Looking to eliminate my lawn, but don't know how to start planning a layout
Hey everyone, I'm looking to get rid of most of my lawn and have an actual garden out front of my house. I'm not exactly sure what plants to go with or how to even start making a layout.
I find my lawn plain and boring. I do like the look of those wildflower lawn or something that makes it look like a little slice of wilderness. This is something I plan on working on over time.
I've also been inspired by horticulture, and Id like to plant some berries and other things that are edible amongst the other shrubs and grasses and flowers. I don't know if this is possible.
I've attached an simple sketch of my lawn layout currently. I'ts pretty plain, I live in a court so the shape of my front lawn is a bit like a pizza slice. There's a young-ish red maple tree in the middle currently, which I do plan on keeping, and would like to create a small area around it where I could have a bench or table, some place to sit and relax, maybe have a coffee or some brunch/lunch on a warm summer day.
There's no fence between me and my neighbours lawn but there is a flowerbed that divides our lawns. I'd like to have it feel a little more secluded, tall grasses, bushes. I'm not looking to plant anymore trees, but i do like feeling like I'm surrounded by nature.
Just looking to get some ideas to start, I know this could get costly so I'm trying to avoid obvious mistakes when planning this, but I have zero experience with this sort of thing, so any advice or links to any online resources would be greatly appreciated.
I'm in climate zone 7a, and winters here can be harsh so I'd like to avoid having to plant things every spring if possible.
EDIT: I live in Toronto Ontario Canada
Thanks!