Quilt Along: first steps on the house block - seeking your opinions

Here it is, then - the first experiment with placing of applique pieces on the 16" square that will make the block. The paper backing is still attached to appliques. I'm not nearly ready to iron anything on permanently!

I will be making two blocks from this pattern. These fabrics are for the brightly colored, scrappy quilt.

Hmm....

First off,  there's a lot of empty space here. I'll could add to the grass and move everything up on the background or I could fill something in at the top of the block. If I put something at the top, what might it be? Pieces can't be too tiny or stitching becomes tricky, so that pretty much eliminates little appliqued birds. Embroidered birds? Flying in a group? Just little, black, curved "v" shapes?

I'm not sure that I like the green blobs on the tree either, but haven't thought of another way to deal with that yet. Maybe if I had more variation in sizes and shapes the tree would look better. Only one blob stands out as being different. The rest are all quite alike.

Of course, the easiest solution would be to cut the block down to 14" x 14" and  add a pieced border all around it. Here are three possible layout ideas for a smaller block.

Just house and grass

House with small tree

House with large tree snug against it (Still need to work on those leaf blobs.)

I see other little problems, too, but those are minor adjustments in proportion and possibly fabric choice.

Help!

I would sincerely welcome your thoughts! This is, after all, a group project and you need to be given a block pattern that you like. Every idea you share will be seriously considered.

What do you think? How shall I deal with the empty space at the top of the block?
What about the green blobs on the tree?
What else do you see that could be changed to improve the plan?

Waiting for your comments ...