Can you post pictures of the existing yard? and the dimensions?

Given a sketch I can give all kinds of advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Create Your own Landscape Design

go to google maps, take a picture of it, label the existing plants and post it.

This is what I did. I went to my favorite nurseries and collected business cards from designers who left them there. Then I checked out the designers online. Most should have some kind of portfolio. The woman I chose for a walk about consultation came out for 2 hours and I took lots of notes. She did not draw up any plans but gave me great ideas. Plus she told me what I should move, what I should put in. She helped me gel ideas and gave me confidence to move forward. For a higher fee she would have drawn up plans.

Also, many designers now offer "garden coaching" visits for the DIY homeowner.

You mention taking up the dog run and having children. Have you considered putting in a small chicken coop and run in that area? Hens make great pets for a family, give you eggs, and... fertilizer! Many people now have 'backyard chickens" even in urban areas.

Please post a photo of your yard and I will try to help you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Landscaping Ideas

I took some pictures and uploaded them to Photobucket. I will also upload a sketch with what is currently in our yard and some ideas we have for possible changes. I have a sketch with exact measurements and locations of trees, etc., but it's too big to scan in so I'll have to do a basic sketch on some smaller paper as soon as I get a chance.

The dimensions of the backyard are almost exactly 80' wide by 80' deep. It appears to be deeper than it is wide, but maybe that's because the veggie garden (which is 15' wide by 47' deep) takes up a good chunk of the east side of the yard.

I really like the idea of going to some favorite nurseries and collecting business cards from designers. I was trying Google searches and met with one company whose work looked nice, but it turns out that they don't do design work without being locked into a contract with them to do the bulk of the landscaping work. We'd have to sign a contract (telling them our budget range) and they would draw up plans within that range and do most of the work, subbing out stuff they don't do themselves, with the design being part of the package deal. I think I'd rather work with someone who has more flexibility in allowing us to do parts of the work ourselves without being penalized for it.

lazygardens and butterflygardening: Thanks for the helpful links- I am reading through them!

alygal- We love the idea of raising chickens (or ducks!), but unfortunately our city doesn't allow them in residential areas. Some of the towns around us havejust recently started allowing them, so maybe it will be a possibility in the future!

Here are some of our current ideas for making our yard more attractive and usable in the ways we'd like to use it.

- Possibly ditch the sandbox, although I am torn because the kids do use it when it's nice outside. The problem is that it's so close to the house that they always come in still covered with sand, AND it's location really limits the width of the planting bed around the breakfast nook. If we keep the sandbox, I think I'd at least make the flagstone path along it more narrow to allow for a slightly wider bed there.

- Widen pretty much all of the beds to allow more layered planting (to increase attractiveness and privacy in the yard). I would also like to have a nice bed along the patio and around where the sandbox is, so basically be left with an area of the grass in the middle of the yard.

- Possibly add a slight berm along the garden fence and plant a variety of shrubs and small trees to make the garden less prominent since it's not much too look at most of the year.

- Make the patio more usable by extending it a little deeper (it's now 20' wide by 10' deep).

- Add something to get more shade on the patio. It gets shade starting in the mid-afternoon and through the evening from our neighbors house to the west, so I don't really want to add a hard cover (my husband's idea) because I think it would detract from the look of the house. I am thinking a well placed tree would eventually have the right effect (and I'm content to use a patio umbrella as needed until then).

- Add a screened in gazebo (about 12' x 12') south of the patio area toward the south side of the yard for dinners and entertaining. My husband is a mosquito magnet so he really wants this for enjoying the yard in the evenings.

- Add a structure toward the southeast corner of the yard (about 8' x 10') to be used as a playhouse/garden retreat. I picture it looking like a little cottage style potting shed more than a mini playhouse, so that even after the kids outgrow it, I can still enjoy it as a garden retreat.

- Revise current pathways through the yard and add pathways as needed to new structures, to the veggie garden/shed, etc. Would like to maybe use some reddish flagstone in addition to the buff ones we currently have and mix them up a bit as the buff looks so bland to me against our house.

- Possibly cover the patio with flagstone to make it more attractive and more cohesive with pathways.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions you may have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Pictures