What a great space with a lot of potential! It's great that you saved the baby oak, it should love all that sun. What do you currently use this space for? Do you have kids/dogs that play around in the open space? Would you like to grow flowers that attract butterflies, or grow veggies/herbs/fruit for your family? Do you like the sun, or would you like more shade (I'm guessing you'd like some shade in the future with that oak ;) )

I'm pretty meh on crepe myrtles as well, they are overused and kinda boring here in central NC. So you have this internet stranger's permission to yank it if you want to.

For the borders, since you have a lot of room to play around with, I'd suggest some shrubs, like Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) or Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora). Both are native species, with handsome growth habits, need no pruning, and bloom beautiful white spires of flowers. Deer will browse Oakleaf hydrangea until it grows out of their reach, so it may not be the best choice if you get a lot of deer visits. In front of the shrubs, you could plant perennial wildflowers/ferns/grasses to add color and lush vegetation.

Here are my Oakleaf hydrangeas coming into bloom earlier this month:

And here are some blooming Bottlebrush buckeye (not mine -- but I'm planting babies this spring, so maybe someday!):

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afmcnear- LOVE both of your plant suggestions. I"ve never seen the bottleneck buckeyes (that I know of). They are beautiful. Do they grow in Sun or part shade? And oak leaf hydrangeas are my favorite hydrangea. Are they ok in sun or shade?

Our kids are all older- so we're done with having worn grass spots for baseball bases:). We like to hang out in the back yard though- cook out, have friends, play corn hole, etc... The shade in the late day is nice. And I have thought about using some of the back part of the yard to grow fruits/vegies, but I'm guessing as my baby oak becomes a bigger oak, the sun situation back there will be limited.

I generally and drawn to some shade and a more "lush" atmosphere with some open green space as well- if that makes sense??

And YES to attracting butterflies!. Would love texture and color throughout the year. Am willing to spend some time in the yard. Primarily perennials but then maybe add annuals for interest/change.

Yardvaark- I've sent a response to you - twice- and it's disappeared. Maybe too many pics. I will try again by breaking them up.

We enjoy being outside- especially late afternoon/early evening in the summer. Sometimes with friends, sometimes just us.

Back yard overlapping pics:

Thank you for looking at this!

BACKYARD measurements:

Side yard-- measures 23 wide by 18 ft from fence to corner of house where patio starts. AC units come out about 4.5 ft. another 4 ft or so to the stepping stones:

I do love a good hydrangea border. I would pick one of the shorter varieties so you don't have to worry about cutting it back. Maybe the Pee Wee or Gatsby? Beautiful patio and yard.

I’m thinking I should break up the long yard with some plant height and maybe increasing/decreasing border depth here and there? Also- when hydrangeas Lise their leaves in the winter, maybe have some evergreens/other mixed in for lasting color?

Both Oakleaf hydrangea and Bottlebrush buckeye can handle sun and shade, though they may need more water in sunnier conditions (and especially the year you plant them, when they are getting their roots established.)

You are correct that the oak will cast some shade when mature, but that will be years down the road, so you could definitely get started with some fruits and veggies now, and worry about shade later. I'm also in 7b, and I've had luck this year growing strawberries and figs, and understand that blackberries/raspberries also do well in this zone. Blueberries can be tricky because they love cold winters. Another native shrub,American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), LOVES sun and grows tons of magnificent magenta berries. The birds will love them in the fall, and/or you can pick them to make jelly (they are a bit bland right off the bush).

(By the way, I made some plant names link to articles about their growing conditions, one my screen it shows up as green text that I can click)

Butterflies will love species like Phlox paniculata, Mountain Mint (genus Pycnanthemum), and Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), plus many others. If you see butterflies on flowers while you shop for plants at a local nursery or botanical garden, that's a pretty good endorsement that they'll like it planted in your yard too. Your oak will also be great for attracting butterflies, since many of their baby caterpillars eat oak leaves (usually minimal so you don't notice, especially once the oak gets tall).

American beautyberry in fruit:

Painted Lady butterfly on my blue mistflower last fall:

Oh I forgot about Joe-pye Weed! That's such a great plant for attracting butterflies, blooms late summer, gets pretty big so I'd recommend the dwarf cultivars.

Here is mine being appreciated by some butterflies last summer: