Landscaping

We're in this new home a month, now it's time to start thinking about the landscaping issues that lay ahead of us. We have quite the large lot, not as large as our friends down the street who also have a corner lot (theirs is an acre) but big enough to cause concern about giving the proper house curb appeal. The neighbors across the street from us have a gorgeous green lawn that looks like emerald green carpet BUT there's no landscaping- no pretty plants or trees, just green weed free grass everywhere. It looks nice but but to be perfectly honest there is something missing and you notice that while admiring the beautiful lawn.

We've had 2 landscaping companies come by and give us their thoughts on our yard. I'm waiting on the 2nd company to give us their bid proposal. I think that we're having either 3 or 4 companies come out. I'm not looking to go with the least expensive company, I'm looking for the the one who can meet our needs and has the best ideas for our yard. The man who came by yesterday had oodles of great ideas ad even drew them out in the dirt with a spray can (it was so nice to see this mans ideas and I mean "see"). I looked out at the yard this morning and I can see where he used the spray paint and drew out the ideas for where the fence would go, where the river rock border would go, the concrete curbing and so forth. I really liked this guys ideas, and he's got some good ones. The first company was nice enough but no true enthusiasm for the job. The first company was basically rocks would go here, fence would go there, concrete curbing would go over there. There wasn't any creativity in the way they went about measuring out anything. So we shall see what the other companies bring to the table as far as ideas are concerned.

So this 2nd company has plans for my flower garden in the backyard and my pergola :-) I want to have a Wisteria again and have it climb and wind around a pergola and I will have a concrete bench in my flower garden with a bird bath and a statuary of the Virgin Mary would be nice too. Ü I can see myself surrounded by flowers in my garden that smell like heaven on earth. Have you see the movie "Just like Heaven"? Picture something like the garden that Reese Witherspoon is sitting in at the beginning of the movie. Maybe not quite elaborate but similar in many ways.