if you will. There's minimum privacy when you live in a twin and your other neighbors are 30-40 feet from your house.
2. Low maintenance - meaning we'd have to fill up the space with shade loving plants. To me that had to include pachysandra. I planted a sample last year to see how it would grow - and it came back despite the heat and clay soil. It isn't as invasive as ivy, and I fell in love with it a few years ago visiting Longwood Gardens. I always remember it because in my head I call it the elephant plant (as in pachyderm).  I think its nice when the beds of it are cropped back in a shape
3. I want it to be inexpensive - and to reuse the existing plants like hosta and day lillies that grow so well in my yard. We should have enough hosta to fill under the maple tree. I'm all about reusing. That means no annuals. I hate the idea of having to repurchase flowers year after year. Also, this means buying the plants small - so it won't be filled up front - just hopefully after one or two years.  
4. I wanted to have a modern walkway in a slightly offset geometric pattern. I want the walkway to really be the statement piece.

The right side of the yard still needs some height in my opinion and the scale is off, so it probably needs more plants in general to 'fill it up' - but I have to do some more investigating to see what will grow in full or part shade. I may consider a standing fountain or boulders of some sort as well; probably not a bench as I can't see us sitting out there much.

Lastly, I do hope hydrangeas will work in this yard; I've tried about 3 times now with no success. I may need the services of a plant whisperer.