Our soil is .... I think fairly nutrient deficient so a raised bed of nutrient rich soil ==>>> based on what??? .. guessing??? lets start basic ... you need to build beds ... first.. understand.. you are HIDING the foundation.. NOT PLANTING ON IT ... which is what was done previously ... and why the measly little beds.. look out of proportion to the height of the house .... begin.. by understanding.. that 2 to 3 feet AT THE FOUNDATION .... is left bare.. for house maintenance ... for you to walk back there ... as you cruise the hood.. look at well landscaped houses.. and those that bother you .. and see if you can see what i am saying ... if you do.. then you have accomplished step one [... dont you have to clean your gutters a couple times a year with those big trees?? .. or put up xmas lights.. etc ....] and then.. understand.. that you need a 6 to 8 foot bed ... plus the 2 or 3 feet left empty ... and you are talking about a near 10 foot deep bed ... again.. look around the area ... and see if you can spot this.. and whether it is pleasing to your eye.. as compared to the peeps who planted things two feet form the house 30 years ago ... and for this season ... right now.. lets focus on the front of the house.. once you perfect that.. the sides will be much easier.. right now.. you are overwhelming yourself.. to think.. you are on this.. in the next 3 months .. you arent.. at your level of knowledge ... then the issue is.. do you create a bed straight across the front.. or do we undulate it ... that is your choice.. look around the area again.. and determine what is pleasing to your eye ... or SOther if they are actually in charge.. lol ... there.. thats enough for now ... otherwise.. i will overwhelm you ... define the bed design ... and then we can talk about how to build the bed .... and then ... we can talk about plant decisions.. and actual planting ... and if you think thats all going to be done inside the next 4 to 6 weeks... good luck with that ... if it took me the entire growing season to do this... i would be a happy boy in October ... if you want it done faster.. think about hiring a professional crew ... finally .. reviewing the pix... my ideal bed would probably reach 3 to 4 feet BEYOND the porch ... curving into the walkway ... and go straight across the front of the house ... yeah.. what can i say.. lol ... i dont think the facade is wide enough to have some nice flowing curves .... without making it look hoaky .... if you are interested in making this a conversation... then lets go for it .... as for buying soil... you havent told us what your base native soil is.. so its hard to advise in that regard ... compaction can be uncompacted ... its clay i am worried about... and layering good soil above ... more facts ... and finally??? ... lol ... i dont have soil touching my brick.. so we may need to deal with that ... but not slope new soil toward the house .. etc ... and before anything... get rid of those landscape timbers... crikey.. they look one foot from the house ... double finally.. the best way to start.. and not look back.. is to rip everything out .. and get rid of it ... i dont know what inside the timbers.. but i dont like it.. and get rid of that big tub.. its ruining the natural elegance of the house and porch ... but i was thinking about some type of vines up those columns ... BTW.. what are the trees .. ?? ... we have to figure out if we need to deal with their roots .... in the new beds ... can we talk??? ... does the above.. in any way.. help you understand.. how to start ...???? ken ps:everything is too green and lush.. to presume your soil is nutrient deficient ... lets not start by making presumptions ... have your soil tested.. if you think there really is a problem.. and do understand.. plants are not children.. they will never need to be fed... you need a good soil ... and you dont make that by throwing fertilizer around .. and i think you probably have a decent soil.. but plants to not need to be fed ... i think.. at your level of understanding.. its a non-issue.. which you are spending too much time thinking about ... so focus on the ramblings above ... soil will be issue 37.. not where you start .... [thank God.. i came full circle and remembered to finish on the topic i started with ... i hate when that doenst happen .. lol]

Yellow groove would not be a bad choice for you. It's fairly hardy and will survive in the ground down to about -10F, although you will get some leaf loss above that temperature and possibly some culms killed if you have an extended cold snap near those temperatures. There are a few other bamboo that are hardier (down to -20F), such as some of the fargesias and Ph. nuda, but you probably wouldn't need that margin of safety. What is the nursery you were considering visiting in Oregon? I've included a link below that provides info on the many bamboo that are available from nurseries in the U.S.; if you click on a thumbnail for any of the species, it will list growth and hardiness info. Here is a link that might be useful: www.bambooweb.info

That looks like a katydid. It's a kind of grasshopper and yes it will eat the leaves. Neem oil won't do much to kill it unless you spray it right on it, but then you're just drowning it, lol! Chewing insects like this are best dealt with by Spinosad. That's the pesticide's name, look for it in the ingredients in several brands. Bonide's is Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew, there are other brands too. Spray it in the early evening when bees have gone home. Once it's dry, when the bees come back in the morning, they can walk on it and it won't hurt them. An insect has to ingest it for it to work, so the kadydid will have to eat a little more leaf with Spinosad on it, but then they stop eating and die. Spinosad is good to have on hand too if you get Citrus Leaf Miner, which usually shows up in the fall and spring.

I was told the overhang is 12". I'd like 15' but then we start getting into the living room. We are going to instal laminate flooring throughout the entire top floor to make things flow nicely. I'm ok with laminate in the kitchen although I know people have opinions about that choice :). I love the sliding table idea but that also impinges on the walking area between the island and living room.