Kelton,
Curb appeal on a home is very important if you are concerned about selling your home. If you plan to be in your home for many years, then I would say you should have the landscaping that appeals to you. However, if a move may be in your near future, then you may want to consider a more traditional approach - at least for your front yard.

Have you considered hiring a landscape designer to advise you on other options for a low maintenance approach?

I might be too confident in my own ability to figure it out... or too cheap to hire a designer. What could I expect to pay for a designer to give suggestions?

I'm sure your right about the resale issue... I need to think of a more conservative approach while preserving some of my own tastes. I do want more trees out front for sure.

Kelton

what can you expect to spend for a good designer? a lot.

any Bubba who owns a truck with a magnetic sign on the side can say he is a "landscape architect" or "designer" but if you are looking for someone who has a real education in ornamental horticulture and will design a beautiful and professional landscape could easily cost well into the 4 digits. but having worked in the retail horticulture buisness in knoxville for a few years in addition to having some formal education in horticulture i can tell you this- you get what you pay for.
I had people come into the nursery with landscape plans that looked like a 6 year old with a box of crayons had drawn them. and IMHO the yard's would look bad with the random conglomeration of crap that these "designers" told them to buy.

that said- at the end of the day, its your house and YOU should enjoy it. if you have to tear out some ivy and add a "real yard" in a few years then do it but if you would be happier with a non-grassy-square thats what you should have.

be sure and get before and after pics if you do anyhting.

You might want to try some landscaping design software. Better Homes and Gardens has a relatively inexpensive program out (see link below) that lets you easily do 3D renditions and "walk" through what you've designed.
I haven't used this package but I''ve been using their interior design software by the same company and it's really cool. It's great fun to play with and easy to learn.

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscaping software at Amazon

Thanks, I'll check the Homes and Gardens program. I gotta tell ya, I am very unlikely to go with a landscape designer.

Kelton

While I pride myself on having a pretty good eye for bed design, I had a front yard that was filled with overgrown, outdated bushes. After spending seven years redoing a little bit here and there, I finally broke down and hired a designer this spring. He came over and spent a couple of hours taking pictures and talking to me.

He was able to recommend a variety of plants and bushes (low maintenance) that would not over grow in size for my beds. I received a beautiful drawing of his proposal (which was definitely a combination of both of our ideas). His fee was in the $400 to $600 range (which was waived as I used the nursery he worked for to do the majority of the work).

Using a designer isn't for everyone, but I had a really good experience and was well pleased with the result. But then we have a fairly large yard that needed a major redo.

Greetings from Nashville!

I'm with you--do it yourself. It's so rewarding.

One thing I think I've heard is that shade trees normally add to property value, so that's a good thing.

And as far as what you do with the yard, as long as it's not too kooky or wild and not high maintenance, there are probably other people like me who prefer the sort of thing you're describing. The thing that first attracted me to my house was the liriope flanking both sides of the front walk. I still think it looks lovely.

Maybe you should think about a compromise between something just for your tastes and something more traditional. And take your time to achieve it. Enjoy your new home!

I've moved around quite a bit and got tired of landscaping for future owners to enjoy. That approach gets old after a few houses if you love plants! Personally I don't think most buyers see trees or shrubs, even flowering ones as high maintenance. I think they would see a large flower bed or rose bed etc. as high maintenance. And they are! So why not collect various shrubs that you like and make mixed borders of them. You can get blooms all season that way and it's better practice than planting many of one thing because if a desease or insect infestation descends it is probably not going to take more than one or two varieties at worst. Keep in mind that plants have become somewhat of a fad recently so I believe those dollars spent on big high-impact shrubs are going to pay off if you sell. And most grow quickly after the first year meaning you can enjoy collecting, planting, maintaining and just plain looking at your flowers.