The Feat of Landscaping

1420 from the front:

(Better pictures soon, but this is from online)

Jason hates the idea of cutting grass, and I hate the prospect of a yard with no flora or fauna. There begins our task. We will boldly bring the rocks of Arizona landscaping to rural Raleigh, NC. We will seduce the bees with sweet scents of color. We will cut down many trees. Okay, so the last part doesn't sound quite as cool, but this does sum up what we are going to attempt to do.

We are currently seeking awesome landscaping ideas (the less-than-awesome need not apply) for our front yard. Some of the following ideas are striking our fancy (or really just techniques that I think are cool.)

I definitely like rock borders around the beds; this gives an organized, yet natural look, and I really like rocks.

We both also like the idea of very low maintenance. I am looking for plants and flowers that I can throw in the ground and not touch.

Like this:

...or like Purple Heart (I love purple heart)

...and maybe some elephant ears-love these too :)

I think that Jason want's some rocks everywhere...if there are rocks, he can't use a mower :)

I actually got an awesome idea from the picture below; I am thinking that instead of pretty red mulch that will turn brown soon, we can get red stone that will stay red longer :) Color=yay!

Comments and suggestions are welcome! We are so excited about our new home!