Before: The house was finished and beautiful, and now it was time to tackle the landscape!

This new dry stream bed diverts excess water away from the lawn, while also creating an eye-catching focal point for the backyard. Large flagstones act as "foot bridges" to the "island" where the river birch lives.

All new plantings incorporate salvia, fescue, coneflower, false indigo, and much more in a meadow-matrix style design.

As these young plants grow and fill in, there will be little-to -no mulch visible anymore, eliminating the need for costly mulch top-ups.

The young Hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' in the back of the bed will eventually get to about four feet and provide a green and pink background to the reddish purple Heuchera in the front. Blue Oat Grass adds a cool blue accent to the pinks and purples.

A few years later. The Hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers,' a native shrub, has grown to almost full size and the native ornamental onion is a beautiful source of nectar for insects.

The patio with a few years of growth.

This area still stays moist so we took advantage of it and added Joe Pye Weed, Rudbeckia Maxima, False Indigo, and more.

The dry stream bed has proved low maintenance over the years and looks virtually the same though the surrounding plants have filled in. Aster 'Raydon's Favorite' is a knockout.