IMO you have all the concrete you need right now. If you want something to the side make it a deck , add some plantings along the driveway add a big pot of seaonal plantings on the garage wall to the right . I would have an arbor or something leading from the driveway to the deck so it makes that area look inviting since right now it looks like you can’t even enter the house.

Thank you Patricia! I know, it is a concrete prairie out there. I love the idea of decking - would it be worth it to make the garage smaller to open up the prospect from my kitchen and reclaim some of the yard?

Wow, that is beautiful, Doug. I can try to show more pics - we don't have space ro plant to the left of the garage as the driveway is on the property line. But adding pavers and a low wall is very pretty...

You need pictures of the yard where you plan to put the deck, and also a sketch of how the house and garage are situated. Don't start a new post when you add pictures.

Also, people need to know this, which is what you put in your other post.

Ok so my 2.5 + car garage is almost as wide as my house. Including the
driveway, it takes up 40% of the yard because it is set back from the
house about 20 feet. We have a decent size lot, but no trees and when I
look out my kitchen window, all I see is garage. I want to convert the
'half' portion into a covered patio. Husband (and contractor) think I am
certifiable. What else can we do with this big ugly thing? Btw we are a
one car family with 3 kids.

I agree with your husband and would definitely not reduce the size of the garage. You would reducing resale value for people who have 2 cars, but still need the "half" space for bicycles, lawn mowers, etc. My children would have loved that expanse of driveway for riding tricycles, basketball, etc.

Do you need a patio for lawn furniture etc? Or do you just want something more pleasant to look at from your windows? Or both?

Yeah! Doug, the pergola is a fantastic idea. Your graphic is great. Maybe better to leave strucutres intact and build out. Am liking the riverstone (?) pavers you show, too. So kind of you to take the time...

Sorry, Partim - I am new to Houzz and was trying to update my old post with a picture, but couldn't figure out how. I dhould have just waited to post til I had a good pic.

Well, you have our interest now - we'll wait for some more info from you! The more you can tell us about your needs, and about the property, the better our advice will be.

For example, what do you want your shade to cover - a place for a grill? A table and chairs to eat? A lounging spot with chairs? The children's play area?

What direction does your yard face - what spots get the most troublesome sun/heat when you want to be out there? That will influence where trees etc should be planted.

Take comfort that, although your garage is not exactly a beautiful view, there are plenty worse things that people have to try to hide from view, mostly neighbors' messes. We've seen some real awful ones here on Houzz!

Are you planning to use the new space out front for BBQ's or entertainment or do you have a space in the back yard for those activities?

Right, specifics. So the kids do use the concrete area for chalk, bikes, etc. However, we have no trees and so they end up playing in the (gross, oil-stained) garage when it is sunny (most of the summer). I would love a space that both provides much-needed shade and is appealing to look at. The pic I posted earlier is from my kotchen window. I would like to be able to see the kids playing from there, which was one reason to make the garage smaller - I can't see them if they play in the part of the yard behind the garage. However, it sounds like most folks think that isn't a good idea. Here are some 'aerial' views of the space...

You might consider growing a flower garden, etc behind the garage, with the hope that they won't play in the flowers. If the area is shady, just grow shade plants.

The challenge with planting trees is that they take awhile to get big enough to provide shade. It looks as if you have quite a bit of shade close to your house.

The broad side of the yard has south exposure - no trees on that side so summer sun is pretty unrelenting. Plus we have no ground space left on that side, even if we had time for trees to grow - it is all driveway. Nice tree cover in the other side for our neighbors!

It would be helpful to stand near the swing set or closer and take a picture of the back of the house. The new area should relate to the house and the rest of the garden.

So the sun sets over the swing set, as you are looking at it from the house?

Right, the rear of the house faces west. Here is a pic of the house from the garage. I can add a more comprehensive view tomorrow.

Yes, it would be good to see a view of the whole back of the house, and the north side of the yard too. Is that a covered basement entrance on the right?

Yes, that is a covered basement stairway. We call it the doghouse. That is another ugly duckling, albeit smaller. Am thinking of replacing it with a groundlevel trap door to reclaim some of the ground space and tear off the whole structure.

Here is a series of pics from various angles. I am not thinking that in lieu of ripping oit the 'half' portion of the garage, a pergola over that area might be better. Adding a patio over the basement stair was an idea, but I still couldn't see the back area unless the patio spanned in front of the AC unit. Noisy tp hang out there, plus next door neighbor built a mansion and that side of the yard is lorded over by their house. So - add patio / pergola / shade structure to garage or build very wide deck attached to house?

Pics

Have you considered permeable pavers and shade sails? A cheaper, less permanent improvement to provide more functionality.

Suzyq53, those are pretty ideas. I like the grassy pavers. I am really looking for a permanent shade solution, though. We have been here over 5 years, and I am ready to make an investment in the space back here.

some new ideas

Large trees can be purchased & installed for $400-$800.

Since trees take awhile to grow, it would be good to take advantage of the shade that you already have. What parts of your yard are shady now, at the times of day when you need shade? I'm thinking of late afternoon or early evening, when you might be outside grilling or relaxing at the end of the day.

Depending on where you live, you may get better quick shade (while your trees get tall) from a fast-growing vine, even an annual vine such as hops that is a very fast grower.

A gazebo is a good way to get some shade quickly. We have a 12 X 12 gazebo that we like, although it would be nice to have it even larger. It's nice to eat under a sheltered shady cover. It's a metal frame with a fabric roof so it wasn't expensive and it has lasted many years. Ours sits on a deck. You can buy fabric "walls" for most gazebos too, if the sun is coming in too hot from the side late in the day.

We moved our air conditioner to the other side of the house. Some people in our neighborhood have theirs in the front of the house, to keep the back quiet.

Thanks, Partim. The only shade is on the side of the garage. And it isn't much, but if we add a shade structure to the front of the garage, we could extend some of the existing shade. A gazebo sounds really lovely - not sure where to put it. We put some trees back there but I will probably be ready for the retirement home by the time they cast a cooling shadow...

Patricia's right - I had a slab like that and put a nursery over it - but if you want a welcoming place you want to lead people in and make it look mysterious which means curved pathways. You can create the illusion of a curved pathway by placing shrubs along the pathway that come out along the pathway just enough to hide the hard lines. Abelia Hopley's Gold comes to mind, it's an old favorite in the South and is cold hardy so is Variegated Weigela both flower pink flowers. I would use round pavers to counteract the hard lines of the driveway, and use perennial flowers around the shrubs. Remember with flowers place 3 to 5 plants in groups, always use odd numbers, with tall ones usually in the back of the bed or along the fence (or a vine on the fence) and then shorter flowers in front of them with creepers like Thyme or Phlox in the front of short flowers. Grasses also soften hard lines. You don't want the giant Pampass grass that gets so big you can't see the house - smaller grasses. We have same issue - we're going to put a trellis over the garage and plant a hops plant bc I love the little yellow papery flowers they put out - so pretty. They are used in wreaths a lot in fall. But a trellis of flowers over the garage could also go over the patio if you're going to make it a pergola patio. You can use 3-4 different climbers over garage and patio again to soften the harder lines. Roses, clematis, hops. Also we have one of those weird basement things it's an older house and we placed a stacked 3 stair gabion wall in front of it with blue rock cress that falls from step to step to step to create the illusion of water. Between entryway and gabion wall is an espaliered Pyrancanthas tree in a pot. The gabion wall goes up about 3 1/2 ft against the chimney and behind that I'm also creating a rose arbor right behind the gabion wall so you finally cannot see that horrifying basement eyesore anymore. Whew! That's exhausting. There was nothing there but concrete when we moved in and an old rose bush. I may suggest you look on youtube for Alan Titschmarsh "Love Your Garden". Of every video I ever watched, nor any landscaping course I ever took, which included 120 courses in Permaculture design, doesn't come close to Alan Titschmarsh "Love Your Garden". The early seasons is where you will learn the most. Yes he spends a ton of money but you can copy it. If you're not rich and can't buy huge plants, take liners and grow them. You'd be surprised how fast shrubs grow from a 1 gallon plant. I start with rooted cuttings and in a season they're 1 gallon. Next year 2-3 gallons - that fast. Please consider watching Alan Titschmarsh Love Your Garden. He does other garden shows, its his series that's so special. If you can find Season 1 and 2 you will learn so much you will feel like a pro - Sorry it took so long I may have overdone it on this one. I just feel so bad for you - I still have the same problem and I know how to fix it, it's just about 39 on the list of other fixes that have to be done. Yet another trellis, and yet another vine. I wish you only the best to have a glorious yard that you love. I love garden design, and we have a nursery, so people come to me constantly with questions on things like this, and I love helping them. It's one of my greatest passions. Also learning Feng Shui, that's a whole nother story. Now I know why they get paid so much. Email me if for odd problems you find lines of weeds, or plants die for no reason that you are taking care of. I will help you for free best I can. I get sucked into doing that also bc all my friends know I can do it, and I get tired of doing it all the time. I do have other things to do. But I love this forum, and I get tired of watching people pay $700 to do something I could teach you to do yourself. Free. starchild2008@live.com (cathy)

Cathy, that is my 7 year old's name! I just love your ideas - the stepped flowers on the stairway shed sounds so pretty! This is just what I was hoping for - specific plants and arrangements, and how to get some sun relief. If it looks prettier and is more functional (shady place to hang out and watch kids make mud pies), I won't obsess over the hulking mass that is our garage.