Your yard has a lot of promise, I think. In the front where there's sun, you could put in a low-maintenance bed of blueberries with other native shrubs close to the property line, perhaps with a fruit tree to help fill the space near the drive. The whole thing could be mulched year round, cutting mowing there by 25%. If neighbors have apples or cherries, you could plant one tree and get good pollination. Maybe gain a nice turn-around parking space in there, too.

In back, you might try an L-shaped raised bed for veggies and herbs. You could start with one rectangle, add another when you're ready. Veggies and herbs are not low maintenance, but very rewarding.

Instead of going for a gazebo (in front of a ranch?), put some color flowers where you can see them from your windows and from the street. Private back yards tend to be more fun for hanging out. In front, go for eye appeal over usefulness.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

My wife and I live on a 1/3rd acre block in the Maryland suburbs and I have had to deal with the lawn that came with the house. Putting in a large veggie garden will help get rid of a lot of it. I think that the really hard work comes in getting it established (this depends a little on how you wish to do this and what sort of grass is already there -- some kinds are a real pain to get rid of). But once the garden is established and you get a routine going you will be surprised how little time is required on, say, a 1000 square foot garden. As the last poster noted, fruiting trees and bushes would be a good idea and will also help to get rid of that dreaded lawn.

I notice that you seem to live in a well-manicured neighborhood, so perhaps this suggestion is not the best, but one way to keep a lawn down that is a lot quicker than a push-mower and does not use gas is a scythe, though it may not get you the fine cut you are used to with mowers (I have not used one, so others might care to comment on this).

I don't see any reason you cannot have bees, provided they are legal (which they usually are, but check local ordinances). At the back of your property line seems like an out of the way spot or you could make an enclosure. We are going to put in bees this spring and there are plenty of people here in the suburbs who have bees on less than 1/3rd of an acre lots. But bees do involve a fair amount of work, initial expense, and a pretty steep initial learning curve. Whether they will bother the neighbors perhaps depends on whether they know about them. There is little doubt that bees in fact visit their gardens throughout the spring and summer. The main worries here --ones we are having to come to grips with -- are bees in neighbors swimming pools and the like (you must provide them a consistent water source) and swarming, the hive's reproductive strategy of splitting where one half of the hive takes off with the old queen to find new lodgings. Can be a bit alarming for people to see 20,000 or more bees clustered in their backyard. There are ways to minimize this -- that's part of the learning curve.

I would recommend (like everyone else) some woody fruit plants, in a plot that size it would probably be wise to stick to dwarf (maybe 1 semi-dwarf) trees. Apples and pears are great, but they are much more work then some others, very-low maintenance trees would be: paw-paw (a native naturally small tree that grows large fruits with flesh somewhat like vanilla custard, it requires no pruning/spraying), Persimmon (another native under story tree that has no pest/pruning problems, fruits look like a tomato and are supposedly the most popular fruit in the world, only one tree necessary for fruit), Mulberry (a self fertile tree that comes in sizes from bush to huge shade tree, if you get a white fruited variety you wont have to worry about the messyness of fruit that hit the ground, fruits resemble blackberries)

I would recommend the book "edible forest gardens" by Dave Jacke, with Eric Toensmeier, this 2 volume book describes a gardening system that mimics natural systems and provides a large and diverse harvest with a minimum of labor. I'm really into it, but not everyone would be as stoked as i am on this idea, so i would get the book from your local library first and check it out (use interlibrary loan if your library doesn't have it)

I like the idea of a sitting area in the front yard - it is nice to be able to enjoy the sun when it is on that side of the house, and also nice to be more engaged with your neighborhood and not resign all activity to the back of the house. Another idea for a front sitting area is a courtyard entrance to your home enclosed with a low wall or hedge.

Something that I have seen in garden books are naturalized meadows that only need mowing a few times a year, surrounded with maintained mowed paths, so that it is clear that the meadow is intentional. It probably isn't appropriate in the front yard, but maybe the back?

Best of luck!

Why not put in a courtyard next to the house with the gazebo coming off of it, grow some edible vines on it, surround the gazebo and courtyard with blueberry bushes, then plant herbs/edible flowers that are tolerant of a more acid soil?

Plant an edible tree in the front yard, grow nasturtiums up the tree. Nasturtiums are edible (peppery-yummy) and are a great companion plant for trees as they confuse/deter bad insects while attracting pollinators.

You could also train tomatoe plants up on ATTRACTIVE arbors and this would be pretty in the front yard.

This would look lovely and cut out most of the front yard for mowing.

there are a couple of books i have found invaluable ;Rosilind Creasy's Edible Landscaping and Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway. happy gardening

Get all the books mentioned. Try growing things you cannot get easily in the stores. I grow many types of berries for that reason. Sour cherries are another thing, if you like them. Nut trees are another option.

If you want to grow food to feed yourself well, try the native american way--corn, beans and squash.

Deer are going to be a major, major problem for you. I dunno if you can hunt them though, because that's one way to get "food" off your land, lol!

My friend has a suburban homestead, about your size. He has a big vegetable garden surrounded by an elecric fence, and a small orchard. They do not grow all their own food, but enough to provide for themselves in the summer and put up preserves, fruit and other canned goods to supplement. Start with one area at a time would be my suggestion. You'll find out what works well for you by trial and error. Don't try to take on too much at once, you'll drive yourself nuts, lol!

Your property has so much potential--how exciting! It's very cool of you to considerate of our oil dependence and of how your edible landscape plans might concern your community/neighbors. I know this book is more of a west coast thing, but something you might look to check out at the library is Sunset's "The Edible Garden." Again, it's more geared towards western gardeners but they do recommend cool climate and cold-hardy varieties. What I really love about it is the sheer number of beautiful photos that motivate me to select what I want to plant next spring each fall, and to start seeds later this winter. It has a lot of basic useful info, but it shows you vividly the potential of your garden's bounty.

As for bees, my next door neighbor keeps bees. They are right across a 6 foot fence from our yard. I was concerned about that when we first bought our house four years ago, but the bees were here before us and we didn't want to be too quick to judge. our neighbor was great, asking us to please let her know if her bees concern or bother us, and she was willing to erect a higher fence screen if needed. If we're out in the yard working on our vegetable garden, she delays opening the hive (or whatever that's called). She told us that she purposely purchased an extra gentle breed of bees. They have not bothered us at all, and I actually thank them for helping to pollinate my tomatoes so dependably. What's even better, I get free jars of delicious local honey (which I gladly give us tomatoes for). Definitely check with neighbors, address their concerns, look for gentle breeds, etc., but I think bees make a great idea. Best of luck and please follow up with your plans...always good to learn from others.