Now the plants show up...

All paths are based with compacted gravel at this point.  We are setting the flagstone in areas that will get more traffic, or that I want to be visually accented.

Plant materials include 'Smaragd' arborvitae (less likely to split with winter snowloads with their strong central leaders), amur maple (great as a small understory tree, with brilliant red and orange fall color), magnolia virginiana (lovely pale yellow flowers, back there in the corner behind Manuel) and lots of grasses and different sedums.  Everything is drought tolerant and easy to maintain.

The paths still do not have the final layer of bluestone screenings, because we don't want to mess them up with the work of planting.

I do not miss that horrendous yew.  These arborvitae still create privacy with a staggered "wall," without eating up all that good real estate.
Perennials along the west side include helianthus, eupatorium 'Gateway,' perovskia, amsonia hubrichtii, and leucanthemum 'Becky.'

You can see the completed firepit.  Functional without screaming "FIRE PIT," it just melts into the naturalistic landscape.  And bluestone screenings are being laid down and tamped.  Also note all the different varieties of sedum planted around the firepit area.  They can take the heat.

When mulched, the whole landscape feels soft and woodsy.  Perennials in this shadier part of the garden include hostas 'Elegans,' 'Jimmy Crack Corn' and 'June,' lobelia siphilitica, lobelia 'Monet Moment,' (I will miss this plant!  It's been discontinued by Monrovia in favor of the "next big thing), alchemilla mollis, and ostrich ferns.

Meanwhile, as they finish the back, I spruce up the front.  Things had gotten a little out of control.  Now we can just sit back and wait for those October Skies asters to go bananas.
If you have a professional landscape installed and care for it yourself or have a third party care for it regularly, consider having the designer back now and again to regroup.  Especially if your designer is a little OCD, like me :)

This is not the best shot, as it's out the window, through a screen, with a phone.  BUT, now you can see the whole layout, with the flagstones at strategic locations.  You can see how the flow between deck and ground level works.

The hemlocks will eventually grow quite large, creating a real sense of privacy, enclosure and tranquility.