Question
Hi Laura!

We just bought a new home in a hilly neighborhood of Fort Worth Texas. The yard has excellent drainage, sloping across the front of the house to the left and from the front of the house to the back. The problem is that the house itself is slightly below street level. The driveway is 60' long, but at the point where it meets the garage, it is 9" below street level. So the slope is 9" down over a 60' length. As I said drainage is really not an issue, as the lot on the left of ours is about 2' down, and the back of the yard slopes down about 5'. Swales are on both sides of the house, providing great drainage.

My question is what if anything can be done to attempt to hide, or soften the change in grade from the street to the house.  

THANKS!
Mike

Answer
Mike,
A great shrubbery bed in an irreggular shape,slightly raised would hide some of this slope(Not directly on the slope but behind the slope). I think you should go to www.google.com and type in "landscape design with shrub beds" in the search box and see what sorts of designs specifically for this problem. I think it is just asethtics and will fit  easily into your yard design! Good luck on your projects!