I'm not sure what you mean by "I want a lot of space." Could you clarify. You have a lot of space. Do you want a garden area that takes up a lot of the empty front space in your yard? I'm imagining the sloping part of your yard is a pain to mow. Would you like to landscape that area to something that doesn't need mowing? You'll not only have to accommodate the size of your yard, but also the slope when landscaping, so please elaborate a little more on your needs. Also step back for photo of your lot to show how it relates to the slope and your neighbors holler. That area is shaded in the aerial photo so not sure what is in there, is it just all grass?

P.S. I had to look up Oudalf. Groovy! So I will add that you'll have to figure out the sun exposure of that site too, because if it is really shady, that will influence what you can pull off. If it were me, I'd wrap a wildish perennial shrub and grass garden around the walkway, tree island and down the hill. I wouldn't go towards the flat part of the yard. Nothing easier to maintain than a straight shot of green grass on a flat surface.

I'll try to answer your questions. By "a lot of space" I mean that I want a large area for planting since I want a matrix garden with grasses, shrubs, etc. (Think about PIet Oudolf's projects - mixed medium grasses, structural perennials, brightly colored scatter plants). And obviously those trees in the middle. But my main struggle is the shape and contours of such an area. Or areas! Maybe a huge area in the middle isn't the way to go. Anyway point being, I'm not trying to obliterate all of the grass (the kids don't play on it anyway) but I also don't care how much is left.

You asked about the left side and the property line. Yes, it's just grass all the way down, 60 feet in elevation down from the mailbox to my woods. It's a drainage right of way, with a gas line near it (the yellow dashes - the prop line is just to the left of the dashes). I don't mind planting up to my neighbor's property but obviously won't be digging too deeply there for fear of hitting the gas line.

I'd do it in stages. First rip out the shrubs up next to the house that need constant pruning and put in a grasses and perennials and shrubs mixed like Oudolf. Note that this is just going to be a tiny patch so you won't have room for lots and lots of stuff. You're just going to create a "sampler" if you will. You can pick out a little "montage" of his work from one of the larger landscapes and recreate it. Then see how much you like it and what the maintenance issues are. Next, work on the other side in front of the trees and what I would do for shape is think about ease of mowing around this island. Seems like right now you have this odd tree island that is probably a big pain to mow around so I would try to avoid having little mow paths with a short turning radius. I'd fill in the area between the tree island and the house first. But maybe others have better ideas, that's just my .02.

BTW, your inspiration photos feature one of my favorite grasses, pink muhly grass!

Thanks - I think you're right to tackle this in stages. It's hard to restrain myself because it's getting into fall, the best time to plant here, and all the nurseries are selling off all the post-bloom perennials because the less informed only buy things when they're blooming! But anyway, thanks - I think I will leave the strip next to the driveway and keep something larger in the middle with a couple of informal paths in between so people can walk around if wanted. And yes, the hedge of what this is against the house is terrible (some kind of builder basic Holly that everyone uses) and will definitely be ripped out. in favor of some evergreen and semi-evergreen shrubs. (Maybe Rheingold Arborvitaea and Viburnum obovatum "Raulston Hardy').

I love Muhly grass. There is also the "White Cloud" cultivar which seems really cool, I might experiment with that one.

As far as Piet is concerned, check out his work at the Lurie Garden in Chicago and the High Line in NYC. Amazing.

The High Line

I am three hours from Chicago and we are planning a trip there sometime. I'll put it on my list along with the Morton Arboretum. I heard about the High Line but never got there when I lived out east.

I do have his book, it's pretty good. My main issues with matrix planting, besides the overall design or shape, is the fact that it's hard to find plugs of sporobolis, or carexes.

The long shot picture gives us the overview, but it's too far away to see how the rest is put together. The sky view is highly obscured. Close in about half the distance of the first photo and line the camera up with front door. Now pan from left to right taking slightly overlapping shots and show the whole broad scene. Don't take a panorama. Post the individual shots and then we can see more of what you have.

My first thought is maintenance and how you will need to maintain the area to keep it from seeding into the adjoining neighbor's yard. There have been posts about folks having issues with neighbors or the towns they live in with regard to "weeds" and mowing ordinances, so I would want to check that out and be sure that I wasn't likely to run into problems with those who see a pristine mown lawn as the best or only choice for the front yard. If that is your downhill neighbor's ideal, having your meadow plants seeding into his lawn could cause conflict. Perhaps a fence or cutting back plants before seed ripens?

My second though was that the trees will provide a challenge as far as successful plant choices due to shade and root competition. Most of the Oudolf gardens I have seen are dominated by grasses and other sun-loving herbaceous plants, and your yard appears to have some fairly dense shade.

Just got a link to this article on native sedges for shade this week from some colleagues of mine. Http://edgeofthewoodsnursery.com/blog/page10