I think it's a good idea to have a general long range plan of what you want your garden to be. Go to the library, check out some garden books that are heavy on the photos of original gardens and dream a little as you read them. While you're doing that, analyze your site. Walk around, notice where the light and shadows are, notice where the views and vistas are and try to envision how you'd like to utilize the space. Which area is most pleasant to you? Which one is cool enough or warm enough to enjoy at the proper time of day that you want to be in the garden? Where would be a pleasant place to sit? What would you like to see out of your house windows? Where would you like to create privacy? With that large of a lot you could have multiple garden rooms, or different seating areas, or whatever. Don't be limited by what the neighbors are doing...try to envision a dream garden and then sketch out a plan how you might get there in 5 to 10 years. After you have your plan sketched out pick out an area you'd like to develop first. Build a border or bed with one of your existing trees as a focal point and make sure you make the bed large enough and deep enough to make an impact. To get a lush look you need to layer your plants and not have one little row of soldiers. Put in any backbone shrub/evergreen type things you want and get them started growing. After that just start filling in with your perennials and annuals. Go to local plant sales, ask for divisions from friends with gardens, and look for sales and bargains at big box stores. When you buy a gallon perennial of a clumping plant, look for one that you can divide into three right off the bat. In good new soil amended with compost and organic fertilizer they will grow quite well very quickly. Also, as you're starting to develop your garden, it may be a good idea to invest up front in any trees you envision and get them started right away. It's not necessarily the most fun part when what you really want to do is buy and plant flowers which are fun, but in the end, it is a good thing to get the framework and foundation of the garden started as it will take time to develop. Also, planning for paths and things and developiing beds around them even if you may have to finish off the paths or patios or whatever later. I have three unfinished seating areas in my garden that are only soil now with plantings around them, but when I can finally afford to hardscape the way I want to it will (hopefully) look finished. Most of us are on some kind of budget so having an overall general plan and working it in stages is essential. Also, if you're new to plants, find a few good garden books for your region that tell you what type of plants will be successful in your area and with your growing conditions. Whatever you do, just enjoy having your dreams, and enjoy what your are creating as you do it! I would kill for 3/4 acre by the way...I'm on 7500 SQ with a house on it! Good luck and have fun with it and don't forget to post your pictures as you go.

Donna that helps I just wish you were here to show me how to get started and I cumb enough not to try pushing then to the other end of the needle ~~ and I had not yet thought of pushing the other stiches to the middle. I will try that again.. I dont know now how many times I have casted on and and started only to start all over LOL Thanks for your help I will probably be back for more help hugs Imabest

