Soil Rehab - I need a good armchair to help my soil resolve its history

Hello all!

I am in the process of rehabilitating the soil in my very small (1/8th acreish) back yard on Staten Island in NY. I mulched pretty heavily in the fall but now I am looking for a good seed mix so I can start CPR.
I want a mix that won't get out of hand and weedy - I would like to avoid red clover for example. And I need something that will be nice to look at - like lupine. (neighbors and all that jazz)
I have some giant Russian sunflowers from last year, which I intend to sow but I'll need more than that of course! I would like a diverse mix -so including deep rooting tubers like Daikon in addition to the standard chemistry amending fellas.

I am adding a couple photo's to give an idea of what I am dealing with. One is taken from my neighbors yard- my yard begins where the potted plants are.

So any advice for where I can find any affordable seed mixes for my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!
-dave
http://www.davidloncle.com/

Hi David:

I added your post to a couple of other forums - "soil" and "eastern usa" in hopes that folks in those forums will have some good responses for you.

Meanwhile, if you edit your profile to show your location in the sidebar area (I know you said you are on Staten Island, NYC) - that will help people immediately know where you are and others in your neck of the woods can tell you about what has worked for them.

And welcome to permies!

Thanks Jennifer!