Sorry I am so late coming to your site - you are an inspiration to all, homeowners and advisers alike. For your planting advice, I suggest you call Merrifield Garden Center to see if they will come out your way. They currently have wonderful garden centers in Merrifield and Fairfax (both in Fairfax County) and a new one in Gainesville, but they may come further south to wherever you reside. (www.MerrifieldGardenCenter.com) Even if they don't send designers to your area, they are worth a trip to see their huge selection for a day of pleasure and inspiration, or to pick up some plants. Most of my clients are in the Fairfax and greater Washington area, but I am currently living out west below Front Royal, VA on the Shenandoah mountainside - wonderful views. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

And I would be planting trees – real trees not dwarf versions of trees and no more palms (unless you want to have palm tree themed garden – in which case a lot more palms are needed). I am not advocating planting forest giants but there are trees that will provide shade, shelter and a sense of scale that you won't get from yuccas and buxus and mondo grass and succulents alone. But before you start buying those trees you have a few decisions to make and a bit of analysis to do. 1. Orientation – you need to understand the basics of winter sun and summer sun, how much westerly sun you welcome and how much you need to shelter from it; where your prevailing winds blow from and whether this changes with the season also. So, once you've worked out where you want the sun to penetrate and at what time of the year, how to allow for wind, frost, whatever... you need to 2. Decide if you want a predominantly native garden, a range of deciduous trees or a completely eclectic selection (like the best 'English' gardens – which are planted out with plants from all over the world – Indian subcontinent, Asia, Africa, The Americas etc. Even some from Australia!). 3. Now the tricky bit – what do you love, i.e. which trees and plants make your heart really sing – and hopefully for more than two or three weeks of the year? Once you have that list which of those are likely to be happy in your climate, in your soil and with the amount of gardening attention (watering, feeding, pruning etc) that you're likely to enjoy lavishing on them. Your long list will by now be a much shorter (and more manageable list) but trees are what make a house look bedded in and part of a landscape rather than just sitting out in the open in a way that is both self-conscious and a bit awkward. Although, again I guess you could embrace the suburban awkwardness and go all Howard Arkley in which case keep it all small and suburban... But it is your garden and your house – make it look like what you want your house and garden to look and feel like! Good luck!

I would clean up first. Especially the stuff growing in the paving. Then get gardening with pot plants and start experimenting with different plants and the positions. See what you like and if you can keep it alive! Our house has the sun setting over the back fence and we've done a few inexpensive things to reduce that issue (most expensive were outdoor blinds around the verandah) but for most of the year we just don't want to be out there. It is hard work to keep the plants going in summer, there is a lot of sand due to the difficulty in keeping lawn alive and it is just bloody hot. So, that's why I'm saying clean up, start gardening small and see how you go before committing to structures that might not address the real issues you have with the yard. Just my 2 cents! :)

I think the most impact would come from a well placed, well sized Acer. You can get them grown fairly tall already, Tamata have them and I'm sure there are other places. I'd get one that grows to no more than 3 metres (although check this against your property as scale is hard to gauge from photo), and has changing colours of leaves/bark. I'd place it towards the left of the property, looking at it. That will give some balance to the windows, provide some privacy but not obscure light. It wouldn't be a cheap option but cheaper than painting the house, and would need almost no aftercare. Then some easy care phormiums in the border underneath the windows. Both phormiums and acers come in a range of colours- limes, bronze, purples, oranges, dark reds etc, so choose what you like. The acers are soft and provide movement and variety, the phormiums sharp and provide solid consistent structure. This echoes the plants that can be seen already behind and at the side of the house and should make the hour 'sit within' its environment instead of bing perched on top of it. Also, the edge of the driveway- I would dig a border to just beyond the seam of the gate, lay down a weed mat, and put some stones in there. The garden centre has a range of them, in several colours from white through green red greys and blacks. If you chose reddish (or reddish and lime/orange) tones for your acer/phormiums, I would prob buy a large specimen plant in a pot for the top of the driveway, at the eight hand side of the garage, to link the colours. And maybe paint the front door and have some pot plants there that tone in too, especially in the area near the path that can be seen from the street. For a cleaner line I'd consider painting the lower part of the decking (the vertical frontage) to tone in with your house.