mad-gallica makes an interesting point about the depth of a lasagna bed. I always start with wet newspapers and I think they are essential to smothering weeds and grass. I start out building a bed right on top of old, thick sod which contains a lot of weeds. I need to have a deep bed otherwise some of the weeds come up through (usually a weed with runner roots that is growing outside the bed and sending runners into the bed). My first bed was built over a summer of gathering ingredients the first year we moved here and the house was being renovated. I only had time to work on a bed, not actually garden. It condensed by about half over the winter and got topped with composted horse manure that was practically dirt in the spring. It continued to sink over the years but I've used the beds for vegetables, not perennials. I assume they will settle in as the bed matures. If your goal includes smothering existing weeds/grass, then I think you need to put down the newspaper. I have a pile of old grass clippings and chopped leaves that occasionally sprouts a weed. If you just need to build some good compost and soil, then it might be fine as it. What I also want to point out is that I needed to dig a trench around the beds. Just enough angle and depth to discourage runner weeds from growing into the bed. They still try. I still need to weed but the trench also provides a gap for the lawn mower wheels. I use an edging spade or spading shovel to cut the trench. This has greatly reduced the amount of time I spend keeping the edge of the beds neat but every spring I do have to spend a lot of time re-cutting the edges. I have quack grass and creeping jenny that cause most of the problems. If you don't have runner weeds, you might not need the trench. What also reduced edge weeding around one circular bed was to edge it with pavers so the mower wheels can get close to the bed. Grass still tries to grow between the blocks but I no longer have a problem with the lawn invading the bed in full force.

The English buy the peas in tins, usually. But, dried would be this : http://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=276415352 They are usually eaten with : fish and chips where you buy them from the chippie, or with pies but I think only really in London. Could be wrong, but where I come from (Oxford), we don't eat them. It's a more northern thing.

I love the house color with the stone. I do agree that the shutters can go, maybe just “beef” up the trim a little so the windows look finished. The white trim isn’t awful but I would live in the house for a year and then decide..black trim could look nice with the other colors you have. Front door colors are a matter of taste. If you have a lot of green landscaping you may want to pull a shade of that to your door. If you have a particular color landscape, flowering shrubs and plants in a color you love,, you could pick a shade of the flowering plants to put on your door. I built my house a year ago. I have HardyPlank siding in Deep ocean blue, black trim , black standing seam metal roof and a chartreuse front door. I like to use plants (in planters and pots) around the front of the house that pick up the front door color. I get a lot of compliments on the color combinations and especially on the front door color. You are still looking at a building lot. Things will look much different when you have some landscaping, even if it’s just some bushes the builder puts in. Look at landscaping designs on Houzz, in magazines and Pinterest . You will see things much differently after living in you house for awhile. Take your time making decisions, your perfect home will come in time.

Yes I remember a while ago I tried to post an interesting listing that was a z link and it wouldn't go. Anyway I was intrigued by your title and of course had to look at the house. It sure is quite unique. ( and huge). I find many of the enormouse and grand houses still have some rooms that I could envision a smaller family living in and enjoying. From the maybe 10 or so rooms I viewed of this house, I didn't get that feeling. It is LARGE.