To sum up my requirements for the landscaping
1. Overall modern look - needs to "play well" with the mid-century modern house
2. Preserve the panoramic view of the Skyline ridge as well as the depth view down the meadow
3. Block the view of Alpine and the eastside neighbor's garden and house
4. Provide sitting areas near the house for various purposes and weathers:
- sheltered seating on windy days (strong wind coming in from SSW)
- sitting outside to read a book, all year round (close to house)
- shady area for sitting when it is very hot
- ... etc
5. Only drought tolerant and deer tolerant planting, natives or otherwise "fitting" plants
- OK with watering for the first 2 years - till established
- only exception to drought tolerance will be a pots/containers around the house perimeter and deck
6. Design planting for all seasons. I don't want a landscape that looks OK only for a couple of weeks each year.
7. Planting must be chosen for ease of maintenance. In particular, avoid plants that look ratty in off seasons, or make sure they are covered by other plants
8. Consider fencing off a small section to allow fruit trees to grow w/o being chewed up by the deer (only if fencing would add to the aesthetics)
Ideas:
a. plant trees/shrubs at different levels to get enough height to screen out Alpine
b. plant grasses and such at the front driveway to give a cleaner look
c. Possibly add a shed or small cabin in front under deck
d. plant shrubs along front fence to gradually make fence be unnecessary (as it will fall apart anyway within a couple of years