I say, let's go for some fast success. And I will also say that having less stuff is crucial for *almost* everybody. Decluttering isn't everything. But it's silly to spend a lot of energy organizing things that you then never use. (best thing I ever did was to weed out my screws--but that doesn't mean they *all* went. However, since there are fewer of them, it's easier TO organize them.) Here are some suggestions: IDEA ONE: The bathroom is often easy to tackle. It's one room; most of the stuff in there is expired or frayed, and throwing things out can be really easy. No guilt. It's also a highly specialized room--so "positive organizing" is easier. If you decide you need or want infrastructure (bins, cabinets, hooks, ease of access), it's far less expensive to get it. And then you have one room--that you go into often--that looks good and makes you feel good. IDEA TWO: Almost everyone who has organization problems really has mostly clutter problems. (Me, me, me!) So, let's tackle throwing things out. (by "throwing out," I *MEAN* recycling, donating, composting, whatever. Out of your house is what I mean.) Pick the low-hanging fruit. In every closet, cabinet, etc., are things that you know you are willing to part with, you just haven't bothered to do so bcs other stuff seemed more important (or more fun). The other stumbling block is often that taking unneeded utensils out of the kitchen leaves them messy in other places until you can take them to the GoodWill. So, arrange the trip to the GoodWill FIRST--put it on your calendar, get a box to accumulate it in, and set that box somewhere unobtrusive. (Get a BIG box, so that stuff can't easily overflow, bcs that will make you feel messier and delay the reward.) The just go through every surface, every cabinet, every storage space, every closet, every shelf, every everything, and say, "what can I get rid of?" Throw it in the garbage, toss it in the box. That's a huge start, and it's fast, successful, and low-stress. If you are dithering, put it back; THIS round is only for the stuff that's easy. The hard stuff, you can get to later. That's more efficient, isn't it? Dont you go through and pull all the towels out and fold them first, so you can *see* the rest of the laundry to fold? (I do--it makes things v. easy) IDEA TWO What part of your life creates the most chaos? Fix that, and only that, and maintain it for a week, then branch out. (this can take you into "positive organizing" instead of "negative organizing" or decluttering.) Do you always look for your keys? Figure out what will help you keep them in one spot (I like a hook by the door, since I use my keys to do the equivalent of going out to the shed, down to the laundry room, up to the attic, or out to the garage. So, I can't keep them in my purse or coat pocket, bcs I need them in the house. If I hang them by the door on the way in, they're there on the way out, and I know this works.) Is making lunches the thing that makes you trip over all the junk? Set that up, and move everything else out of the way. IDEA FOUR: inoculate Pick one surface, clear it off, so that it has what you WANT on it (and ONLY that), and promise yourself that you will NOT mess it up. You will get BACK out of bed in your PJs if you realize that you've left the tiniest bit of it out of order. IDEA FIVE: haunting, or "get a buddy" Back when I started on this site, another member and I were talking about our dining-room tables, and how they had so much stuff on them. The next day she posted, "you are haunting me!" She had started to go to bed, remembered our online convo, and went BACK to clear it off, bcs she didn't want to come to the site with it undone. And I revealed that I'd had the same reaction. Sometimes we will do for others' sakes the things we won't do for our own sake. Well, instead of fighting that, USE it. Get someone here to be your buddy, and promise that you'll check in each day for 3 weeks and report what you've done. IDEA SIX: pick a crutch ("do a dozen" or "toss ten" or "15 minutes and ticking") When you feel overwhelmed a crutch like this can help you get something going. Pick one, and use it consistently. I like "do a dozen"--I started it w/ piles of laundry. "Just fold 12 things--socks don't count," I said. So I would. Sometimes I'd finish; sometimes I'd round up to 18, sometimes I'd stop at 12, but SOMETHING got done. I do "do a dozen" w/ my son, when he needs to clean his room and feels overwhelmed. I rapidly scoop of 12 toys into a basket and say, "do a dozen in 5 minutes; then we'll try again." He can do it in 2 minutes. And it cuts the job down to size. I like "toss ten" too--sometimes, I define "a single item" as "all the unnecessary papers in this stack"; other days, a single paperclip counts as one thing. It depends how much energy I have, and how much time. But SOMETHING happens. "15 minutes and ticking" is a speed tool--especially good when your "clutter' is *really* UNDONE CHORES. Get a ticking timer, set it for 15 minutes, and RUSH through some chore you need to do. You have to finish before the bomb--er, bell--goes off. LAST OVERWHELMING THOUGHTS --*some* progress is better than no progress. --focus on the small achievements. They are REAL. And big buildings are built from small bricks. Good luck!

Patty, You can post pictures two ways (probably more ways than that but two that I know of). Option #1 is to just click on the "Image file to upload" button when you start a new message. When you click on "preview message" the image will appear and you can decide if you are happy with it before clicking on "submit" to finalize the posting. Once you submit it, you can't change it. Option #2 - my favorite - is to have a Photobucket account (free) and to post pictures from there. I like that better because you can alter the picture size in Photobucket and you can even delete it. Changes there will have an effect on the picture here, even after you post it, so you keep control of the image. If you just use the direct link in Option #1, you don't have the opportunity to alter the picture or ever delete it. To post a picture from Photobucket, copy the "html code" (you'll see it at your picture) and paste that into your text message here. It will just look like text until you preview the message and then your picture will show up. Let us know if you have any questions! Kate