I guess I tend to be on the "spirit sensitive" side and have encountered all sorts of activity. The earliest I remember was when I was 4 or 5, on Christmas Eve at my grandmother's old house. The room seemed full of people rustling and whispering and one woman even sat on the bed and sort of "petted" me. I stormed into the living room where the grownups were and complained that "the people" were keeping me from falling asleep and that they would ruin everything because Santa wouldn't come if I were awake. Of course, the grown-ups chuckled and advised me to go back to bed. It was quiet when I returned and I learned later that Grandmother's house had been the town funeral home and that my room was where the bodies were laid out for viewing. Visitation, indeed! As a teenager, I saw a young girl in that room with her back to me, who seemed to be unaware I was watching her. Suddenly, and I mean so fast it wasn't human, she whirled around and rushed up to me, glaring and then glided through the closet door. Yikes! Note to self: don't sneak up on ghosts. They don't like being spied upon. I lived alone in an old apartment with a disagreeable, mischievous spirit. In the sunroom, I would tie all the matchstick blinds the same length and come in the next day to find they had been rolled up and down at different heights, all re-tied. Things were always disappearing and reappearing in other locations, if at all. A friend of mine named the ghost "Lucinda Huggins" to sort of keep things light while I tried to be patient with the tricks and mild hostility I was sensing. I pretty much let Lucinda have the sun room--it got too uncomfortable to hang out in there. One time I did a calligraphy project for a friend's birthday and I left it out to dry overnight before erasing the lines. The next morning, I found that Lucinda had poured ink over the whole project and screwed the lid of the ink bottle back on. Dang! After I left that place, I was chatting with a client and learned she had lived in that same apartment. She looked at me strangely, "So....did you have any encounters with the.... little spirit?" The next old house I moved to (it would probably be helpful if I didn't keep living in old houses, lol) was full of action, all mostly harmless. There was "someone" in the living room but he/she seemed warm and inviting to me. The most active "The Boot Ghost" who walked up and down the upstairs hall very loudly. Never saw anyone, but it was nerve-wracking when you were alone downstairs wondering if it was the sound of an intruder. Then there was the "Squeezing Ghost" which was like the Old Hag Phenomenon. You'd just about drift to sleep when suddenly you were being hugged tightly by something dark and awful and...knowing. Terrifying. Got me twice and my husband 3 times, one of which he found his feet being lifted. We moved from there to a 100-year-old house around the corner and I keep my antennae pricked for any presences and there are none. Like kframe19, it feels so odd and lonely! Been here for 7 years and the only strange activity seems to be a ghost cat, which will rub against your legs if you're sitting at a table and jumps on the bed and walks across you. Infrequently I'll see a little cat-sized shadow pass by a doorway. But that's it.

Removing what's under the whole lawn is a can of worms I definitely wouldn't open, as there's no real need. You can improve the grass much without doing that. It would be the worst job for little return. "I wanted to convert maybe the third of the lawn closest to the sidewalk into an area for planting ..." If you're going to pen in the walk with plantings I think you're already going in the wrong direction. IMO, a better place to expand the bed is toward the right, possibly even connecting it with what is probably the neighbor's hedge.

I'm guessing you intend to add significant soil to build up the area next to the foundation. If you only intend to put new rock over the added soil then I agree there is no need to remove and clean up the old rock (gravel?). If you intend to put plants on top of the added soil you would be best to use a ground cover that doesn't need dividing every 3-5 years. While plants will grow in rocky soil, you don't want to try digging in it. The ground cover could be a spreading herbaceous perennial, or it could be a low-growing, evergreen shrub. Here are one, two, and three articles that list ground covers for various moisture and sun/shade levels.

Until you show photos from farther back, here are some suggestions: --Banish any thought of a fish pond. --Clear out every single bit of clutter under that window wall and whatever that messy "lawn" area is. (That's the area we need photos of so the foundation area connects to the bigger section.) Pull out the broken railing piece. Sooner than later, add a new, plain railing for safety reasons. --Buy a retractable siding scrub brush then scrub the devil of that entire side of the house. Wash that part of the house before you plant anything. Plan to paint as soon as possible. I can envision a bright red door back that if you keep a similar color. Here are some inspiration Texas plantings. Go to a small garden center, not a big box garden section, and get advice on what NATIVE TEXAS shrubs and grasses you can put in that strip. You may need to add enrich soil before you plant. Ask about mulching for your area--neutral brown or stone gravel that matches your walkway. As for that bigger section, think about digging up all of it, mulching it with yellow stones, and adding the same kinds of native plants you get for the foundation. Keep it as simple as possible.