Moon, I've also read literally dozens of landscaping books, and still couldn't landscape my way out of a paperbag until I started studying design in a classroom setting. Some will say I still can't, but there it is. So it's not you. The way design principles are presented in gardening and design books makes sense only when you understand the principles by actually practicing using them. At least that's how it was for me. A scale drawing of your property showing the location of the house is a good place to start. Once you have that, you can use tracing paper to play with ideas. Start by listing what you do want and prioritizing the list. I can't tell from the photos if that's a little patio in the fenced off area behind the house or not. If you need a small patio for yourself and a couple of friends, you may want to start there. You can start by sketching in possible plantings around the patio to give it a little privacy. You don't have to block out the neighbors completely if you don't want or need to, but even a low planting will give you a feeling of comfort, and visually reduce the size of that space to a more human scale. You can then think about what you want to look at when you are on the patio, and sketch in ideas for beds that will not only give you a view, but a place to putter as well. Maybe a patio is not your first priority. It may be that you want to landscape the front to make the house seem more like it's "in" the landscape than sitting "on" it, all alone, as it is now. Think about adding some ornamental trees that frame the view of the front of the house. Pencil them in and go outside with your drawing, and imagine how they will look when they mature a bit. Do the same from inside the house, in the rooms where you will spend enough time that the view might be important. You may find that your placement blocks a view you want to keep, or will block the sun too much. Adjust if necessary. If you already know you want a fence, sketch it in, and play with plantings that conceal parts of it to make it less conspicuous. If you need shade, that's also a good place to start. Research trees that will flourish in your conditions, see what the local nurseries have available, and plan where to put them for the most benefit. The afternoon sun in the west tends to be hot, so trees placed to throw some shade on the windows or sitting area can be selected. They don't have to be huge trees to give shade as the sun gets lower in the afternoon, and the southwest and west sides might need it the most, but experiment with where shadows fall and pencil in some trees. Do you need a veggie plot? Compost pile? Shed? If so, figure out where they will be convenient to use. Veggie gardens need water, compost pile may need screening. I wouldn't worry about microclimates yet. As you plant things and put in fence, etc. they will change anyway, as sun and shade patterns and wind will be affected by anything you add. For the moment, select plants that are at least hardy in your zone, or go one zone colder to be safe in an unusually severe winter. You can experiment later with fussier plants. Hardscape is expensive. Fortunately, if there isn't a good reason to have a walk or other feature included, you can skip it. If you know you'll need a walk to make access from front to backyard more convenient in wet or winter weather, include one, just don't put it so close to the house that you end up with the dreaded 3' bed. Leave 5 or 6 feet for shrubs or groundcover, or a flowerbed if the location calls for one. I wouldn't put in a walk and focal point just for the heck of it. If you find that once you get started a walk seems like it makes sense from point A to point B, add it then. You can always wait to see where you wear a path in the lawn. All of this can take a lot of time and thought. If you're patient, you can start small with whatever ends up at the top of your priority list. If you're impatient, you can always hire a designer to do a full plan or give you some direction.

Gardening is as labor of love, to be sure. It starts with hope and vision to create something pleasing to the eye and a comfort when in its presence. We learn as we go. Horrible mistakes, happy accidents and always looking forward to the next year when things will be closer to our vision. You have done a lot of work for which you are already being rewarded. For example, the pathway to your front door is absolutely charming and extremely welcoming. Just think about how great your garden is going to be next year. I know I will look forward to seeing it. Please continue to post photos of your progress. Liz

Headboard as trellis, fabulous idea! It's actually just sitting there because I pulled a bunch of stuff out of my garage yesterday to clean it, and took the pic before I'd put it back. Would you fasten the headboard to a fence? Or free standing? I can totally see that being very cute, but not sure where to put it. the shade garden would work out perfectly where you suggested, party, it's the only shady area on my entire lot! I had though of putting the patio back there, with the shade garden curving around it, but I'll consider the other suggestion of putting it to the right of the porch. I hadn't thought of having the veggie beds that close to the house, but it does make sense in a way. It get more sun there throughout the day. I'll have to think about that some more. I'm still trying to figure out how much grass to include in the plan. I want a bit, to lie on and walk in bare feet on, one of my simpler pleasures! But with such limited space (30x60) I don't want to give too much up to grass. I'll tinker with a drawing a bit, post it here, and you all can tell me if you think I'm on the right track :-) Thanks for the suggestions! btw, georgeanne, the wood was bought from a friend of a friend who works for a mill. They are untreated, kiln dried lumber ends for burning this winter for heat. My electric bill is shocking, so I'm trying to plan ahead this year and get wood laid in and an insert in my fireplace. That load was only $100! One more like that and I'll be set for the entire winter!

Great job on removing the previous wallpaper!! My last house was like that and that is a tedious job scraping it all off!! What colors do you have outside of this powder room? You might want to coordinate with the hallway outside of the room, and that may help steer you in the right direction as far as what color scheme to go with. To select wallpaper options, try going to a local store that has lots of wallpaper books. (I just did a successful wallpaper search for a room that I am doing at my local Sherwin Williams store. They had TONS of books to look through.) If you find a few paper patterns that you like, check the books out for a few days and bring them home. Prop the books up against the walls in your powder room to help you visualize what it would like with your lighting. Also another option is to either do a wainscoting on the lower half of the wall and do wallpaper on the upper half. If wainscoting is not your thing, you could do a simple chair rail - paint the lower half a white or other neutral color, and the upper half of the wall could have the wallpaper. This helps break up the monotony of a pattern and keeps the lines calm. I did that once in a powder room in my last house...the wallpaper pattern I chose was on the "busy" side, but it looked fabulous on the upper part of the wall with a solid coordinating color painted below it. My personal opinion is that LESS IS MORE in powder rooms because they tend to be small spaces. I like your ideas about a sconce or maybe a simple shelf. For TP storage, sometimes baskets are nice too! Keep us posted on your decision-making process!!