I would go to some local garden centers and ask them if they charge for coming out and giving a quote. The best thing to do is to establish a budget and tell them what you have to spend on the project. The thing that will be difficult is that you probably don't know much about plants. A good service to look up is Angie's List if they have it in your area - customers rate the providers and give commentary and the providers know it. Go to Angies List online and call them to find out if they are in your area. I will take a moment and just say that you could take this opportunity to do something besides plant a lawn of grass. I have started to see what people are talking about when they talk about grass taking more energy than just about anything else. It requires fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide multiple times per year. You have to water it and cut it weekly. You have to maintain a piece of equipment and the annual maintenance and gas is expensive. You might be just as well off planting beds of groundcover and simple shrubs that don't require a lot of pruning. UP to you though.

Carol, Where do I go for the "Potential MUD Sister" interview? I'm in Longwood; I am a beast of a hard worker and surprisingly strong. I love to work on things, yard things, house things, etc. I don't know a lot about plants, so I would be constantly learning as we worked on yard projects, but I love to learn and I'm up for just about any task. I also have no fingernails. Some of the tasks I've accomplished on my own are: paint house exterior and interior, rip out carpet, padding and tack strips in preparation for new tile, tile bathroom floor, remove and reset shower tile, caulking, replace faucet, remove old linoleum, re-roof a shed, install wood privacy fencing with concrete on the posts, re-screen a pool enclosure, hang blinds & curtain rods, install and wire ceiling fans, removing medicine cabinet, replace and finish drywall, install bathroom vanity and mirror, snake a tub, remove a toilet, fix broken sprinkler pipes and install new sprinklers, paint cabinets, organize closet and garage, install shelving, move furniture, assemble prefabricated furniture, use power tools including circular saw, tree trimming, lawn care, official insect in the house killer. I like the concept of MUD sisters, and I understand and can respect that it's about equal give and take. And, I'm always looking to make new friends, expand my horizons and try new hobbies. So I do think I have the necessary MUD sister mentality? Melissa

I'm confused. You talk about the left corner...But it looks like you have a hutch on the sink wall meeting another to-the-counter cabinet next to the baking center with a dead space in the corner...So where is the space you're wondering about adding more open shelves or wine storage? Oh, wait...Maybe I understand. What I'm seeing on the floorplan is all at 2 ft deep and the uppers, being less will leave a gap...Is that it? I can try drawing it...But I can't promise it in a big hurry, because of my son's baseball game right in the middle of today, and because of Easter tomorrow.

Well the root crops would best benefit from the deep bed. For the rest it doesn't really matter. Your bigger issue is going to be the different nutrient and water needs of the different vegetables. Put the broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts together but not near the beans or peas (they can go together). Put the lettuce by the cukes and keep all the squash plants together. I guess since you already have the plants you might as well plant them. They will either survive or they won't. You may have to replace them then but you may discover that you don't have room for everything on your list anyway so if something dies off the other plants will benefit from that space.. But you will have learned some valuable lessons in the mean time - Different plants have different needs. Not everything can be or should be planted all at the same time. And what looks like plenty of room now will look like an over-grown jungle in 2 months. :-) I would transplant the tomatoes into larger pots - no, they can't remain as is - and hold them back for a couple of weeks. But the cukes and zucchini and squash won't survive a double transplanting (into a larger pot and then into the garden) so all you can do is plant them and hope for the best. Next year think about direct seeding them at the proper time rather than using transplants. Same goes for beans. And this winter take the time to learn about the various correct planting dates for each vegetable for your location and the soil temps needed by various vegetables for transplanting. Do that before you invest in all the plants, ok? You might also want to learn about pre-warming garden soil methods so you can plant warm summer crops a bit earlier next year. Too late to do that this year as it takes several weeks. Dave