It seems this thread has become problematic for a few of us! ;-) Seems to be common on this forum. One does wonder why. Nandina, since your first post seems to be the most practically knowledgeable as well as offered in a friendly manner, I certainly hope you won't quit posting. While I appreciate all the help I've been given it seems there are some who don't seem to want to provide explanations of their suggestions or cannot see that I wrote a book initially which has a lot of info. A sense of humor is always refreshing and I doubt I even liked pablum when I was of an age to eat it!. Thank you. Some comments on your suggestions - since DH is just finishing building my 12'x16' garden house I doubt I could convince him to build a potting shed as well! LOL Also the garden house will have a porch added next year which is where I will have a potting bench. My idea is to hide the bins with plantings. I think it can work. This is a country garden and we have no near neighbors so compost bins are not a major problem. Your idea of a labyrinth/patio is an interesting one which I might have considered a few years ago before we built our large patio right near the house. I think the labyrinth will be fine once established with a circular planting bed surrounding it, paths to and from, and plantings to blend. Frankie, I appreciate you hanging in on this thread and your attempt to define this elusive basic mission statement. I really don't see why this should be a problem for anyone who wishes to help as so far no one has been able to define clearly what it means in landscaping. The parameters I set out for this project IMO are more than enough info for anyone to understand what my basic mission is. BTW for anyone who thinks I'm copping out on stating this basic mission, I can tell you that I have helped several organizations create such a statement so it's not a foreign concept to me. The low maintenance requirement, I agree, has not been well enough defined by me altho I think to say that no "high" maintenance landscaping ideas will be implemented is appropriate. So only hardy plants, a minimum of plants aggressive in this zone, shrubs that require little trimming, plants that do not shed noxious seed pods, and little or no groomed lawns. Most gardeners will understand the concept of well behaved, low maintenance plants. As far as low maintenance hardscaping ideas (such as for paths) I'm definitely looking for suggestions. I love gardening and my DH is always helpful so we expect to continue to spend many hours a week and more at certain times of the year in our garden. I have thot of planting several areas in wildflowers or grasses altho will have to speak with someone at the local Ag office regarding non-invasive plants so I don't use those that could become a problem. I wonder how many here have actually ever planned a garden larger than a city lot. I'd be interested to hear their experiences.

brutuses, I like your floorplan. Except for the location of the master BR and the pantry, it's very similar. Also, it looks like you have to go through the living room and kitchen to get to the laundry room from the garage. Are you planning tile or other durable hard surfaces along that path ? Another difference is that since we have a basement, we had to plan for the open stairwell in the plan. I like your wrap-around porch. Porches are so much better than a deck in my opinion. My previous house didn't have a usable porch and I had a large multi-level deck which turned into a maintenance headache. I worked on it more than I used it. This time around, I wanted to be able to sit on the front or rear porch depending on the weather plus its zero maintenance. My house is a variation on this craftsman style floorplan which was modified by a local architect: http://details.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=chp-37200&FoundID=28&sid=chp2 Good luck with your build.

Thanks for letting me know those are Flor tiles, Sue! Even better! They would likely work better than the rug I have in my kitchen because the ends of the rug are bulky and get in the way of the trash compactor opening. I have been having a hard time finding the right long rug for the hallway that will run from our front door to the mudroom, too. I will have to keep an eye out for good deals on flor tiles while we do that part of our remodel. I have been really enjoying the home decor forum here now that our kitchen is mostly done, and we will be starting on the rest of the house this spring. We just got cafe curtains hung in the kitchen and dining room today, so it was nice to see your curtains, too. Just enough for privacy, but still lets the light in...

I have seeds to send to you for the Newbie packets but I lost your address. I'm so sorry I haven't gotten them to you sooner, the holidays and Real Life happened and frankly, 2016 is for crap thus far, but I want to get these out to you since you very kindly sent me some seeds last years right after we moved. Please let me know where to send them and I'll get them out to you right away.