Taking Inventory

I've done a little work in the yard since we moved in, but more or less what we have now is what we started with. I thought now would be a good time to take inventory, both to help me plan and to give me something to look back on one day and see the progress. Here's some views of the yard.

One of the nice things about the yard is a great brick patio on the side that came with a nice concrete picnic table and a chiminea (more on that later). I also love the loose stone edging around all the beds.

One of the challenges of the yard is the lawn. Other than the area immediately behind the house, most of the "lawn" is just weeds and whatever grows naturally. Also, due to the long, narrow driveway, the previous owners parked/drove on the lawn just about every day, so it's very compacted in a few areas, preventing anything from growing.

My climbing rose

As far as plant material, most of the beds are filled with ivy, which has become the bane of my existence (I'm constantly pulling it out of shrubs and our lawn--don't ever plant it in your yard unless there's going to be a wall around it.). We also have several Indian hawthornes, which I don't really care for (low maintenance, but kind of overdone). Some of the nicer plants we inherited are oakleaf hydrangeas, a cherry tree, hostas, a lovely climbing rose, a large oak tree and a couple of hollies. Other plants on our property line include camellias and dogwood. I need to get a survey done to determine exactly where our borders lie (and so I know which plants are mine!). I also need an arborist to assess my oak--it looks a tad sickly.

Mostly what I have is a blank slate. I was hoping to draft a master plan this summer, but other house projects got in the way. And the holidays will be here soon...so I'll probably drag out my drafting tools in January when there's not much gardening (or anything else) going on. In the meantime, I'll tackle some smaller projects while we have this great fall weather, and dream about all the great plants I'll have one day. What are some of your favorite landscape plants?