Maybe just clear the grass away from the fence for now. Also widen the flower bed and add a new border while you're doing it. You might want to wait until the dormant season to peel away the pots that have plants in them rooted through the drain holes because disturbing the roots very much while it's hot may kill the plant. Depends on how strong a grower it is. Wishing you all the best in your endeavors!

Great house! I am particularly fond of Victorians, and yours is lovely. I agree with mnwsgal that you want to be sure that shrubs get placed far enough from the building. If you look at the shrub around the side of the house, notice how large it is, but is still almost brushing the building, so the beds need to be deep enough to accommodate the grown size of what you choose plus enough room to walk behind for painting, washing windows, etc, usually a minimum of an extra 2 feet. (This also may help decrease pruning if the plant gets larger than expected, though checking with a botanical garden like the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder as to ultimate size works better than relying on the plant tag which usually gives shrub sizes at 5 years.) To me, with a house the height of yours, a deep bed also balances the house better than a skinny little strip along the front. So I would make a deep bed of a minimum of 6' deep, though better 8'-10' to give you depth for a couple layers of shrubs and perennials, improve the soil with compost or manure, and then add an edging, either a well-buried strip of metal or plastic made for edging, or a deep cut edge, V shaped in cross section. That will keep out the grass and keep the bed looking tidy. Finally, add a layer of corrugated cardboard over the surface and cover it with at least 3" of mulch. This will keep the weeds down while you are adding plants. Having good soil is a key to a good garden, and this will be the foundation of the garden. (I know it's not the fun stuff, but it's worth it!) When you are ready to plant in a particular spot, push aside the mulch, cut an X in the cardboard and tuck the ends under, and plant. If you can only do one side of the house this summer, that is fine. You can prep the other side in late fall or next spring. Sources for manure or compost that are free or inexpensive might include your municipality's yard waste recycling facility, a local riding stable or a neighbor that keeps chickens (needs to be composted first) or rabbits or a pet guinea pig. Frugal sources for mulch include the line clearing crews or tree crews that are running chippers (if they are in your neighbor hood, dumping in your driveway often saves them time and dump fees) or if there is a local woodworker using a planer or lathe. I've only rarely needed to pay for either beyond my own labor. If you do need to buy them, getting a truckload from a local place that delivers by the yard is far cheaper than getting bagged materials. If there are still some funds available after getting compost and mulch, you can add some sun-loving shrubs and hardy perennials. Be sure to check water daily by sticking a finger in deeply and watering when needed. Then start annuals from seed that will grow large enough to add some presence and volume to fill the rest of the bed for this year. You can get packets of tall marigolds, cosmos, cleome, calendula to name a few, or if you want you can get them as already started 6-packs. You may find some perennials in 6-packs as well, particularly at small neighborhood nurseries. I've gotten several different types for prices ranging from $3.50-$12.00 per 6-pack, which is a good price per plant for perennials. Small new perennials won't probably bloom a lot this year (hence the annuals) but will in future year. Look around your area for plant swaps or sales, either posted in the mid-Atlantic or Virginia forums here on GW or else locally, often coordinated by garden clubs. In my area, new gardeners are always welcome at plant swaps, even when they can't bring any plants; gardeners are generous IME. In fall, spring for some daffodils since they will give the biggest bang for the buck in bulbs IME - the critters never eat them and the clumps expand a bit each year. Just plant them behind perennials so their dying foliage is hidden by emerging perennial foliage. The small shady area on the left can get planted with shade plants, but the rest of the front and the side will need to be planted with plants that like full sun - morning shade doesn't really count here since it will get more than 6 hours of full western sun during the hottest part of the day. So no Hydrangeas or other shrubs that will suffer here. I mostly won't make specific plant suggestions since your area is too different from mine, but will second the suggestion to look around for what appeals to you in gardens, not in pots at nurseries to begin with. Look for plants in full sun. You may find ideas in your neighborhood, or in demo gardens at nurseries, or at botanical gardens, or even at commercial businesses. If you take photos you can post them on the Name that Plant forum for ID. Consider all 4 seasons - flowers, leaf color, fall leaf color, leaf size and texture, as well evergreens (either shrubs or perennials) and colorful bark or berries for late fall and winter. Do you want to plant for hummingbirds or butterflies? Do you want plants to string holiday lights on? One of the advantages of using mostly annuals the first year is that you can look for plants that are at their best in fall and winter to extend interest. I will suggest that if you are interested in roses, look for ones that are disease resistant in your area (demo gardens may help here). If you like clematis, look for ones that say they are type 3, hard prune plants. They will be easiest in your hot and humid summer weather and only need a hard pruning down to a couple sets of buds once annually in late winter.

Thanks for the additional photos. One thing that looks very odd in the room is the fact that on one side there is wainscotting and an arched opening/on the other side no wainscotting and a squared off opening. That will have to be corrected at some point. Before you add any decor, you have to get your arrangement worked out. _If you want a more glam space, I'd do away with the sectional and keep the red sofa. _I'd remove the wainscotting and place the tv to the left of the pass-through to the kitchen. -float the red sofa facing the tv. -add a couple of chairs on the side where the opening is with the bookcase around it. -add a rug and coffee table

I see nansaidh beat me to the punch on suggesting a slip cover sofa. Slip-cover sofas don't look quite as tailored as a non-slipcover sofa, but not schlumpy like an aftermarket slipcover. Casual. I do think farmhouse--because it is EVERYWHERE now--will go out hard sooner rather than later. That said, there are plenty of elements used in the farmhouse style that look perfectly at home with other styles. If you don't go full, extreme farmhouse you'll be fine. You're overwhelmed because you are thinking "I could do anything!" I hope it makes you feel better--or at least the task more manageable--when I say that you really can't. How open is the room to the rest of the house? Unless you want to redo everything, the choices you've already made in other rooms (style, paint colors) should guide you here. This is true even with a closed floor plan, but dramatically true with an open or semi-open floor plan. You don't want to go out on a flyer just because you can. Even though the room is a blank slate, the house isn't. Work with the style of the house and the other undamaged rooms. Your tastes presumably haven't changed, even though you are buffeted by the winds of trends (ahem, farmhouse) like we all are. If you didn't like gray before, you probably won't like it in the long term even if it is currently in vogue. Do you need to choose flooring, or was there one flooring throughout the house and you just need to match it? That would be one choice off your plate.